MCV @ Gamescom 2018 Day 3

NEWS | INTERVIEWS | MAPS | EXHIBITOR LISTINGS

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DAY THREE

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CONTENT Editor: Seth Barton seth.barton@futurenet.com, +44 (0)203 871 7388

Three is the magic number It’s the final trade day at gamescom!

Day three is the best in our eyes.

You’ve got all the big meetings out of the way, so there’s an opportunity to cast your net wider and look for new possibilties and relationships. Enjoy.

It’s been a fantastic few days at the show. And we’ve rarely seen the industry so upbeat about the immediate future, with everyone we’ve asked predicting a bumper Christmas.

Gamescom is becoming a great place to announce new products and initiatives too, with Nvidia for instance unveiling its ray-tracing capable new graphics cards. Meanwhile, our lucky colleagues at Gamesradar+ went hands-on with From Software’s

Today @gamescom 05 News and interviews

incredible-looking Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (see page 46).

Microsoft announced a huge range of new products, bundles and game content, plus the Xbox version of PUBG will shortly make it to a full release.

Elsewhere we also saw a release date for Shenmue 3. Will the miracles of gamescom never cease! But alas they must and so for this last issue we have a couple of articles to make you think on the way home: EA’s Jade Raymond talks about the need for more creative diversity (page 12), and we look at the benefits of a good company culture (page 16). Hope you have a great Q4 and thanks for reading MCV@gamescom.

Seth Barton, editor of MCV

Senior Staff Writer: Marie Dealessandri marie.dealessandri@futurenet.com, +44 (0)203 889 4910 Content Director: James McKeown james.mckeown@futurenet.com, +44 (0)207 354 6015 Designer: Sam Richwood sam.richwood@futurenet.com Digital Director: Diane Oliver dianne.oliver@futurenet.com, +44 (0)207 354 6019 Production Executive: James Marinos james.marinos@futurenet.com, +44 (0)203 889 4907 Special thanks to Jem Alexander and Rob Hutchins

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MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu – Japan’s leading video games analyst and news source

The biggest stories at gamescom

12 Jade Raymond

On her career and creative diversity

16 Culture of personality

Why everyone needs a company culture

27 Exhibitor listings Plus trade hall plans

46 Hands-on at gamescom Our take on the show’s biggest titles

48 IRL@gamescom

The best pics from the show

The Emerson Building, 4th Floor 4-8 Emerson Street. London, SE1 9DU

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50 The final boss

Jagex’s Phil Mansell on ‘living games’ Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com

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Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Peter Allen Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand

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Bandai Namco: ‘We really want our IP to be in theaters’ Marie Dealessandri talks to Bandai Namco’s Hervé Hoerdt and Lee Kirton about the firm’s shift to European IPs and why it wants these to go beyond just video games. They also discuss Supermassive’s newly announced horror anthology The Dark Pictures BANDAI NAMCO has been looking west for quite a while, bringing a wealth of European IP, such as Get Even or Little Nightmares, to market. Among other projects, it’s currently working on Dontnod’s Twin Mirror, which will be Bandai Namco’s first episodic game, coming in 2019 day-anddate digitally and at retail. Talking to MCV@ gamescom, Bandai Namco’s VP of digital and marketing Hervé Hoerdt (pictured far right) explained the reasons behind this shift to new IPs and to the Western market, with the Japanese company likely to take things to the next level by expanding on these IPs and not only treating them as games.

“First, when you look at the group content there’s half of the IP we own, things like Tekken, Pac-Man and so on. For the others we are licensing the games, like Naruto or One Piece. Our job and responsibility is to make sure the company still exists in five, ten years. This is our reason to be. So at some point if we lose one of those IP or all of them, the company will be in danger. So that’s one of the first reasons,” Hoerdt explained. “The second one is as we start on a new IP, there’s so much more we can do than just a video game. With Little Nightmares [for instance], we can explore this IP, we can do escape rooms, we can do movies, series, and so on.

The third part is the group has been targeting the same marketing segments. So RPG, fighting, JRPG. But there’s a much bigger market out there to take.”

As Hoerdt mentioned Little Nightmares, we asked about the TV series based on Tarsier Studios’ IP, that was announced last year, and

“The group has been targeting the same marketing segments. RPG, fighting, JRPG. But there’s a much bigger market out there to take.”

whether or not it could also be a film. Hoerdt answered: “It’s still open. Nothing is signed yet, discussions are still ongoing, on both sides of the world, in the US and in Japan.

We don’t know what will happen for sure, it’s not that we don’t want to discuss it, we just haven’t decided the best option. Should we go for one big shot with a lot of content or should we go for a series? Which art direction should we go in? How is this content changing the way we envision the game?

Again, it’s not that we don’t want to, but we are learning. We have a lot of projects and ideas and missions but we are also humble, there’s only so much we can do, there’s only 24 hours in a day. I’d love to tell you ‘Yes, we’ve signed with these guys, we’re doing this’, I would love to, especially with this one, because this is really our next big thing, we really want our IP to be in theaters.”

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GUILFORD HORROR STORY Bandai Namco also just announced its partnership with Guilford-based studio Supermassive on The Dark Pictures, a horror anthology. The first part, Man of Medan, will be coming in 2019, with Bandai Namco’s marketing and PR director Lee Kirton (pictured on page 5, top left) detailing the concept: “The best way of explaining is it’s individual games. So the future could be long in terms of how many of those games there are. Man of Medan is the first game. It’s a group of young people on a boat… And stuff happens,” he said coyly.

“There’s horror, supernatural. Very much in that Until Dawn nature. But there’s lots of new gameplay mechanics that sort of separate it from what’s been done before.

“The best way to explain it is it’s bit like Black Mirror in the sense that they are individual games. Every story is completely unique.”

“It’s bit like Black Mirror in the sense that they’re individual games.

Every story is completely unique.”

Black Mirror’s latest episode, Black Museum, does connect previous episodes across seasons though, with very subtle clues.

So we naturally asked whether or not that could also be the case in The Dark Pictures.

“Absolutely. I’m a massive fan of Black Mirror as well. So, who knows? There could be a link,” Kirton said. “At the moment they’re completely individual titles, individual stories, individual characters. It’s not episodic. We’re super excited because it’s a title that Bandai Namco is not used to working on in the past. We’re getting a broader diversity in terms of our products. “[Supermassive] has got over 30 ideas and concepts. So it could be two games, three games, four games, or it could go on like Black Mirror has. We’re talking probably six to eight hours in terms of narrative structure – but we still haven’t nailed it. However there will be value in every way. And it’s going to be triple-A quality all the way through.”

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EA: We’ve opened FIFA up ‘to users of all abilities’ Marie Dealessandri talks to producer and EA Sports creative director Matt Prior about the new features in FIFA 19 that will make the title more accessible to every type of player FIFA is coming back this September, and this year EA Sports has been working on a wealth of new features which both improve the game’s accessibility and makes it a much more appealing proposition for new players.

“We’ve added one button control. So FIFA is obviously a very complex game, that’s part of its appeal. There’s a lot of functionality. For someone who’s maybe not into gaming as much it can be an overwhelming experience “But now with one button control, the AI will decide what’s the optimum thing to do in that situation – whether it’s pass or shoot,” producer and creative director Matt Prior explained. “So that really opens it up. And I’ve been playing with my seven-year old son and he’s loving it. That’s an element that really kind of opened the doors of FIFA in terms of making it accessible to everyone.”

But that’s not all, there are many more options also coming to FIFA 19, enhancing its accessibility.

“FIFA is quite unique in that a lot of different users, a lot of different people,

play FIFA in a lot of different ways. There’s no kind of [typical] FIFA player. You have Career Mode users, you have Kick-Off users, you have Journey users, you have people who play all three, and obviously Ultimate Team being another big one. We’ve added a lot to Kick-Off this year. So we’ve injected a little bit of fun into Kick-Off – there’s now what we call house rules. So you can play games where there’s no rules. So no fouls, no offsides, basically the referee is not there.”

You can also add rules such as only heads and volleys count for goals, or only goals scored from long range, say from outside the box, will count.

“The one that’s been going down a storm is survival mode,” Prior continued. “So basically if you score a goal one of your players is randomly ejected. So that is an interesting spin on it all.

“We’ve also added an advantage setting. So one of the historical problems with FIFA is if you had a friend who was way better than you, you couldn’t really have an engaging game. Now with the advantage settings we’ve got the ability to add a score up to 20. So I could give you a 20 goal lead.

“You can also set the AI of your teammates.

So I could set you to world class and myself to beginner. So on beginner they won’t make as intelligent decisions.

“Now, with these levers we can create a level playing field for all users. It just really opens it up to people who may have never played FIFA. It’s a very social game and this is the reason we did all that: in essence to open it up to users of all abilities.”

“I’ve been playing with my seven-year old son and he’s loving it.”

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Metro Exodus: ‘It’s huge in scope and scale… but it’s not an open world game’ Metro Exodus is shaping up brilliantly – Seth Barton talks to Deep Silver and 4A Games about its hybrid design and the benefits of using your own engine METRO EXODUS is arguably the playable game of the show, though Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (see page 46) gives it a close run, while Cyberpunk 2077 remains frustratingly hands off for now.

We took some time to play the new game, which has its first hands-on at gamescom. At first things feel pretty familiar, the weapon designs are essentially the same, and we’re sneaking around, taking out enemies and hoovering up supplies and ammo.

As we explored we realised that this world is far bigger than anything the game has provided us with before. Freed from the tunnels of Moscow, the game has blossomed into a series of large sandbox areas. And taking your time to explore those areas, rather than dashing around to conserve air, looks to be the new normal.

“People ask if Metro is a open world game, it’s not,” Huw Beynon (pictured far right), head of global brand management for publisher Deep Silver told us. “But you do have these huge levels that are miniature open worlds and take several hours to compete. Then you get back on the train and roll on to the next environment.”

Beynon told us that the team “spent a huge amount of time in pre-production getting the formula right, so it still feels very much like a Metro game, but it’s added additional freedom and player choice.” But he was keen to highlight that this isn’t traditional open-world mechanics.

“There’s already a lot of very similar openworld games out there, but I think what we’ve shown here, and at E3, is that this is a beast

unlike anything else, there’s a lot of STALKER influence in there, it’s a hybrid.

“We don’t borrow from contemporary open world conventions, just like every Metro game there’s no HUD, we keep the UI to a minimum, we don’t give you fetch quests and objective markers, all the information is still communicated through physical in-game items. There’s no map screen with thousands of different tabs for main quest, side quest and the number of wolf belts you’ve collected,” he reassured us. In terms of production the game is bigger “by an order of magnitude,” he continued. “In terms of game length it’s looking like both the previous games combined, in terms of dialogue more than double the dialogue of both the previous games and all DLC combined,” he said.

The team is still using its own 4A Engine.

“There’s benefits and challenges to that,” 4A

Games executive producer Jon Bloch (pictured below left) explained. “Because it’s our tech we get to do what we want with it, and if someone wants something we can build it.”

Of course the downside is that the vast majority of the engine isn’t simply provided for you. One benefit was clear at gamescom this year, with the studio immediately announcing support for Nvidia’s new RTX ray-tracing technology: “Because it’s our tech we know how to integrate that directly into our source code and renderer,” Bloch explained, adding that pushing the game technically was part of their strategy.

“Being able to utilise RTX to benefit the realism and immersion that we want, feeling like you’re stepping into a real world, we wouldn’t have been able to do that with someone else’s engine.”

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Beyond Blue: ‘The real world is a magnificent place and we want to celebrate that world through games’ E-Line Media talks to Seth Barton about its upcoming collaboration with the BBC and the Blue Planet 2 documentary team

THERE’S always talk about how video games could help change the world for the better, but E-Line Media is doing more than most to try and make that a reality.

The indie developer is working in collaboration with the BBC on Beyond Blue – a game that accompanies last year’s smash hit Blue Planet 2 series.

“As a company we think the real world is a magnificent place and we want to celebrate that world through games,” Michael Angst, CEO and co-founder of the studio, said. It’s simply the best sentiment we’ve heard in quite a while. And with its first game, Never Alone, which explored native Alaskan culture, his studio has already delivered.

It was actually Never Alone that opened the door to this new project: “In the case of Beyond Blue, we got a call from the BBC, who said that they really loved how we integrated

real-world documentary videos into a fictional game [Never Alone].”

That call became a deal, and provided the studio with four years of production experience from the show, relationships with the consulting scientists, and access to the footage that will not be shown on the TV. If that all sounds a little too much like ‘edutainment’, the end result, which we saw a demo of, certainly sits on the right side of the line. For starters it’s set in the near future, which gives everything a slicker look and there’s no worries about running out of air for instance.

Angst told us that they asked the scientists: “If you had a NASA level budget to explore the ocean, in say ten years time, where would you spend your time, what do you think you’d discover and why would it be important, why would it move us?”

In response to their answers the game tries to “balance a narrative-driven experience, with some high-stakes drama and morally complex decisions, with the joy of exploration and the thrill of discovery. You can choose to be very narrative-driven, or spend more time exploring the environment and find out more about the creatures.

“There is a drama, some humour, and its voice-acted. When you’re in the water there’s talking to the crew but we keep your story choices to a minimum so you can focus on the environment,” Angst expanded on the structure.

There’s also a sub from which you can control underwater drones, and talk to your crewmates and personal friends beyond the setting.

We saw a section where diver Mirai goes to check on a buoy that’s malfunctioned, preventing drones working in the area.

Having fixed that, we pick up a stationary whale tracker, which we go to find, disturbing a hidden octopus in the process, which covers us in ink, which Angst warned us might draw predators. There’s no chance of death here, but the player might be forced back to the sub by aggressive behaviour. It all looks fantastic, and feels very much like a game.

“We’re looking to make a game that recognises there are threats to our oceans, but also celebrates that the ocean is still very much alive and thriving in many areas. There may be sorrow in our game but there’s also going to be joy and hope,” Angst said.

Another great sentiment and that sounds perfectly in line with the kind of feelings the TV show creates. The game will be out on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in Spring 2019.

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YoYo Games announces Sequences for GameMaker 2, allowing artists to ‘lead the way’ without technical knowledge GameMaker creator YoYo Games has started demoing its new Sequences feature, which will allow even more people to make games without having to be too technical.

Marie Dealessandri reports YOYO GAMES has been showcasing GameMaker 2’s new features behind closed doors at gamescom, including one called Sequences, to be launched in 2019. It will allow artists to manipulate pixel graphics to add motion, without needing any expertise.

“The thing that we like about [Sequences] is for a lot of engines the programmer has to lead the way. With GameMaker, with the drag-and-drop, designers can lead the way as well. Now when we get [Sequences] added, it would mean an artist could be in the engine leading the way,” general manager James Cox (pictured bottom right) said. ”So it gives people the options and the choices. We hope that, down at the lower level, it means more people will be able to make the games they want to make and learn and start, and then at the higher level, it means more autonomy and power to all the people in the teams.”

Showing MCV@gamescom a demo of Sequences, CTO Russell Kay (pictured right)

explained the new feature in more details: “In GameMaker traditionally all the graphics and all the things that we see on screen all come from pixel art. And that’s great, it allowed for so many fantastic games to be made. But it is tricky actually manipulating these things, you need quite skilled people. What we added here is the ability to take graphics and add extra life to them without having to go and change every pixel. You can put together motions and animations and you can actually animate anything. The whole point is it’s easy to use, it’s a tool that artists can use, you don’t have to be very technical to do this. It should be familiar to a lot people, people that we show it to immediately go ‘Oh yeah it’s like Premiere’ or other different tools. It gives a very powerful tool for being able to layer different things on top of each other.”

Mentioning its release window of 2019, Kay continued: “It’s still got quite a way to go.

We want to do a lot of testing with our user

base, get it into the hands of real artists and designers so they can feedback to us before we release it. But we’re very excited about this and I think it’s going to be a shift in terms of what GameMaker can actually do and starts to show the power of the things that we’ve been adding to GamerMaker 2.”

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Jade Raymond was the inaugural recipient our new Vanguard Award at the Develop Awards this year. Jem Alexander chats to her about her plans for EA Motive and why a diverse workforce could lead to a new era of creativity in games

T

his year the long-running Develop Awards presented its inaugral Vanguard Award. The criteria were for someone who has ‘blazed a trail in games development that will inspire others to follow them’. All of which perfectly describes industry veteran Jade Raymond.

Raymond started out making online games during the early days of the internet, she worked at Maxis alongside Will Wright, survived the closure of a $100m start-up and was instrumental in the development of early Assassin’s Creed titles at Ubisoft. Now, she heads up EA’s Motive studio in Montreal, creating a new IP and working on Star Wars games.

An impressive career, albeit one with humble beginnings.

“I realised I wanted to be in video games when I was about twelve,” Raymond tells us. “As a kid you get asked a lot what you want to be when you grow up and I was trying to think of something that mixed math and art. I was playing a bunch of Tekken one summer and then it dawned on me that someone gets to make these games and that would probably be a good mix of maths and art. After that, I set my mind on it.”

From there Raymond focused on programming, studying for a degree in computer science at McGill University. She emerged into a job at Sony Online Entertainment, where she specialised as an online programmer at a time when monitors were still the size of carry-on luggage and modems still needed to sing to each other to connect to the internet. That online expertise led her to Maxis and then to a start-up company which was attempting to create the Metaverse, similar to Ready Player One’s OASIS. “Neal Stephenson came up with the Metaverse, but before him Vernor Vinge came up with it in a short story called True Names,” Raymond says. “He wrote it in the 80s and that was the first description of the Metaverse, it’s pretty cool. Anyway, I went to a start-up that had a dream of building that. It raised $100m during the first dot-com bubble to do that. So that was super exciting... And then we spent all the money and the start-up went under. That part was less fun.”

After this, having to choose between several different opportunities, Raymond packed her bags for Ubisoft.

“I interviewed everywhere after my start-up went under and I ended up going to Ubisoft because that was the most exciting opportunity,” she explains. “That was when we had heard that the PS3 and Xbox 360 were going to come out. Several times the power of the previous consoles. I thought ‘Wow, if I get to go here and work on a new IP, that’s the best opportunity’. At the time it was to create a next-gen version of Prince of Persia, and we ended up making a new IP instead, which became Assassin’s Creed. After shipping the first one, I shipped the second one and then they put me in charge of new IP at the studio. So I started up Watch Dogs and The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. I was overseeing that and the

Assassin’s Creed brand. I was responsible for the pitch process and new IP getting validated within Ubisoft Montreal. That was awesome.”

Raymond then took charge of a new Ubisoft studio in Toronto before finally moving on from the publisher after a decade of working there.

More recently, she’s headed up EA Motive.

“I thought it would be nice to try working somewhere else,” Raymond says. “Learn, expand my horizons and challenge myself. I got this opportunity at EA, building a studio, which is something I love doing. Working on a new IP as well as working on Star Wars, with more than just one studio... It was obviously a great opportunity to stretch myself again.”

DIVERSE CREATIVITY At EA Motive, Raymond has been focused on reinvigorating the creativity of the games industry. After all, where else to fight against the inevitable monotony of triple-A than within the belly of the beast?

“What I really want to build is a different kind of creatively-led studio,” Raymond explains. “One of the things that I feel has happened recently is games have got so big in scope and triple-A development teams have got so big, that some of the creativity of the people making the games has been diminished. Think of how big Assassin’s Creed’s got, with ten different studios working together and thousands of different people. You have to have a lot of process to get all that to come together and keep all of those teams coordinated.

“I think when you have that sort of process, ultimately you lose spontaneity in how people contribute their own ideas. That’s why we came up with the name ‘Motive’. It’s really about tapping into people’s passion and motivation, because I do believe that whenever you get something really special in a game, something that’s truly great, it’s because people are passionate enough to add their special touch and really make the game great. It’s not usually the thing they’re doing that’s in the super-prescribed design doc that adds the special touch. It’s usually the things they’re passionate and nuts about, that they poured their own ideas into.

“To truly have creativity and original ideas, you also need a diverse group of people coming together with a culture that lets people contribute their ideas. Good ideas come from everywhere. The team should be made up of people with different experiences, different backgrounds, different ages... I really think that’s the opportunity for the games industry now. We’re mass market. We’re everywhere. More and more people are playing games from different parts of the world.

I just feel like now that we have this opportunity to create a new IP, it would be a shame to just use the same formulas that we’ve used before.

So those are the two objectives. How do we create new process or new

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culture that’s more creative-led, and more aligned with the philosophy that good ideas come from everywhere, and also how do we build teams that are truly diverse?”

But it turns out, creating a truly diverse development team isn’t an easy thing. It takes a lot of effort to put people with differing opinions and backgrounds together in a building and expect them to instantly work in harmony.

“It’s a lot harder than I expected!” Raymond says with a laugh. “I think there are so many good benefits to having diverse teams and I do truly believe that. But the thing I am realising that’s way harder is that when you get people with different backgrounds who maybe make games in different ways, make games at different publishers. Have different points of view, have a different way that they call things... Two people may be using the same word, but it might mean different things. It’s a lot more work. People have to all come in with an understanding of what they’re going to get out of it in the end. Even the open people who want to be part of a diverse team and see the benefits of it, it does require more effort. For example, maybe I shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about because they’re saying something that doesn’t make sense to me. I need to assume they do know what they’re talking about and take time to question that maybe I don’t have the full picture. Maybe there’s something better about the way they’ve done this. That’s tiring and it’s a different frame of mind – Everyone has to be in that frame of mind.

“I’ve gone to really great lengths... [Design director] Kim Swift has joined us and she has the experience of Portal and Left 4 Dead and working with indies. We have people from Ubisoft who worked in the big productions.

We have people from Warner Bros, we have people from outside the games industry. And what I’ve found is it’s a lot harder to get everyone speaking the same language so we can leverage all the goodness of that. That’s the big learning for me is that ultimately you’ll find out that some people just aren’t up for that effort, because making games is hard enough as it is.”

always tried to be a positive force in the industry. I think there are so many great things about the industry. There have been times in my career where it’s been harder to be in the public eye. I had to deal with some things around launch of the first Assassin’s Creed that were not fun, but ultimately I still try to be visible in a way that can inspire young women getting into the games industry. Showing them that the games industry is great and shining a light on all the positive things because I do strongly believe in more diverse teams. Not just women being part of the team, though we do need more women!

“I want to show young women that they can have good careers in the games industry and shine a light on how great the industry is. All the people with different backgrounds. Artists and programmers and musicians and writers. All the types of talent that you get to work with.

“The other thing that’s important to me is I’ve loved creating original IP because I think it’s an opportunity to create games and brands in the games industry that have meaning. And it’s even more so now. How are we making sure that we are impacting people’s lives and enriching them, rather than just being fun? Fun is great! But how do we have a positive impact?

“I really believe that it’s time for us to be taking that seriously as game developers. And I think a new brand is a really good way to do that, because it’s not only in terms of the context you choose and what the brand is about, but what you choose to reinforce in the game mechanics. I’ve always loved science fiction because I feel like it’s a great highlighter of the human condition. It makes people think about where we’re going, why we do things, what are the things that are fundamentally true about humanity. I think we can and should make some points within gaming and they can be made even more meaningfully because game mechanics reinforce them and the story. So I’m really passionate about that.

“With Assassin’s Creed, we were trying to enrich people’s lives and have a message. Being able to inspire people to think a little more about history and maybe get excited about that and look into different countries and maybe get some enrichment there. There were some messages also about the original assassins and their different beliefs and ‘nothing is true, everything is permitted’. We touched on different ideologies there.

With Watch Dogs we spent some time thinking about that too, but with this new brand I really want to create a positive story about humanity. That’s really important to me.”

“I try to be visible in a way that can inspire young women getting into the industry.”

CREATIVE DIVERSITY Raymond winning the 2018 Develop Awards Vanguard Award essentially meant we see her as a major rolemodel for people in the industry. Not just her amazing experience, but what she stands for as she strives for creative diversity and diverse creativity.

“It’s a huge honour. I was really touched that Develop reached out to me about this,” Raymond tells us. “I’ve

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THE LIVE GAME PUBLISHING EXPERTISE & SERVICES BEHIND RUNESCAPE The $1bn Living Games Franchise

THIRD-PARTY LIVE GAME PUBLISHING Analytics & Data Science

Monetisation Design

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Marketing Strategy

MEET US AT GAMESCOM UKIE UK PAVILLION Hall 4.1 Stand B030G/D049G

jagex.com/partners | partners@jagex.com

Culture of

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What is ‘company culture’ within the games industry? Why do you want one, how do you get one and, perhaps most importantly, how do you make sure it’s the right fit for everyone involved? Jem Alexander investigates

T

Pictured above: Jagex’s studio in Cambridge, UK

he idea of companies having a unique culture isn’t a new one. Gather any group of humans together for eight hours a day and you’re automatically going to see cliques emerge, memes propagate and a variety of social dynamics form.

What is new is the idea that a company’s culture within the games industry can be predestined through social engineering or by tightening requirements for new recruits. The idea being that a harmonious team is a productive team, especially when everyone is working for the same goal.

Perhaps it sounds strange to suggest that employees at a company wouldn’t necessarily be working towards a shared goal. In theory every member of a team is there to fulfill a need of the corporation, but in reality humanity rarely works that way. And individuals, complete with egos and desires and anxieties, will instinctively kick back against the idea of simply being a cog in a machine. There’s a lovely irony in the fact that a better way to get people to work together harmoniously is to highlight how different and unique they are.

So how does a company – whether that’s a publishing house, development studio or anything in between – create a culture that works for its needs?

For starters, what is a good company culture?

“Company culture is a set of basic behaviours and attitudes that every employee should embrace and use as a foundation for interaction with others,” says Martin Hultberg, communications director at Sharkmob, a new studio in Malmö, Sweden. “It’s a social baseline of sorts.”

By that definition, a studio’s culture is a set of societal rules. So why would that differ between studios, when our western world already has a clear guideline for society, thrust on us from the moment we’re born? It’s because any company within the games industry is an entity unto itself, and these “basic behaviours” that Hultberg describes are more akin to an individual’s moral compass, their hopes, dreams and fears, than to societal norms. So when everyone in the company shares these, it will have a greater chance of being successful.

David Lomax, president of HR and operations at Jagex, puts it best by saying that “it’s about the

character and personality of an organisation.

Collectively, who are you, what makes you tick and how do you behave and react as a studio? Culture can be good, bad or – if disparate – you might not have a clear culture at all.”

Lomax goes on to explain that such a thing is never set in stone. If it’s toxic, it’s fixable. If it’s good, it needs to be maintained. “Jagex has a company culture, but it’s evolving,” he says. “Since the appointment of Phil Mansell as CEO in 2017, we have been proactively making steps to facilitate the forging of a more powerful company culture within Jagex, one that gives us a competitive advantage. At the heart of this evolution is our new company vision, mission and values. Key to a great culture is a collective understanding of the vision, our purpose and how each individual can play their part. That change is starting to take effect, it’s tangible – we want to deliver on our vision to be the home of living games and we recognise culture as a key ingredient.”

A strong set of shared values is something we’ll touch on a little later, but it’s not the only option when you’re looking to promote corporate cohesion.

Tamsin O’Luanaigh, nDreams’ talent director, puts importance on keeping employees happy both inside and outside of work in order to maintain their productivity in the office.

“We place a huge amount of time ensuring the team works as a whole, that they have a platform to voice opinions and are actively listened to and, importantly, that they can enjoy themselves when they are here,” O’Luanaigh says.

“We understand what it’s like to be under so much pressure to deliver at all costs and when you have a family, or other things outside of work, that can be hard to reconcile – so we try in our many little ways to help.

“The culture comes from the founders of the studio and the senior team. Patrick [O’Luanaigh, CEO of nDreams] and I had an idea about how we wanted the company to run and how we want to treat people.

We are lucky in that we have a leadership team who shares that vision. You can’t just ‘create’ a culture – it evolves organically over time – but you do have to work hard to retain it, and you have to make sure that

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Pictured above: Bungie’s campus in Bellevue, Washington

when faced with certain challenges you don’t forget what drove you to those decisions in the first place.”

Jagex’s Lomax agrees: “It could be argued that it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Of course, every individual contributes to a company’s culture, but it’s somewhat inevitable that they absorb elements too. That’s what’s exciting about working in a growing company though.

That’s where the evolution of culture really takes shape and it’s the company’s leadership that can help guide and steer those changes to help capture the best of us.

“The benefits are pretty fundamental, if I’m honest.

A good company culture will not only help maintain or improve staff morale, it will help reduce staff turnover – something that every company should be looking to minimise when there’s such a limited talent pool. Having a good company culture can be inspirational for staff, and helps imbue a sense of pride in the games they develop, in the studio they work for, and ultimately in their work life.

It also helps attract great talent; we are growing rapidly as a studio and it’s important that every candidate who walks through our door gets a real sense of who we are.

“In fact, I would go as far to say that building a good company culture is as valuable a strategic focus as the games we develop, it’s all connected to our success.”

MANIFESTO DESTINY Many of the biggest and most successful games studios in the world, such as Blizzard and Bungie, have very specific sets of company values. They also have huge plush office complexes, tremendous perks for employees and, ultimately, enjoy fantastic success.

“Building a good company culture is as valuable a strategic focus as the games we develop.”

These studios, and there are doubtless others like them, follow the Silicon Valley formula of employee attraction and retention. Facebook and Google both have strong, public manifestos outlining each company’s goals and beliefs. They also have huge perks for employees – lure them in with promises of free gourmet food, nap times, slides between floors and keep them there with high salaries.

Except even highly skilled personnel need to run the gauntlet of the ‘culture panel’, to make sure that their “basic behaviours and attitudes” align with the company’s.

Many firms now screen applicants during the interview process to check this. The idea is that if everyone who enters the company is on the same page from day one, this can only benefit the company as a whole.

All of these corporations wear these manifestos on their sleeves, with them easily found on their websites.

Blizzard’s share similarities with many others. Blizzard’s ‘Gameplay First’ value is much like Bungie’s ‘Player Experience First’ promise.

Other examples contain inspiring (or perhaps nauseating to some) values such as ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Humble’, ‘Every Voice Matters’ and ‘Put a Dent in the Universe’. If these appeal to you, perhaps your next gig could be at one of these gaming monoliths.

But this won’t work for every company. In fact, some find the idea of dictating specific values to their employees against the idea of a corporate culture entirely.

“The culture can be encouraged by the company but in the end it is carried and shaped by the people working there,” says Sharkmob’s Hultberg. “So the company must keep an eye on the actual culture and relate to it – never letting it become an ungrounded, intellectual exercise.”

NDreams’ O’Luanaigh firmly believes the people within a company should shape its culture as an ongoing process.

“It’s constantly evolving as the company grows,” she says.

“We set the tone when we started the company, yes, but the staff now plays a huge part in helping steer the ship in the direction they want it to go in too. Why would you want

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Pictured left: Blizzard Entertainment’s headquarters in Irvine, California

to direct people to behave in a certain way? I can’t imagine you would get very positive results from a team that way.”

But just like at Blizzard and Bungie, recruitment is the cornerstone, according to Jagex’s Lomax. Getting the right people in the door in the first place makes everything easier. “The growth of a company’s culture can be steered, harvested even,” he says. “But it takes time and you need to provide the right infrastructure and build the right team.

Recruitment is key, you need to not only find the people with the right skillset, but also people who can contribute positively to your culture to support its ongoing evolution.”

A good sign that employees are interacting harmoniously is when they spend time together outside of work hours, without being paid for it.

“Socialising outside of work hours is important and we certainly see a lot of that at Jagex,” Lomax says. “We use the workplace social media platform for a range of things, and one of them is to allow staff to create their own out-of-hours social groups. As a result, we now have a growing number of clubs at the company, whether that’s the mountaineering club or tabletop gaming group – there’s even rumblings about a comic book club starting in the future!

“None of these have been artificially created by executives, they’ve all started organically and helped foster our company culture. Of course, it’s not always necessary, but there’s no way a company can enforce their staff to socialise after hours – nobody likes ‘forced fun’! That said, we provide facilities and platforms to help that develop organically: we have our own onsite pub for example and more tabletop games than I can count.

“Out-of-hours socialising is a core part of company culture, and I think having that is perhaps indicative that a company is at the very least forming a good culture.”

For others, socialising is less of a core ideal and more of a nice-to-have. Hultberg believes there are more important signs of a healthy work culture.

“If people become friends to the point of socialising outside of work then that is awesome,” he says. “It is however not required, not by a long shot. Key is to have fun at work, feel comfortable and empowered.

“Game development is a creative craft and an artform.

Pride is a natural outcome of a job well done, especially considering the passion and hard work that goes into it.

That doesn’t mean you can’t maintain a sober approach to it though. A good company culture allows for criticism and opposing views too.”

Pride is a common theme among the developers we spoke to. Pride in one’s work, and the outcome of that work, is a noble goal that benefits both the individuals and the teams.

“We want people to feel proud to work at nDreams, because we take pride in all of the staff who work here and the games that we make,” says O’Luanaigh. “We don’t see that as creating a cult, it’s just more about being passionate about what you do, allowing the team to feel a sense of ownership of where they work and, hopefully, working with a great bunch of people who share a common goal.”

Once again, Lomax agrees: “Having pride in where you work helps to create a sense of belonging and that can have a powerful effect on your engagement – another way of looking at it is culture as the shop window of your people.

“A team with pride, sense of belonging and high levels of engagement will have a more positive and impactful culture than those that don’t have those traits. As for feeling privileged, I think that we’re all fortunate to be able to work in such a growing industry as games.”

Pictured below, from top: nDreams’ Tamsin O’Luanaigh, Sharkmob’s Martin Hultberg, and Jagex’s David Lomax

“Out-of-hours socialising is a core part of company culture.”

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Abstraction Games: Call me maybe CEO Ralph Egas tells MCV@gamescom about Abstraction Games’ success story as the studio is on the look for talented engineers EVER heard that story about two guys that started a tech-company in a small shed near their parents house and went on to achieve great success? Great! That was us: Abstraction Games from the Netherlands.

Not just any place in the Netherlands, oh no, we are located close to Eindhoven. The tech-city.

We are a really cool development and codevelopment studio. And not only because we have killer air conditioning over here, but also because our talented cosmopolitan team has been porting many games to many platforms. That means that millions and millions of gamers out there have now played one of “our” games. Sorry if that sounds a little like we’re butting in on other people’s success but we just feel that invested in our projects. Oh, and recently we have also started development on our very own game.

We can’t tell you much about that other than that it’s gonna be, you know, a game.

The reason we are here at Gamescom is, of course, not to tell people how awesome and successful we are (still true though) but because we’re looking to recruit engineering talent. And as we’ve been told that this talent might be visiting Gamescom, we thought it’d be a good idea to show up. So if you’re a passionate and talented engineer, we would really like you to join our team to become... an ‘Abstractionist’.

We’re joking, you don’t have to call yourself that. Just call us ok?

Abstraction Games is an adaptation and co-development studio which has worked on Angry Birds, Hotline Miami 1 & 2, Awesomenauts, Don’t Starve, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon Neon, BloodRayne Betrayal, Duke Nukem Megaton Edition, Verdun, Danganronpa Reloaded, Deadlight: Director’s Cut, Citadel: Forged with Fire, King of Fighters XIV, The Sexy Brutale, Ark: Survival Evolved, and more. You can find the studio in Hall 10.2, Stand C029.

Pictured above: King of Fighters XIV

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Click Entertainment: ‘Connecting with our customers is very important’ Kevin Young, purchasing manager at Click Entertainment, tells MCV@gamescom about the leading worldwide distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

AT Click Entertainment, our experienced, skilled and dedicated staff provide our customers with unrivalled customer service to make sure that we are able to send the right products, at the right time, to the right place, quicker and for less than our competitors.

We carry a huge range of products across all formats and genres. This, coupled with our extensive global distribution network, makes us the perfect partner to trade with.

Connecting with our customers is very important. Our products are ever changing but our levels of service and the relationship we have with our customers remains the same – very strong and always a top priority.

We attend all the key trade shows throughout the year with gamescom being one of the most important to connect face-toface with customers and partners from across the globe. It allows us to judge what they are looking for now and in the coming months, plus, it’s an opportunity for us to share our plans for the peak season and beyond.

We aim to meet companies that have never worked with us before, regardless of their size or geographical location. We work with many businesses large and small from all over the world, so it’s a great opportunity for us to exhibit our company, build new relationships, showcase our ethos and most importantly, see how we can meet the needs of new customers.

Off the back of all the announcements at E3 this year, we expect gamescom to be equally as successful as we get to see updated

gameplay, live demos and let’s hope one or two surprises! The show provides a great opportunity for gamers to get hands-on and gives an insight into what the future holds for the industry across all formats.

Click Entertainment is excited to be back again at one of the biggest trade shows in the calendar and has a big team attending to meet both current and new customers – a distributor who can supply and grow with independent retailers, marketplace sellers and with the largest distributors and retailers across all territories. We welcome anybody to stop by the stand and see what we have to offer, and explore all opportunities. We are located in Hall 2.1, Stand B-050.

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ITALIANS THAT MAKE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD

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13/08/2018 09:47

Neamedia: We design objects that ‘create emotion and impact sales’ François Bernard, CEO at high-end figure manufacturer and merchandise company Neamedia, looks back at the firm’s creation and details its values for MCV@gamescom

NEAMEDIA was established in 2002 and entered the video game and toy figurine market.

Quickly, the company developed a unique expertise by relying on emerging 3D modelling and capture technologies, combined with more traditional sculpting skills.

At the same time, Neamedia developed solid industrial partnerships enabling it to produce series of all sizes in a secure manner.

This experience now enables the company to offer a high-quality creative, industrial and logistical service to leading brands in the entertainment and luxury industries, as part of the launch of their new products.

In collaboration with our customers’ creative and marketing teams operating

in the video game and luxury industries, Neamedia creates, mass-produces and delivers exclusive and custom-made objects that create emotion and impact sales: collectible figurines, collector’s editions, preorder bonuses, lifesize sculptures...

From creative support to serial production, from logistics to quality, our service is comprehensive. We take care of everything while having our clients validate each project’s key stages.

NEAMEDIA’S APPROACH From the early idea to the final object, our in-house studio supports customers throughout the creation phase: graphic research, 3D sculptures, prototypes, packaging... Our sculpture workshop located

in Paris is recognised among our customers for developing exceptional products, creating truly tailor-made window displays or largescale events.

Neamedia has produced more than ten million objects to date. From the unique piece to the several hundred thousand objects series, we offer a wide range of materials and industrial know-how. We now have our own dedicated production plant in China, fully dedicated to video game figurines and merchandising mass production.

From conception to final delivery, each project is supervised by an experienced and passionate team based in Europe and Far East.

Our core value? ‘A 100 per cent tailor-made service’. This is not just a promise. Every project we take on is unique.

FROM ENTERTAINMENT TO LUXURY Our customers are large international groups in the entertainment, retail and luxury industries that demand total compliance with their codes and optimal operational execution.

We are sincerely proud to partner with Nintendo, Bandai Namco, GameStop, Chanel and Dior to create amazing objects.

For the past 15 years, our customers have entrusted us with their brands’ essence and codes, to which we added our object expertise.

Our business is growing rapidly. Our clients invite us to participate in increasingly important and strategic projects. We thank them for their confidence.

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Even after 20 years, we still love to win awards.

Thank you.

We’ve had a great time celebrating Testronic’s win at the Develop Awards in our 20th Anniversary year. We’d like to thank the Develop team and the industry judging panel, as well as our clients and partners for their commitment to quality. It’s our collaboration on your projects that has made this prestigious award possible. And of course, we’d like to acknowledge the hundreds of dedicated and talented Testronic employees worldwide.

Thank you for your efforts and passion!

QA & LOCALISATION

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Exhibitor guide 2018 Vorläufiger VorläufigerHallenplan Hallenplan• Preliminary • Preliminaryhall hallplan plan

Your complete guide to who’s where at this year’s gamescom

Vorläufiger Hallenplan • Preliminary hall plan

entertainment area · entertainment area fanshop arena family & friends business area · business area Freigelände/Eventgelände · outdoor area/event area

entertainment area · entertainment area entertainment area · entertainment area fanshop arena fanshop arena family && friends family friends business area · business area business area · business area Freigelände/Eventgelände · outdoor area/event area Freigelände/Eventgelände · outdoor area/event area

entertainment area · entertainment area fanshop arena

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

COMPANY

family & friends

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

business area · business area

Freigelände/Eventgelände · outdoor area/event area

HALL 1 EA Swiss SARL

1

1

A001

HALL 2 5Ca International B.v.

Abysse Corp Acronis Germany Gmbh Ad2games Gmbh Adia Entertainment Ltd. Advgame / Adtech One Ltd. Ak Tronic Software & Services Gmbh All Esport Ltd. Ams Neue Medien Gmbh Appbi Technology Co.,Ltd. Appcpi

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

D038 D049 C013 A014 E029 D020 A059 D058 D015 C020 C013 A014 C013 A014 C050 C056

Astragon Entertainment Gmbh Astro Gaming Avanquest Deutschland Gmbh Basco Inc. Be Haviour Interactive Inc. Beta Service Gmbh Bhaptics Inc. Bigben Interactive S.a.

Bigpoint Gmbh Cardpay Psp Ltd Cdp Sp. Z O. O. / Klabater CI Games S.a.

Click Entertainment Ltd Combo Strike/ Nevaly Gmbh Creative Distribution Ltd. Reef Entertainment Ltd.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

B069 A060 C013 A014 C040 E049 C013 A014 D051 D040 C013 A014 C030 B051 D053 C013 A014 C051 B050 E029 D020 E014

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COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

E-Concept Sas Eset Deutschland Gmbh Ethoscorp Dwc Llc Exquisite Gaming Limited Ez Games/ Ez Cards Distribution, In Flaregames Gmbh G Data Software Ag G2a.com Spolka Z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnoscia

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

D010 C013 A014 E043 C013 A014 A051 E048 C013 A014 C011

G2A HALL 2 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. C011 19 million customers, 400,000 sellers and over 75,000 digital products, ranging from game keys to subscriptions: this is G2A.COM. With the digital retailer having recently added software like Microsoft products, gaming peripherals and hardware, it’s the place to go to for amazing deals on all things in gaming.

G2A.COM is looking to establish new long-term partnerships at gamescom 2018.

Gaijin Network Ltd. Gameforge 4D Gmbh Gamera Interactive S.r.l.

Gl Entertainment Distributions Limited Gl Events Exhibitions Fuarcilik A.s Half Moon Bay Ltd. Hash Rush Sia Helpshift, Inc Hori (U.k.) Ltd Imagination S.c. Lukasz Kubiak, Bartosz Moskala Indie Garden / Events For Games Ironsource Mobile Ltd Jinx, Inc. Jöllenbeck Gmbh Speedlink Kalypso Media Group Gmbh Keywords Studios Logitech Deutschland Gmbh Marketpoint Gmbh Msm.digital Nbg Edv Handels- Und Verlags Gmbh Nero Ag Nordic Game Supply Gmbh Ogury Ltd Omnyex E Commerce Dmcc Perfect World Europe B.v.

Plantronics B.v.

Pt Megaxus Infotech Qiwi Bank (Jsc) Ram Rom Games, S.l.

Rubber Road Ltd. Saber Interactive Sharefun Network Limited Sky City Y2k Limited Smatrade Gmbh Snakebyte Distribution Gmbh Splash Damage Symantec Deutschland Gmbh Teejay Games Limited Tencent Wegame Total Disc Repair Ltd, T/A Elm Europe Trust Deutschland Gmbh Turtle Beach Uk Unity Technologies Aps Unityads Upltv Co., Ltd. Vh Solutions Oü World International Trading, Llc Xtreme Spa Yoozoo Games Zingfront Technology Co.,Ltd.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

E015 D014 D069 C052 C046 D059 D051a C013 A014 D038 C059 A050 E010 C058 C013 A014 E015 D014 D013 C010 C054 C013 A014 C013 A014 C013 A014 C013 A014 C013 A014 C013 A014 D031 C041 B040 E046 C013 A014 E045 D057 E053 D050 A011 C013 A014 E041 D042 C013 A014 C013 A014 B068 C069 C013 A014 E049 D041 D046 C013 A014 C013 A014 B059 A058 B059 A058 E039 D048 C046 C043 C030 E041

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

1C Publishing Eu S.r.o.

360 Games Acapture Aci Worldwide Adcowa Gmbh Adspree Media Gmbh Adyen N.v.

Amazon Amd International Sales & Service Ltd. Aoc International Europe B.v App Radar Software Gmbh Appcoins Arozzi Europe Ab Asmodee Digital Behle & Partner Gmbh & Co. Kg Bethesda Softworks Zenimax Germany Gmbh Bezant Capcom Entertainment Germany Gmbh Cld Distribution Computec Media Gmbh Cooler Master Europe B.v.

Cosmocover Sarl Cosmocover Sarl Cowana Gmbh Cse Gmbh Cyberlink Europe B.v.

Dcmn Gmbh Denuvo By Irdeto Difuzed Digamore Entertainment Gmbh Dmarket Limited Dotemu Sas Dxracer Distribution Europe Enarxis Dynamic Media Ltd. Epay (Transact Elektronische Zahlungssysteme Gmbh) Epic Games International S.a.r.l.

Factory-C Gmbh Factory-C Gmbh Factory-C Gmbh Factory-C Gmbh Forever Entertainment S.a.

Freaks 4U Gaming Gmbh Frontier Developments Plc Frostkeep Studios Funcom Oslo As G2 Esports Gamei Distribution Co., Limited Gbg Global Brands Group Giants Software Entertainment Gmbh Globaldots Services And Support Gmbh Happy Worker I3d.net B.v.

Ifsa Experts Corp.

Iiyama Deutschland Gmbh Intel Corporation Uk Ltd. Jujubee S.a.

Kingston Technology Europe Co Llp Lagardére Sports Germany Gmbh Latindv, Lda Leogaming Level Up! Interactive Ltda Libredia Entertainment Gmbh Lifexpress/ Medion Ag Lightbulb Crew Sas Making Games, Key Players Medialounge Gmbh Mediarex Enterprises Limited Mmd Monitors & Displays B.v.

Modecom S.a.

Netmarble Us, Inc.

2 2 D029 C028 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 C056 2 2 D041 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 A036 2 2 B029 A020 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 D014 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 D022 2 2 D060 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C029 B020 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 B057 2 2 D048 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 D028 2 2 D039 C030 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C068 2 2 D057 2 2 C058a 2 2 D051a 2 2 A021 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 A043 2 2 C046 2 2 C060 D061 2 2 D010 2 2 D040 2 2 A040 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 C060 D061 2 2 C068 2 2 D060 2 2 D043 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C060 D061 2 2 D059 2 2 C068 2 2 C052 2 2 B049 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 D049 2 2 A045 2 2 A042 2 2 D053 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C068 2 2 D055 2 2 D060 2 2 C060 D061 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 D012 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 D060 2 2 A058 2 2 C068 2 2 D048 2 2 C039 B030 2 2 C058 2 2 B069 A060 2 2 D041a 2 2 B069 A060

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HALL 1

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COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Nvidia Gmbh Overwolf, Ltd Paymentwall, Inc. Paysafe Holdings Uk Limited Pqube Limited Pyramid Posters T/A Pyramid International Qloc S.a.

Rad Game Tools Inc. Raw Fury Ab Razer (Europe) Gmbh Reto-Moto Aps Robot Gentleman Sp. Z O.o.

Scalarr Inc. Serienjunkies.de Gmbh & Co. Kg Sevenone Media Gmbh Shikenso Gmbh Soedesco B.v.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

C039 B030 C068 B011 A030 D060 B031 D029 C028 C044 C068 B069 A060 C039 B030 C060 D061 D045 C039 B030 C039 B030 C054 C060 D061

SOEDESCO HALL 2 LEVEL 2 BOOTH NO. C060 D061 Rotterdam-based publisher Soedesco continues to expand its digital and physical offering across a range of genres and formats, with procedurally-generated horror title Monstrum, film noir horror Dollhouse, Truck Driver to keep Real Farm company in the simulation space, a limited edition of Owlboy in the works and 8-Bit Armies approaching a full release. Meet the team at gamescom!

Stackpath Stillfront Group Ab Ströer Media Brands Gmbh Taurus Europe Gmbh Techland Sp Z O.o.

Tegway Company Limited Tilting Point Media Llc Trion Worlds, Inc. Uol Boacompra Utomik Development Bv Vigamus Media S.r.l Wargaming Europe S.a.s Web Media Publishing Ag Werkmeister & Company Gmbh Whyttest Srl (Limited) Wirecard Technologies Gmbh Wlompos Investments Ltd / Appness Xsolla (Usa) Inc.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

C060 D061 C060 D061 C039 B030 D041a D020 D047 A056 A041 C040 B069 A060 D060 D025 C020 C039 B030 C039 B030 D051 B059 C042 A049

XSOLLA HALL 2 LEVEL 2 BOOTH NO. B051 A050 Xsolla gives the rights tools to developers and publishers to create, monetise, market and publish their game. The team aims at democratising game development, working hand-in-hand with its partners to provide an overall support solution that effectively lowers the barrier to success in our industry. Xsolla will be in Hall 2.2 to meet current and potential partners.

Xsolla (Usa) Inc. Zotac Technology Ltd.

2 2

2 2

B051 A050 B069 A060

HALL 3 4-Real Intermedia Gmbh Adish Co., Ltd. Advergamekorea Seoul Digitech Highschool Aerosoft Gmbh Akpublish Pty Ltd Altagram Gmbh Amata K.k.

3 3 3 3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

A010 D019 A031a B062 D067 A010 D019 A070 C030 D039 A031b

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Amber Studio Srl 3 2 D050 3 2 A031c Ambition Co., Ltd. Amc Romania 3 2 D050 Animation Media Cluster Region Stut 3 2 C020 Apits Lab 3 2 C024 App Annie Europe Limited 3 2 C030 D039 Application Systems Heidelberg Software Gmbh 3 2 C020 Aptitude X - Vehicle Art Studio 3 2 A050 B059 Aquiris Game Studio S.a.

3 2 D071 Arcolabs 3 2 D071 Ares Tech Gmbh 3 2 D029 Argentina Gaming Pavilion 3 2 C071 Artik Games 3 2 C071 Assemble Entertainment Gmbh 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 A070 Australia - Gdaa Ltd Back To The Game 3 2 A050 B059 3 2 C071 Bacus Studios Bail Enemy Jet 3 2 A070 Bcon - Caplab Gmbh 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 A010 D019 Beiten Burkhardt Rechtsanwaltgesellschaft Mbh Below The Game (Btg) 3 2 B073 3 2 A070 Big Ant Studios Pty Ltd Bitpioneers Gmbh 3 2 C024 Blazingsoft 3 2 B073 Blockwise 3 2 B073 Bluestone Soft, Inc. 3 2 B062 D067 Boss Battle Records 3 2 A070 Br Games 3 2 B062 D067 Brazil Games 3 2 D071 Breaking Walls 3 2 A050 B059 C2 Game Studio 3 2 B073 Canvas Games 3 2 D071 Ceim - Canada 3 2 B040 Chengdu Future Tech Co.,Ltd. 3 2 C040 D049 Chengdu Tianheyi Information Technology Co.,Ltd. 3 2 C040 D049 Chile Pavilion 3 2 B071 Coldtower Studio 3 2 C071 Comercial Bekho Team Game Development Y Compañía Limitada 3 2 B071 Comercial Leo Del Sol Sw Limitada 3 2 B071 Compile Heart Co.,Ltd 3 2 A031d Crackproof 3 2 A031e Creative Europe Desk Nrw C/O Film- Und Medienstiftung Nrw 3 2 B030 C039 Creative Victoria 3 2 A070 Cri Middleware 3 2 A031f Dacs Laboratories Gmbh 3 2 A010 D019 Deck13 Interactive Gmbh 3 2 A010 D019 Department Of Commerce Of Hainan Province 3 2 C040 D049 Devdragon 3 2 B062 D067 Devdragon 3 2 B062 D067 Dico Co., Ltd. 3 2 A031h Diseño Web Y Multimedia Limitada 3 2 B071 Dong Guan City Vilsun Electronics Co, Ltd 3 2 C040 D049 Emoji Games Gmbh 3 2 B062 D067 Engage.nrw C/O Mülheim&Business Gmbh 3 2 B030 C039 Epopeia Games 3 2 D071 Epsilon Games 3 2 A050 B059 Error 404 Game Studios S.a.

3 2 C071 European Game Composers 3 2 A010 D019 European Games Group Ag 3 2 A010 D019 Eurovideo Medien Gmbh 3 2 A010 D019 F+F Distribution Gmbh 3 2 A020 B021 Fdg Entertainment Gmbh & Co Kg 3 2 A020 B021 Fellow Traveller Games 3 2 A070 Film- Und Medienstiftung Nrw Gmbh 3 2 B030 C039 Film Victoria 3 2 A070 Funster 3 2 C030 D039 Gads Game Art & Design Studios Colombia Sas 3 2 B073 Game - Verband Der Deutschen Games-Branche E.v.

3 2 A010 D019 Gameaddik Network Inc 3 2 A050 B059 Gamecity: Hamburg / Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft Mbh 3 2 A030 B039

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LEVEL 1

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Game Makers and Game Changers‌ We have a number of opportunities with higher than average pay rates in a progressive, creative environment alongside amazing like minded people.

SENIOR ENGINE PROGRAMMERS Tools and Technology development to bring new games to life, and current games to new platforms SENIOR GAME PROGRAMMERS Mechanics and Systems development for our original IP projects, as well as new features for our co-development work Eindhoven is a modern, thriving, diverse international city and tech centre for The Netherlands.

It’s a cosmopolitan and progressive hub, large enough to house the technical university, a top-tier football team and the longest bar and restaurant street in the country, yet small enough to explore with ease on a bicycle.

Please feel free to send us your information jobs@abstractiongames.com

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Gamecity: Hamburg / Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft Mbh 3 2 B049 3 2 A010 D019 Gameloft Gmbh Gamelogic Spa 3 2 B071 Gameplan Consulting 3 2 D071 Games Capital Berlin 3 2 C030 D039 Games For Families (C/O Planetlan Gmbh) 3 2 A010 D019 Games From Quebec - Ministry Of Economy, Science & Innovation 3 2 A050 B059 Games.nrw E.v.

3 2 B030 C039 Games/Bavaria – Werk1. Bayern Gmbh 3 2 A020 B021 Gamesmarkt Gmbh 3 2 D025 Gamevil Com2us Europe Gmbh 3 2 C030 D039 Gamigo Advertising Gmbh 3 2 A030 B039 Gaming-Aid E.v.

3 2 A010 D019 Gaon 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 C024 Garlic Games Media Gmbh Gently Mad Studios Ug 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 A050 B059 Globalstep Technologies Montreal In Gnifrix 3 2 B062 D067 Gportal Ociris Gmbh 3 2 A020 B021 3 2 B062 D067 Gravity Co., Ltd. Grimbart Tales 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 D040 G-Star 2018 / Korea Association Of Game Industry Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology Co. Ltd. 3 2 C040 D049 Hannoverimpuls Gmbh 3 2 C024 Harmonious Productions 3 2 A070 Headup Games Gmbh & Co Kg 3 2 A010 D019 Hipster Whale 3 2 A070 Hoplon Infotainment 3 2 D071 Humble Bundle Deutschland Gmbh 3 2 C030 D039 Igda Estonia Mtü 3 2 B050 Ingeniería, Diseño Y Tecnología Bitplay Spa 3 2 B071 Innogames Gmbh 3 2 A030 B039 International Game Developers Association (Igda) 3 2 C051 Ipeoples 3 2 B062 D067 Jamong Inc. 3 2 B062 D067 Jandisoft 3 2 B062 D067 Jetro (Japan Pavilion) 3 2 A031 Jiangsu Huanjun Traffic Technology Co.,Ltd. 3 2 C040 D049 Joysticket 3 2 D071 Jsc Games Co., Ltd. 3 2 B062 D067 Kirarito Inc. 3 2 A031i Kokku 3 2 D071 Koolhaus Games Inc. 3 2 B040 Korea Pavilion 3 2 B062 D067 Kotobuki Solution Co., Ltd. 3 2 A031j Kr3m. Media Gmbh 3 2 C020 Lavalabs Moving Images Gmbh & Co.kg 3 2 C020 Loomiarts 3 2 D071 Lucid Dreams 3 2 C071 Lumentech 3 2 D071 Magix Software Gmbh 3 2 C030 D039 Mammossix Co.,Ltd. 3 2 B062 D067 Manifesto Games 3 2 D071 Matchmade 3 2 C030 D039 Media:net Berlinbrandenburg E.v.

3 2 C030 D039 Media:net Berlinbrandenburg E.v.

3 2 D029 Mediengründerzentrum Nrw Mgz Gmbh 3 2 B030 C039 Mediennetzwerk.nrw 3 2 B030 C039 Mfg Medien- Und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg Mbh 3 2 C020 Mighty Kingdom 3 2 A070 Mind Games Studio 3 2 C040 D049 Mirum Studio 3 2 A050 B059 Mod.io 3 2 A070 Mothership Marketing Gmbh 3 2 C030 D039 Myoogame Ltd 3 2 C040 D049 Nano Biztools 3 2 D071 Ncsoft 3 2 B062 D067 Ngelgames Co., Ltd. 3 2 B062 D067 Nordmedia Film 3 2 C024 Octeto Studios Spa 3 2 B071

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Oddonegames Corp.

On3d Studios Panda Arcade Pebblekick Co., Ltd. Per-Aspera Planetlan Gmbh Playa Games Gmbh Playmind Playpark Co., Ltd Playside Studios Prideful Sloth Pty Ltd Procolombia Quantic Beans Quantumfrog Gmbh R1 Consulting Group S.a.

Reality Magiq Inc. Remote Control Productions Gmbh Renxo S.a.

Rgda Romanian Game Developers Association Riot Games Services Gmbh S.a.d. Gmbh Scubalight Studios Serious Games Solutions Sheer Tianyi Technology Llc Shenzhen 7Road Technology Co.,Ltd. Shenzhen Blackstream Interactive Entertainment Co.ltd Shenzhen Blaz Information Technology Co.,Ltd Shenzhen Ipega Electronics Technology Co.,Ltd Shenzhen Ipm Biotechnology Co.,Ltd Shenzhen Mygt Co.,Ltd. Shenzhen Sunwin Intelligent Co.,Ltd Shenzhen Yunsu Information Technology Co.,Ltd Silicon Studio Corporation Sinergia Studios Sistemas Globales S.a.

Sisyfox Gmbh Six Foot Europe Gmbh Softdistribution Gmbh Soleseat (Yangzhou) . Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd Sqs Software Quality Systems Ag Studio Seufz Success Corporation Super Entertainment Tantalus Media Pty Ltd Tapps Games Taylor Wessing Partnerschaftsgesellschaft Mbb Teamspeak Systems Gmbh Terra Localizations The Fourthwave Inc. The Voxel Agents Pty Ltd Timba Games S.a.s.

Tivola Publishing Gmbh Travian Games Gmbh Tritone Ultimerse Unizsoft Co.,Ltd Upjers Gmbh Valve Gmbh Vanguard Co., Ltd. Virgo Game Studios Vrillar Co Ltd. Vrotein Inc. Webcore Games Wicked Witch Software Pty. Ltd. Winlight Co.,Ltd. Zenit Gmbh Zequn Cultural&Media Co., Ltd Zhejiang Wooduan Technology Co.,Ltd Zip-Lab Inc: Z-Software Gmbh

3 2 B062 D067 3 2 B073 3 2 A070 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 C071 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 B049 3 2 A050 B059 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A070 3 2 A070 3 2 B073 3 2 D050 3 2 C024 3 2 C071 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 C071 3 2 D050 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 A020 B021 3 2 C071 3 2 C030 D039 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 A031k 3 2 D071 3 2 C071 3 2 C024 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 C020 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 A030 B039 3 2 C020 3 2 A031l 3 2 A070 3 2 A070 3 2 D071 3 2 A030 B039 3 2 A020 B021 3 2 C071 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A070 3 2 B073 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 A020 B021 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A070 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A010 D019 3 2 B049 3 2 A031m 3 2 D071 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 D071 3 2 A070 3 2 A031n 3 2 B030 C039 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 C040 D049 3 2 B062 D067 3 2 A010 D019

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HALL 2

LEVEL 2

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COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

HALL 4 11 bit studios S.A. 1UP-Conference 2ngaming 505 Games Ltd. 5am Games Activision Blizzard Deutschland GmbH Adshot AESVI Agens Amiqus Limited Anshar Studios S.A. Apocalypse Hunters SA AppTweak Arctic Game Lab ARP Games Artefacts Studio Artifex Mundi S.A. B2EXPAND Badland Games Publishing, S.L Bastion Bazookas NV Belgian Games Bifrost Entertainment Big Games Machine Billy Goat Entertainment Ltd (Northern Ireland area) BIP Media Black Cell OG Black Land Studio Blade Blade Representaciones SL Blindflug Studios AG BoomBit BoomDash Digital Bulwark Studios Business France Capsule Studio CD Projekt S.A. Centounopercento Srl Cherry Pop Games ChilliConnect Cinnoman Games City of Helsinki ClockStone Studio Connection Events Croatian Chamber of Economy Cronos Interactive Croteam (Abest d.o.o.)

Cubic Motion DAE Studio’s DaoPay GmbH Darewise Entertainment Dazzle Rocks Dead Good PR Deep Voodoo Gaming deltaDNA Ltd Derailed Digital Kingdom Sàrl Digital Tales Dissatisfied With Badgers Dodreams doorfortyfour OG Dovetail Games Dutch Games Association EBIM STUDIO Edge Case Games, Ltd. Elektraglide Ltd (T/A Polystream) Enter VR EUGEN SYSTEMS European Gaming League

4 1 D050 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 A002 F008 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 D060 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D050 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 D010 E019 4 1 D050 4 1 E026 4 1 D050 4 1 F010 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 D060 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C017 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 A060 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 D050 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C017 4 1 B012 4 1 C022 4 1 A040 B049 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 D060 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 C019 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 E024 4 1 D060 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 D060 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 A020-B029, A019 4 1 C017 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 F015 4 1 B016 4 1 B030 D049

COMPANY EverdreamSoft Exordium Games d.o.o.

FGL Fire Falcom Firebrand Games Publishing Ltd. Fishing Cactus Focus Home Interactive Focus Multimedia Ltd (Fanatical) Forge Reply SRL Forge Studios Srl Fun Atomic Ltd Game City Vienna Game Habitat Southern Sweden AB Game Industry Conference Game Industry Network Gamepires (Pandora Studio d.o.o.)

GameSessions (Tangentix Ltd) Gaming Malta Foundation Gamious B.V. Gammera Nest SL GENBA Digital Ltd GG Insurance Services God As A Cucumber GOG Sp. z.o.o.

Graphine Software Green Man Gaming Ltd. HanaHana Headbang Club Heavyweight Rex Hi-Rez Studios LTD ICE

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

C010 D019 E040 F045 A020 B029 B050 D059 B030 D049 B050 D059 B020 C029 B030 D049 A010 B019 A010 B019 B030 D049 D030 E039 D010 E019 D050 B060 E040 F045 B030 D049 E030 F039 A020 B029 E010 F019 B030 D049 B030 D049 B050 D059 A040 B049 B050 D059 B030 D049 C010 D019 C017 D060 B030 D049 A010 B019

HI-REZ STUDIOS HALL 4 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. B030 D049 Hi-Rez Studios is an industry leading videogame publisher and developer at the forefront of the free-to-play, games-as-a-service industry. More than 70 million players worldwide have experienced Hi-Rez games across consoles, PC and mobile, with three games (Smite, Paladins, Realm Royale) regularly among the Top Ten free-to-play titles on Steam.

Iceberg Interactive BV ICO Partners Limited Improbable Worlds Limited Indie Games Poland Indiegala s.r.l.

Ink Kit Studio Invader Studios S.r.l. iQu Iron Ward j.d.o.o.

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

A019 B030 D049 B030 D049 D050 A010 B019 C010 D019 A010 B019 A020 B029 E040 F045

ICE/AESVI HALL 4 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. A010 B019 Italian Trade Agency ICE and AESVI, the Italian games trade body, have joined their forces to host an Italian Pavilion at gamescom 2018. The Italian Pavilion is showcasing more than 20 games from 14 different developers, bringing adventure, sports, strategy and horror titles all together under one roof. All formats are catered for including VR and toys-to-life games.

Italic Pig Limited Jagex LTD Koukoi Games Krillbite Studio AS La Poule Noire Lab42 Limited

4 4 4 4 4 4

1 1 1 1 1 1

B030 D049 B030 D049 D060 D060 C017 B030 D049

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HALL 3

LEVEL 2

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HALL 4

LEVEL 1

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COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

JAGEX HALL 4 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. B030 D049 Jagex is introducing Jagex Partners as its third-party publishing initiative, exclusively for live games, here at gamescom. It will offer live game publishing and operational services, specifically access to Jagex’s living games publishing suite, including UA, digital marketing, analytic and audience insight systems, monetisation design, billing systems, customer support and community leadership. Interested? Come and say hi!

LEAF games & software Little Big PR Limited Little Chicken Game Company B.V. Little Green Men (Intercorona d.o.o.)

Local Heroes Worldwide B.V. LocalizeDirect AB Localsoft S.L. LUCA- School Of Arts Lugus Studios BVBA LuLuLu Entertainment Lunar Great Wall Studios Marvelous Europe Limited MeetToMatch Meizi Games Oy MenaPay MICROIDS Milestone Srl Million Victories MixedBag Srl Moonify My.com B.V. Nanobit d.o.o.

Native Prime nDreams Ltd. Network N Ltd NHTV (Breda University) Nifty Productions c/o Simon Fueglister Northern Ireland Screen Northern Softworks Novaquark Novobox France Okomotive GmbH OPM Response Ltd ORCARI Games GmbH Outsider Games Ltd own3d media GmbH OZWE Games Phageborn (Games Revolted j.d.o.o.)

Piñata Punch Pixel Toys Ltd Plastic SCM Codice Software SL Play Finland PlayFab, Inc Playstack Ltd Playstark Games S.L. Plug In Digital Pole To Win International Polnisches Institut Düsseldorf PreviewLabs bvba Qualitas Global Quantum Shake Quantum Soup Studios Ltd (Wales Are Rablo Games RAGE Rain Games Rarebyte OG Reboot (Digitalna Avantura d.o.o.)

Red Koi Box srls

4 1 A010 B019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 D060 4 1 A062 4 1 D020 E029 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 F025 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 C020 4 1 A030 B039 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 C013 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 F012 4 1 D021 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 D060 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 C024 D029 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D050 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 D060 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B050 D059 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 D060 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 E040 F045 4 1 A010 B019

COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Renaissance PR 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D060 Resistance Games Ripstone Ltd. 4 1 B030 D049 Rock Pocket Games 4 1 D060 Rocket Flair Studios Ltd 4 1 B030 D049 Royal Translations and Gameeleon 4 1 B050 D059 Rust0 Games Oy 4 1 D060 Sanuk Games SARL 4 1 B014 Shinypix 4 1 C017 Shiro Games 4 1 B018 Sila Games (Sila Software, S.L.) 4 1 E010 F019 Six to Start 4 1 B030 D049 Skillsearch Limited 4 1 B030 D049 Skinny Bandit AS 4 1 D060 4 1 B050 D059 Slidenjoy Small Island Games 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 Sociable Soccer (Tower Studios Ltd) Solarski Studio GmbH 4 1 C010 D019 Sold Out Sales and Marketing Limite 4 1 B030 D049 1 D010 E019 Southern Sweden Creatives (represented by Invest in Skane) 4 Spain Pavilion - Games from Spain 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 E020 F023 Spain Pavilion - Games from Spain Sphery AG 4 1 C010 D019 Stardust 4 1 C010 D019 Steel Media Ltd 4 1 B030 D049 Storm in a Teacup SRL 4 1 A010 B019 Stray Fawn Studio 4 1 C010 D019 Struckd AG 4 1 C010 D019 Studio Black Flag I Orphan Age 4 1 C017 Studio Waterzooi 4 1 B050 D059 Stupid Stupid Games 4 1 D060 Sunnyside Games SARL 4 1 C010 D019 Sweden Game Arena 4 1 D010 E019 SWISSGAMES 4 1 C010 D019 Tag Games Limited 4 1 B030 D049 Take Off 4 1 B030 D049 Takeoff Creative Agency 4 1 B010 Talespinners Studios Ltd 4 1 B030 D049 TaleWorlds Entertainment 4 1 E050 F059 Tate Multimedia S.A. 4 1 D050 Team Fugl 4 1 D060 Team Jolly Roger 4 1 D060 Team17 Digital Ltd 4 1 B030 D049 Teamto Games 4 1 F013 Teknopilot AS 4 1 D060 Testronic 4 1 D050 That Failed Bank Robbery 4 1 C010 D019

TESTRONIC HALL 4 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. D050 Your game’s global reach has never been more important. So meet with Testronic, one of the biggest names in QA and localisation across PC, console and mobile.

Following the opening of its South East Asia division, Testronic is heading towards 800 staff, based out of offices in the UK, Poland, the US and Bangkok – providing translation services into 37 languages.

The Farm 51 Group SA The TrailerFarm Therion Games Thud Media Toplitz Productions GmbH Tripwire Interactive UK INDUSTRY STAND - UKIE Untold Games srl Verein FH Technikum WIEN Virtual Frontiers Walkabout

4 1 D050 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 A020 B029 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 D060 4 1 D050

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COMPANY

HALL / LEVEL / BOOTH

Warning Up Welsh Government (Wales Area) Whitepot Studios Limited Wired Productions Wirtschaftskammer Österreich Wuthrer Xplored XTR4L1F3 YIG Media S.L. - Playcom Yogscast Zarkonnen BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Germany GmbH Deep Silver a division of Koch Media GmbH Facebook Ireland Limited flashpoint AG Gaya Entertainment GmbH Google UK Ltd. London Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. Microsoft Xbox Microsoft Xbox Nintendo of Europe GmbH Square Enix GmbH THQ Nordic GmbH

HALL 4

LEVEL 2

4 1 F027 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 D030 E039 4 1 C010 D019 4 1 A010 B019 4 1 C011 4 1 E010 F019 4 1 B030 D049 4 1 C010 D019 4 2 B059 A050 4 2 D021 B020 4 2 D011 C010 4 2 A028 B027 4 2 A019 4 2 A021 4 2 B049 A048 4 2 D030 4 2 D040 4 2 B040 4 2 D010 4 2 A041

CREATIVE ASSEMBLY HALL 9 LEVEL 1 BOOTH NO. B011 C010 This gamescom, Creative Assembly is giving European fans a first-play opportunity for its new major historical title, Total War: Three Kingdoms. Back in the UK headquarters, the team behind Alien: Isolation is busy working on a brand-new tactical FPS and is on the lookout for talented developers to join this project. Catch up with Creative Assembly at the Deep Silver stand in Hall 9.

ABSTRACTION HALL 10 LEVEL 2 BOOTH NO. C029 Abstraction Games is an adaptation and co-development studio which has worked on Angry Birds, Hotline Miami 1 & 2, Awesomenauts, Don’t Starve, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Danganronpa Reloaded, King of Fighters XIV, The Sexy Brutale and Ark: Survival Evolved. The studio recently started working on its own game and is on the hunt for talented engineers. You can meet the team in Hall 10.2.

MI5 COMMUNICATIONS Hygge. Lagom. Tur. Sisu.

We speak Nordic and can help you out!

Mi5 Communications is a full-service 360° public relations and marketing boutique agency. We offer local expertise PR, advertising, production, business intelligence, marketing campaigns and events.

We’re at gamescom – get in touch: hello@mi5communications.com // +46.708.257.876

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Italy gets its game on for gamescom 2018 The Italian Pavilion is showcasing more than 20 games from 14 different developers this year.

MCV@gamescom reports THE Italian government’s trade agency, ICE, and the Italian games trade body, AESVI, have joined forces to host an Italian Pavilion at gamescom 2018.

The Italian Pavilion, which is located at Hall 4.1 stand A010/B019 in the trade area, is showcasing more than 20 games from 14 different developers, bringing adventure, sports, strategy and horror titles – amongst others – all together under one roof.

All formats are catered for – console, PC, Mac and mobile – including virtual reality and toys-to-life games.

“We believe that the Italian games industry has a great potential for growth and can compete with the big players all

over the world. It is an innovative sector that combines technology and creativity, with a strong international vocation,” said Maria Ines Aronadio (below left), director of the Made in Italy export promotion department of ICE. “For this reason, in recent years the video games sector has become increasingly important in our programs to promote the ‘Made in Italy’ brand abroad both in terms of the number of initiatives and financial resources committed.”

Thalita Malago (below, right), AESVI’s director general added: “The most striking thing about the Italian Pavilion at gamescom is how varied the games we’re taking over

are. This is illustrative of what’s happening to the games industry within Italy at the moment. Not only are home grown developers taking bold new steps into genres they’ve never attempted before, but some of our leading lights are also making names for themselves in studios around the world.”

The industry has undoubtedly been boosted by the Italian Government’s decision to extend tax benefits for audiovisual works to games back in December 2016. The legislation brings Italy in line with countries such as the UK and France, which have seen notable growth in their game sectors since their respective tax deals came into effect.

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GAMESCOM VOICES MCV provides the industry with a regular platform for its own views in its own words. Please get in touch if you have something you share!

The importance of making a great game – and making sure people know about it Danny Wadeson Freelancer narrative designer and writer

MAKING your first indie title can be a real adventure, in more ways than you think.

Polygon Treehouse’s Röki is an adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore; a dark contemporary fairy tale, underpinned by a deep narrative, satisfying puzzles and daring exploration.

One thing that has been essential to the game’s development is sharing and shouting!

Röki is a game that we’re developing with a lot of transparency, showing our work and process through Twitter and devblogs. Not just to raise the profile of our game – this process helps us quickly test and recognise what resonates most with potential future players, and also provides a regular boost of motivation.

This freedom and intimacy with fans is one of the things that we enjoy most about being indie.

Röki does however have a triple-A heritage.

Polygon Treehouse was formed in 2017 by two ex-Guerrilla Games and PlayStation art directors – Tom Jones and Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou.

That background is crucial to the level of polish already present, but also in tackling design decisions and production pipelines, allowing for iterative development that allows for flexibility and variety in day-to-day tasks.

The Röki team started to grow once the initial concept phase was completed. That’s when I joined as a narrative designer and writer. What I saw in Röki was an opportunity to help craft an innovative new game with a broad appeal and a rich narrative.

The team is completed by some of Tom and Alex’s former triple-A game colleagues,

handling level design, tools, along with another important new arrival – a community manager.

We know the importance of not just making a great adventure game, but also making one people know about – and then, hopefully, care deeply about.

While Röki doesn’t have a firm release date as of yet, the next big (and exciting/terrifying) step for us is to start letting players get their hands on it at shows and conventions. This of course presents its own challenge, given the game is an immersive and narrative heavy experience: choosing a segment suitable for a very short play-session that also hints at what the game has to offer.

Seeing first-hand player reactions to our game world is always a reality check, and can be hugely instructive. Are the characters personalities coming across, even non-verbally?

Are we accidentally blocking player immersion somehow? If I’ve done my job correctly, even with a few minutes of gameplay without context, players should be coming away with a feeling for who our protagonist Tove is, what she’s feeling, and they should already care about retrieving her little brother Lars from Röki’s grasp.

Ultimately, we want players to feel like they’re part of a universe that’s bigger than just this game and they have as good of an adventure playing it as we are having making it.

Danny Salfield Wadeson is a freelance writer and narrative designer, currently working on Röki, Harold Halibut, In Other Waters and his podcast on storytelling called Uncaring Universe.

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a macabre dance with deadly grandmas Sam Loveridge discovers that Activision and FromSoftware’s upcoming samurai game is just as difficult as fans will want it to be NOW usually I don’t condone violence against old people, but when there’s one particular granny that smashes a gong to alert all her friends to your presence, she’s just got to go.

And by go, I mean ‘receive an especially pointy katana to the back of the head.’ But that’s pretty much how I solve all my problems in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – with a very sharp blade.

After seeing Sekiro’s E3 2018 reveal and some behind-the-scenes, hands-off gameplay, I’ve been quietly intrigued about what it’s like to play. This is a game that’s being made by FromSoftware, the devilish minds behind titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. And although it’s being published by Activision, don’t take that to mean that it’s going to be more accessible or easier. Because, trust me, it’s not. This is a FromSoftware game through and through.

And that’s especially true in terms of the combat. It’s not all killing grandmas with gongs, but it’s a part of the layered mechanics on offer.

Half of my time with the game is spent sneaking around in long grass and hugging walls. You’re combining the grapple hook for traversal with wall climbing and hanging. There’s a certain jankiness to the traversal and camera controls that can make things feel a little awkward at times, especially when you’re trying to get in the right spot to do an aerial takedown. But realistically, it’s just a segway to the good stuff: the combat.

When you’re not taking on the bigger foes, you’ll be working your way to them through a scattering of smaller enemies. It’s a tricky balance of gore and silence, not risking anything to keep the flow going. You can smack

surfaces with your sword to split up groups or move an enemy into a better attack position as they investigate, but ideally you want to be a shadow. These guys might look small and easy pickings, but my God they’re nimble and a devil with a blade. Fortunately, you can pull off takedowns of both the aerial and ground varieties. Once you’ve locked onto an enemy and you’re in the right spot, you’ll see a red spot that indicates that you can take them down. It’s a balance of agility and patience, but you’re used to that with FromSoft games, right?

“These guys might look small and easy pickings, but my God they’re nimble and a devil with a blade.”

What’s interesting about Sekiro is that every enemy has a posture meter. For most of the smaller enemies you probably won’t have to worry about that, but for the major threats it’s going to be a huge focus. It sits at the top of the screen and fluctuates according to how you behave in battle. Basically, unless you lower your opponent’s posture, you won’t be able to deal a ton of damage. Blocking, or more specifically parrying, your opponents attacks

at the exact moments the blades collide is key, letting you sneak in your own attacks.

Once you’ve got into the rhythms and flows of parrying, dodging the attacks that flash up with a Japanese symbol of warning, and your own strikes, it becomes a kind of macabre, bloodthirsty dance of swords.

And that’s before you’ve gotten the prosthetics involved. I had three in my arsenal during this particular playthrough: a kind of throwing star option, an axe, and basically a stick that burns with an eternal flame.

Comboing up the fire with your normal katana proved to be utterly amazing, though it reduced a giant troll with a door around his neck – obviously from previous jaunts gone awry – to a blubbering baby who I almost felt sorry for. The axe also came in very handy for dispatching some old fellas with wooden shields. This is not a game that’s kind to the (incredibly powerful and agile) elderly.

What I also love is how fresh this feels after the colour palettes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, which so far have basically been dark and, well, bloody. This isn’t quite the Japanese splendor of Sony’s Ghost of Tsushima, but it’s a world away from what we usually expect from From, and that makes a huge difference to the game’s overall feel.

It’s a world that I much more want to live within, discover its secrets and spend time getting to know – although with foes like this, it might take some time to discover all that Sekiro has to offer. And thankfully with the release date confirmed for March, none of us will have long to wait.

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You’ve been CEO for 20 months – what have you learnt?

Something I always considered previously and which has become even more apparent now as CEO, is that everything we do is connected to people. Vision, creativity, technology, processes…

Those are all of course important, but talented and empowered people make the critical difference. This is why we’re doing so much to invest in people at Jagex and why recruitment is so important to our growth plans. The point about people also ties to our player communities, how we always strive to break down barriers between us, as game makers, and the community, as game players, by connecting the people involved in each.

RuneScape launched back in 2001 and it’s still Jagex’s best known title. Are you in a unique position in the industry?

Yes, for sure. RuneScape is one of the longest standing MMORPGs, and the fact the community is still growing says a lot for the investment our players have made in the universe and the community.

The 17 years of running and evolving the RuneScape franchise has given us a unique understanding of how to successfully operate big online games. RuneScape was one of the first big free-to-play games in western markets and we’ve continued that pioneering spirit with our initiatives in community empowerment, events, esports and livestreaming. We’ve evolved it year-on-year, ultimately turning a live game into a living game.

Live games are big business now, what advice would you give developers looking to get involved in live operations?

Development is only one part of the business – the actual operation of running a successful live game is a complex and specialist challenge for any studio. Over the years we’ve adapted and built bespoke backend services and systems, established all the support services required for a live game – billing, data science and analytics, community management, player lifecycle management, events, marketing and 24/365 customer support.

Running a living game is so much more than maintaining an online presence. It’s our expertise, and now we’re expanding our publishing division and talking to other studios to explore publishing partnerships for their games – so the key advice would be to come and talk to us!

The Final Boss Phil Mansell CEO, Jagex

“We’ve learnt a lot over the years that we can now use to support other developers and bring their live games to market.”

Jagex has raised a lot of money for mental health charities, do you think big companies have a responsibility to give back?

Yes! We have found success through the trust and dedication of our player communities, and this drives us to do our bit and give something back. Jagex’s Charitable Giving initiative has raised more than £225,000 for our three chosen mental health charities in its first year, and our generous RuneScape communities have supported us in achieving this.

What has been one of the hardest parts of your job?

There are so many opportunities in gaming, and the challenge is to pick the right ones at the right time. We’re fortunate to have a strong heritage, funds and flexibility, and while it can be tempting to jump into tons of new things, we are ensuring we stay sensibly ambitious and retain focus on what we can do well.

What can we expect from Jagex over the next 12 months?

Our biggest milestone will be taking both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape to mobile devices – in full and with completely interoperable play between PC and mobile. We’re also progressing our third-party publishing strategy, which is part of our long-term vision to become the home of living games.

We’ve learnt a lot over the years, about nurturing player communities, running robust services at scale, monetisation, customer relationship management, marketing automation, and social media, that we feel we can use to support other developers and bring their live games to market.

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