German Games Policy in 2025: Who’s Shaping Support After the Ampel Breakup

Germany’s political reshuffle after the end of the Ampel coalition and the early Bundestag election in February has sent ripples through the country’s games policy pipeline—changing key contacts in federal ministries and reshaping what studios can expect from subsidies, regulation, and industry support.

Who’s reshaping German games policy in 2025

With offices cleared out and portfolios reassigned, the games sector’s “who to talk to” list has been largely rebuilt. The biggest early signal: the industry appears to have struck policy gold with Dorothee Bär, now leading the reworked federal remit for research, technology, and space—while still inheriting the games portfolio from the former economy ministry.

Dorothee Bär (CSU) takes over games funding and strategy

Bär’s ministry now handles games support programs previously under the economics portfolio, including the German Computer Game Award (currently listed at €800,000) and the federal “Games Strategy.” The article also notes that she inherited the games responsibility from Robert Habeck’s economics ministry.

Early moves are central to the current assessment. Bär is credited with securing a return to a dedicated games directorate within the ministry—after a decision in summer 2024 had caused frustration across the industry. She also lifted an application freeze for funding at the beginning of August, and within weeks opened Gamescom 2025 in Cologne.

Bär is further described as a driving force behind the planned concept of esports being organized as a nonprofit.

Carsten Brosda (SPD) keeps Hamburg’s games ecosystem moving

In Hamburg, the article frames the political landscape as stable after the latest Bürgerschaft election, allowing most red-green senators to remain in post. Culture and media senator Carsten Brosda is presented as closely aligned with the creative sector and as head of the city’s Gamecity Hamburg initiative.

He convened a meeting in January to gather feedback from the local industry about pressing problems. The piece also highlights Hamburg’s studio mix—named examples include InnoGames, Bigpoint, Goodgame Studios, Rockfish Games, Fishlabs, alongside numerous indie studios, startups, service providers, esports operators, and agencies.

New Bundestag voice: Joachim Ebmeyer (CDU)

Joachim Ebmeyer joined the Bundestag in May for the Herford constituency. The article characterizes his early weeks as a rapid “lobby crash course,” including visits to Gamescom, the Gamescom Congress, and IEM Cologne—framing him as the CDU/CSU Bundestag faction’s games-facing reporter.

Franziska Giffey (SPD) pushes a “House of Games” in Berlin

Berlin’s games oversight falls under economics senator Franziska Giffey, who is described as responsible for the capital’s online and mobile game industry. The piece lists companies working in the segment, including Ubisoft Berlin, Wooga, Kolibri Games, and Sandbox Interactive.

Giffey’s flagship is the planned “House of Games,” intended as a lighthouse project hosting studios and associations. The article says the financially stretched state has earmarked €4.6 million, with an opening planned for 2026.

Lars Klingbeil (SPD) as finance minister behind tax incentives

As finance minister, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil controls a key resource question for the games sector: tax credits and how quickly they can be implemented. The article stresses that the scheme depends on the finance ministry and on coordination with the Länder.

It also notes that the coalition contract agreements were initially subject to a stated “funding proviso,” leaving the budget picture tight. On the esports side, the article says Klingbeil’s office submitted a draft in September to implement a coalition promise—supporting esports nonprofit structures effective January 1.

Nathanael Liminski and NRW’s steady games support

North Rhine-Westphalia’s head of state chancellery, Nathanael Liminski, is described as a regular presence at major games events and as host of the NRW Games Summit. The article claims NRW is among the most reliable funders among the German states, with funding increases and adjustments.

It says a recent guideline reform closes gaps relative to federal support and is intended to help smaller and mid-sized studios. The piece also credits Liminski with locking in a long-term extension of Gamescom’s contract with the industry association Game e.V., keeping the world’s biggest video game event on the Rhine for years.

Fabian Mehring (Freie Wähler) boosts Bavaria’s industry outreach

Bavaria’s digital minister Fabian Mehring is portrayed as highly active in the sector—seeking contact, launching initiatives, attending events, handing over large checks, and visiting studios. The article also acknowledges criticism in passing, mentioning that at least some taxpayer money may have gone toward projects described as questionable.

Still, it highlights a structural constraint: the Free Voters are junior partners in the cabinet, leaving Mehring dependent on CSU leader Markus Söder’s decisions for responsibilities and budget share.

Karin Prien (CDU) on youth protection and games risks

Karin Prien, now federal minister for family, seniors, women, and youth responsibilities (previously education minister in Schleswig-Holstein), is tied to games policy through youth protection. The article says the industry association Game criticized a draft reform of the youth protection law for “technical shortcomings,” and notes the reform entered into force in 2021.

At Gamescom 2025, Prien reiterated that the sector must meet its responsibilities, citing concerns such as “excessive use up to and including gaming disorder,” exposure to problematic content, loot box-style “cost traps,” and the spread of extremist content.

Markus Söder’s shift from past bans to “fan” messaging

The CSU leader is depicted as having moved from earlier hardline stances—referencing a promise in 2019 to raise Bavarian game funding to “blockbuster level”—to positioning himself as a “fan of the games industry.” The article argues that six years on, Bavaria’s situation is effectively unchanged because local studios are not expected to produce “blockbuster” results under USK-16 rating limitations.

Most recently, the article says Söder announced in May that he wants Bavaria to become Germany’s number one games location and Munich to be developed as the gaming capital. It adds that results are expected in spring 2026, when the German Computer Game Award will be hosted in Munich, and that Bär pushed the relocation through.

Wolfram Weimer (independent) links culture policy to games-style incentives

Wolfram Weimer is described as a culture and media figure brought into the Merz cabinet as a state-minister-level commissioner. The article notes his earlier push for a “digital levy” on US tech firms and says he is expected to implement, for German film, a “tax incentive system” analogous to the games industry’s proposed approach—implying coordination with games minister Bär.

It also states that an €8 million program called Press Start is operating on autopilot, designed to support 130 talents on the path to creating their own games studios. Coordination is said to be handled by the industry association’s Digitale Spielekultur foundation.

Why this shift matters for studios, funding, and regulation

The article frames the core issue as studio pressure: development teams face both “outflow forces” and strong competition, leading studios to shut down and, in many places, to shrink headcount. In response, the political aim is to avoid collateral damage by using subsidies in the “three-digit million euro” range.

Those funds are tied to goals the piece lists explicitly: generating more and better games, enabling new studio creation and business relocations, raising competitiveness, and increasing market share.

On the policy side, the immediate concern for many studios is execution speed—especially around tax incentive models and funding access—while regulation remains a parallel pressure point through youth protection expectations.

What to watch next

• January 1: esports nonprofit implementation referenced as coming into effect at the start of the year.
• Spring 2026: the German Computer Game Award expected to move to Munich as part of Söder’s stated plan.
• August 2025: Games funding application freeze lifted; follow-through on games funding access will be a key early test.
• 2026: opening target for Berlin’s “House of Games,” backed by €4.6 million.
• September: a finance ministry draft is mentioned for implementing coalition promises related to esports nonprofit status.

Additional influential figures named in the games policy network

The article also lists other politicians with ongoing influence over games via state support, event hosting, or direct departmental ties:

• Michael Biel (SPD) — economics state secretary; described as the link to the capital industry and representing Franziska Giffey at industry events.
• Matthias Hauer (CDU) — frequently appears alongside Bär at games-related moments.
• Henriette Reker (independent) — Cologne mayor; previously chair of the Koelnmesse supervisory board; the article notes a runoff election on September 28.
• Hendrik Streeck (CDU) — newly appointed federal commissioner for drugs, with a focus on digital addictions including games.
• Kai Wegner (CDU) — Berlin’s mayor defending the House of Games project despite resistance.
• Hendrik Wüst (CDU) — NRW prime minister described as a political host for Gamescom, with Liminski running daily operations in the state chancellery.