Federal Ministry Dissolves Independent Games Division and Integrates It Into Cross-Departmental Unit
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection is to abolish the independent Games Department. The unit will be integrated into the new department "Cultural and Creative Industries; Games". The game Association has strongly criticised this decision.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) has decided to dissolve the previously independent Games Department aka "Games-Referat" and integrate it into the Department for Cultural and Creative Industries. As a result of the integration, the new department will be called "Cultural and Creative Industries; Games" - in German: "Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft; Games". Although existing projects such as the Games Funding or the German Computer Game Award (DCP) will continue, a lack of independence could make it difficult to act on games projects in the future - especially as funding has been suspended since May 2023 and both the new funding guidelines and a solution for the additional 33 million Euros in the budget of the State Secretary for Culture are still outstanding. Film, music and literature will continue to have their own department in the federal government, but games will no longer.