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Games Lift: These are the Five Teams for the Hamburg Game Developer Incubator in 2023
Five teams have won over the Games Lift awarding committee with their game projects. On September 11, the Games Lift Incubator will start for them as a unique support program in Germany. Included is a one-year workshop and mentoring program with international industry experts and 15,000 euros in financial support as well as room for collaboration and exchange with the other participating teams.
More than 30 experts in game design, product development, pitching, business development, press relations and marketing from the Games Lift network will share their experience with the teams to give their projects a professional start. The Games Lift Incubator is organized and implemented by Gamecity Hamburg on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
A total of 24 teams and solo developers applied for the fourth Games Lift Incubator. The decision for the five participating teams was made by the awarding committee, consisting of Mareike Ottrand (Professor for Interactive Illustration and Games/HAW Hamburg), Ole Schaper (Managing Director The Sandbox Hamburg (Sviper GmbH)), Heiko Gogolin (Managing Director Rocket Beans Entertainment) and Amanda Förtsch (Project Manager Gamecity Hamburg).
“With each year of Games Lift Incubator, more talented teams with exciting projects apply,” Schaper said. “The passion and commitment of the developers impress me over and over again. Hamburg’s academic institutions, but also the city’s extremely lively indie scene, ensure that the steady stream of creativity never stops.”
The five winner projects and teams for Games Lift Incubator 2023:
* Chaos Royale by Monodot
* Dottobeau by Dottobeau
* Journey Beyond the Edge of the World by Markus Koepke
* Map Map – A Game About Maps by Kopfkino Games
* We the Valarii by Bagpack Games
Chaos Royale by Monodot is a free-to-play battle royale game with shooting mechanics, full of eccentric and fantastic characters. Different weapon combinations and an improvement of the own shooting power turn the matches for 16 to 32 players into fast-paced firefights.
The team behind Dottobeau formed at HAW Hamburg to develop a classic point-and-click adventure game wherein players solve tricky puzzles by changing the overall atmosphere of the in-game world. The more puzzles players solve, the more new items they can find. This way they can manipulate the storyline and move on to the next chapter of this sensitive adventure.
Journey Beyond the Edge of the World by Markus Koepke is a musical first-person adventure game with a story told through five atmospheric pieces of music. The story, which spans over three time periods, is set in a mysterious abandoned fishing boat whose history needs to be uncovered. This nostalgic, low-poly game world contains a lot of tricky puzzles to unravel.
Map Map – A Game About Maps by Kopfkino Games is a cozy exploration game with puzzle elements where the atmosphere of a relaxed hike meets typical landscape puzzles à la GeoGuessing. The unique mapping mechanic allows players to interact with the atmospheric game world and its many elements in a completely new way.
We the Valarii by Bagpack Games is an entertaining couch co-op racer with a literal spin as the unique motion physics are created by rotating the mouse or stick. The focus is not on competition but on overcoming obstacles and completing boss battles together.
More information about the projects at https:// gamecity-hamburg .de/incubator.
The incubator program addresses the individual needs of developers with comprehensive workshops, mentoring and coaching content. Workshops and mentoring sessions are offered in the fields of project management, marketing and business start-up.
After completing the three-month workshop program of phase one, the teams will present their results to a broad audience at a final public pitch in December of 2023. Phase two will immediately follow and will run until September of 2024.
Starting this year, selected mentors will work even closer with the teams and will support them directly and according to their needs throughout the entire incubator period; Manny Hachey (Chief Operating Officer for THREAKS), Björn Bergstein (Coach and Consultant for Management and Leadership), Daniel Marx (Chief Executive Officer and Game Director for Osmotic Studios), Søren Lass (Business Development Consultant) and Steffen Rühl (Expert for the digital and analog games industry). In periodic, personalized mentoring sessions, they will provide advice to the teams and their project progress. In addition, the Games Lift Network, with more than 30 experts from all areas of the industry, will once again provide support to the participating teams on specific issues from all areas of the development and marketing of digital games. In addition, the teams will receive individual communication support from a PR agency specialized in indie games.
You don’t want to miss the registration start for Games Lift Incubator 2024? Then sign up for our Games Lift mailing list at https:// airtable .com/shrHJMH96v6fYe2yQ.
Further funding opportunities through Gamecity Hamburg
In addition to the Games Lift Incubator, Gamecity Hamburg also supports developers and games companies from Hamburg with a prototype funding. Each year, 400,000 euros are available for games projects from Hamburg, of which up to 120,000 euros can be applied per game. The next application round will start in spring of 2024.

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Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running
Affilka by SOFTSWISS, an affiliate management software platform, has secured the title of Affiliate Software Supplier at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards for the second consecutive year. The awards ceremony took place on 3 July at London’s iconic The Roundhouse, where the iGaming industry gathered to celebrate the most successful and innovative companies of the past year.
The consecutive win reinforces Affilka’s growing leadership in iGaming affiliate marketing software. Over the past 12 months, the product has consistently evolved, launching a series of powerful new features.
Among the recent updates is the Cross-Brand Player Duplicate Detection tool, which identifies overlapping player accounts across different casino brands within a single affiliate program. The platform also introduced the new Traffic Report, which provides real-time, click-to-registration and click-to-FTD metrics with multi-dimensional filters. Another new feature allows affiliates to access data on their marketing campaigns and tracking links directly via API, enabling automated data extraction and custom integrations.
At the end of last year, Affilka rolled out the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature, which boosts site visits by reducing redirect times from 1.5 seconds to 300–500 milliseconds, and the Cohort Analysis Report, which offers deeper insights into player behaviour.
Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS, commented on the recognition: “Winning this award two years in a row is an incredible achievement for our team. It reflects our hard work, creativity, and deep commitment to the continuing improvement of our platform. What makes this win special is knowing that the tools we build are already helping our partners solve real challenges. Whether refining traffic strategies or making smarter, data-driven decisions, we’re proud Affilka plays a part in their success.”
Thanks to ongoing updates and the introduction of new innovative features, Affilka by SOFTSWISS now supports over 450 brands, 400 thousand affiliate accounts, and 98 million player registrations.
Earlier in June, SOFTSWISS won two prestigious trophies at another EGR Ceremony – Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025. The company’s marketing department received the Marketing Team of the Year Award for its bold creative approach and effective use of new technologies and data analytics. In addition, Valentina Bagniya, CMO at SOFTSWISS, was named B2B Marketer of the Year for transforming the company’s marketing function into a powerful brand engine within the iGaming industry.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.
The post Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning
WOWPartners, feeling that there might be not enough chill in the world, introduces their new brand Spinbara — fun, cheeky, and truly unbothered. The star of the show is a laid-back capybara with a love for sports, snacks, chicks, and slot wins. A spiritual cousin to The Dude (yes, we mean The Big Lebowski), Spinbara leads an unapologetically relaxed lifestyle — or, to put it simply, he’s chillin’ like a villain.
Built on KickerTech’s powerful platform and featuring over 65 top-tier providers, Spinbara combines top-notch sportsbook, live betting, virtuals, and casino entertainment with a distinctive brand voice that players will absolutely love.
This new WOWPartners’ brand isn’t just chill — it’s smart. With a full suite of gamification, tournaments, promos, and player retention tools, including cashback, reloads, and exclusive challenges, Spinbara is designed to keep players logging in.
A spokesperson for WOWPartners shares:
“Spinbara is our most relatable brand yet — he’s lazy, lovable, and just, you know, loves living a good life. Who doesn’t, right? Play lazy, win crazy, that’s the motto. We’ve paired this laid-back vibe with a top-shelf product and powerful engagement mechanics. The result is Spinbara, and we can’t wait for players to come chill with the Dude.”
In short, if you’re all about kicking back, playing your favourite games, and not taking life too seriously — Spinbara’s your kind of place.
Play lazy, win crazy!
For partnership opportunities and more information, contact [email protected].
The post WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign
S8UL has officially qualified for the grand finals in Apex Legends, , and EAFC 25 at EWC 2025, making it the first Indian esports organisation to represent the country at one of the world’s biggest esports tournaments. The organisation’s Chess stars Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram will be competing in the Last Chance Qualifier from July 24 to 26, while EAFC player Aaron Rivera (Happy) will vie for one of the four remaining spots at the EWC in the FC Pro 25 Play-Ins.
Nipun Marya, CEO, iQOO, commented, “Esports in India is evolving rapidly, and we’re proud to strengthen our association with S8UL as they represent India on one of the biggest international stages. Our collaboration reflects iQOO’s focus on connecting with the performance centric community and supporting talent that’s redefining competitive gaming in India.”
Taking place from July 8 to August 24, the EWC 2025 features a record-breaking $70 million (approx. INR 598 crore) prize pool and hosts the world’s best talent across console, PC, and mobile titles. S8UL’s participation across different titles underscores the organization’s depth, diversity, and ambition.
The post iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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