GG24 SPEAKERS

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Adam Snook

Head of Business Developement

Kwalee

Adam Snook

I have been in the industry for around ten years, starting in tech and live service connectivity for some of the biggest names. Then, moving into IP Licensing with Gamesworkshop for their unique Warhammer IP, then as Game Scouting Manager for Team17 before joining the exciting team at Kwalee to drive Business Development. Looking to grow the portfolio & Kwalee Brand in the PC Console publishing space. Involved with loads of mentoring schemes and grassroots programs in the UK, such as Tranzfuser and Indie showcases, and giving talks at colleges and schools to excite young people about how to get into the video games industry.

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Aina Theede

Illustrator/Concept Artist

Freelance

Aina Theede

Berlin Based Illustrator and Concept Artist, Aina Theede, has been honing her skills in the creation of creepy crawlers and cute critters for the past several years. After a few years working as an in-house artist at Studio Blankhans she embarked on a new journey as a freelance artist and now works on a multitude of projects, from Board- and Video-games to teaching and life drawing demonstrations.

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Alevtina Usmanova

Associate Director of Game Design

Wooga

Alevtina Usmanova

Alevtina Usmanova is a seasoned Game Designer, who is currently heading the Game Design craft in the June's Journey team at Berlin based game developer Wooga. Alevtina joined the industry over 20 years ago and since then worked on games of all sorts of genres, from arcade to casual but also mid-core and MMORPGs. In her role at Wooga she oversees a team of Game Designers and Writers who work on continuously expanding the game experience of millions of daily June's Journey players. Alevtina lives in Berlin and in her spare time is passionate about … of course games of all sorts!

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Alexander McKinney-Raphelt

Head of Avatars

Ready Player Me

Alexander McKinney-Raphelt

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Alexander Krug

Co-Founder and CEO

Softgames

Alexander Krug

Co-Founder and CEO of SOFTGAMES, the leading instant games company. We develop casual games that can be played instantly across platforms. We work closely with major partners such as Meta, Microsoft and Samsung to create the next generation of social games played by billions of people worldwide. SOFTGAMES is a remote-first company with over 100 employees from around the world. Our mission is to create entertaining and long-lasting instant games by fostering proactive and independent teams.

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Alex Williams

Creative Director & Co-fonder

Deep Sky Games

Alex Williams

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Andreas Gruner

Translator

Freelance

Andreas Gruner

Andreas started out in video game localization in 2012. Since then, he’s been working tirelessly to bring horrible puns into the German versions of Star Wars Outlaws, Pentiment, Star Ocean: The Second Story R, V Rising, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, Lamplighters League, and many other games. He enjoys immersing himself in game worlds to find the perfect voice for their Characters.

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Anett Enzmann

Translator

Freelance

Anett Enzmann

Anett has been working as a video game translator since 2011. She was part of the localization teams for numerous franchises, including Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed, Fallout, and Hi-Fi-Rush. From 2014 to 2018, she served as the primary translator for Magic: The Gathering’s web content, translating millions of words from short stories to lore. She believes that you can achieve true mastery only through focus and dedication—and lots of coffee.

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Amanda Förtsch

Funding Manager Games

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Amanda Förtsch

Amanda works as Funding Manager Games for Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the funding institution for the capital region. Her main focus is on funding local projects/events and games. Previously, she has worked on events that connect gaming with other fan cultures and implemented incubators and other support programs in the Hamburg games industry.

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André Buse

DevOps Engineer

Godot Engine

André Buse

While my studies were focused on CS engineering and dev-ops, I was always fascinated by game development. After a fellow university student introduced me to Godot back in 2017, I began exploring this field more. A couple of years ago I finally changed my studies from general computer science to media systems since this is way more aligned with my interests. I now work for the Godot Foundation as a devops engineer and work on small game projects in my free time.

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Antonia Seitz

Games Journalist, Video- and Live-Host

Freelance

Antonia Seitz

Playing point & click adventures with my mom on our living room PC is one of my earliest childhood memories. It sparked the flame for my gaming enthusiasm. I started working at a print magazine for console gaming in 2011 and eventually became a freelance editor, video and livestream host for gaming and events in the industry.

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Attilio Carotenuto

Technical Lead

Unity

Attilio Carotenuto

Attilio is an expert game developer with over 15 years of experience leading teams and creating award-winning titles played by millions of people every day. He’s a Technical Lead at Unity, leading co-development work on significant games such as Fall Guys, Phasmophobia, and Undisputed. He previously worked for Yager on The Cycle: Frontier, King, and EA Playfish and ran his indie studio, Himeki Games.

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Brendan Armstrong

Lead Gameplay Programmer on Helldivers 2

Arrowhead Game Studios

Brendan Armstrong

Never one to take life too seriously, Brendan Armstrong is the self-proclaimed Chief Australian Officer of Arrowhead Game Studios. His long and winding career has seen him develop software for laser eye surgery machines, web applications, art installations, VR streaming systems, and video games—side-quests in event management, DJing, audio engineering, teaching, and leadership training round things out. As a massive fan of the first Helldivers game, he jumped at the opportunity to move to Sweden and work on the sequel as a UI Programmer. Now leading the Gameplay Programming team, he's still not quite sure how he got there, but there's no time for existential musings when democracy calls!

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Carnelian King

Creative Producer

Monstrous Immersive

Carnelian King

If you're seeking thrilling events, look no further than Carnelian. Specializing in the production of immersive experiences and live-action roleplays, they bring your wildest fantasies to life. Imagine becoming the king of faeries for a weekend—they make it possible by renting out castles, boats, and clubs to host elaborate multi-day events where guests arrive in full costume. With Carnelian, you can expect meticulously crafted worlds and captivating narratives that will leave you spellbound.

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Carolin Wendt

Community International Lead

CD PROJEKT RED

Carolin Wendt

Carolin is the Lead of Community International at CD PROJEKT RED and has worked on titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. While she spent most of her 9+ years in the games industry on the studio side, Carolin has also worked as a project manager in a German gaming foundation. She recently published a book about Community Management with CRC Press and has a master's degree in Political Science.

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Christian Huberts

Cultural Scientist

Freelance

Christian Huberts

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Charly Harbord

Head of Business Development

The Powell Group/IndieGameBusiness®

Charly Harbord

Charly Harbord is the Founder and CEO of Outwith Reality an innovative company focussed on preserving cultural heritage through LiDAR and drone scanning sites to create immersive VR experiences. She was previously the Director of Partnerships for Global Game Jam. She founded the Kilted Otter Initiative, a cultural heritage and language research-based game jam. As well as being the Game Designer in Residence for Women in Games, she is also the Women in Games Twitch Manager. She loves branching narrative-driven horror and detective games. She occasionally arts, but only as a hobby. She has presented her research and practice at several international industry and academic conferences including GDC, Devcom and DiGRA. Also having given three keynote speeches, the most prestigious of which was the (United Nations) ONU Mujeres Women in Games Mexico Jam Conference in December.

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Charlotte Cook

Clobal Commercial Director

Team17

Charlotte Cook

Charlotte Cook, Global Commercial Director at Team 17 Digital, has 12+ years of diverse experience in the gaming industry. Her experience spans pioneering tech startups to consultancy ownership and notable roles at SEGA and T2. A Women in Games Ambassador, she's committed to industry advancement and supports Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital as a Gaming Advisory Board member.

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Blagoja "Bane" Milevski

Producer on Merge Mansion

Metacore

Blagoja "Bane" Milevski

Blagoja “Bane” Milevski is a Producer for Merge Mansion at Metacore. With 18 years of experience in the game industry, Bane has worked on all platforms from mobile to console. Bane has extensive experience in multiple genres and styles of games, including June’s Journey, Pearls’ Peril and Catan. During his career, Bane has taken on a wide range of roles such as concept artist, art director, game director, and producer for companies such as Wooga, Nordeus and XOZ.

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Christina Barleben

CEO & Creative Director

Thoughtfish

Christina Barleben

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Andreas Pohl

Head of B2B

Nitrado

Andreas Pohl

Andreas is the Head of B2B at Nitrado, leading talented engineers and dedicated account managers who drive strategic development and operational excellence in Nitrado’s B2B product suite. He pioneers innovative gaming solutions and oversees the integration of Nitrado’s robust server infrastructure with cutting-edge technologies. Andreas has extensive experience in the games industry and specializes in highly scalable systems and cloud computing. He is a thought leader, frequently sharing his insights with global audiences through speaking engagements and teaching opportunities. Andreas is passionate about agile methodologies and the power of cloud computing, enabling game developers to overcome their most pressing challenges. He has leveraged his expertise to drive productivity in over 50 indie and AAA productions.

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David Jiménez

Co-Founder & Creative Director

2Awesome Studio

David Jiménez

David is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of 2Awesome Studio, an independent game development studio specializing in high-quality game development and porting, with a team of over 35 professionals. Since 2014, he has led the studio’s creative vision and overseen the design of games like Dimension Drive, Aeon Drive, AK-xolotl, and Altered Alma, the studio’s latest release. He has also successfully run three Kickstarter campaigns for these games, each achieving progressively greater funding success. David holds a Master’s degree in Telecom Engineering and an M.Sc. in Information and Communication Technologies from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, as well as a Master of Videogame Development from the Open University of Catalonia. Before founding 2Awesome Studio, he spent over 10 years at the European Space Agency, where he led large, multidisciplinary teams across multiple countries on multi-million euro space projects. This experience has been instrumental in honing his leadership and management skills, allowing him to effectively guide his current team to success in the gaming industry.

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Daniel Torbjörnsson

Head of Skills and Growth

Swedish Games Industry

Daniel Torbjörnsson

First entered the games industry as a tester in the late 1990-ies, moved over to business development and ended up as Head of Publishing at PAN Vision, then the largest publisher in the Nordic region. Left the industry in 2014 to work in various roles in education, last appointment was Head of School for Futuregames, one of Sweden’s largest and oldest game developer educators. Joined the Swedish Games Industry early in 2024, leading the work to strengthen the educations and build a sustainable eco-system for competence supply in the industry.

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Dr. Stefan Höltgen

Visiting Professor

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Dr. Stefan Höltgen

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Denis Savosin

Senior Gameplay AI Engineer

ex-PlayStation

Denis Savosin

From helping a small gaming startup raise its seed round to working on AAA franchises, Denis has had a fair share of experiences as a producer, technical designer, and programmer on various projects. A believer that tech and business should go hand in hand, he has build sustainable gameplay tech and bring several games from 0 to 1. Now, as an AI engineer at NeonKoi, a PlayStation studio, he is executing on the vision for next-gen NPC tech for action games.

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Dr. Lars Schmeink

Researcher in Futures Studies

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Dr. Lars Schmeink

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Daniel Lyozov

Head of Business Development & Scouting

CRITICAL REFLEX

Daniel Lyozov

Apart from signing cool games with CRITICAL REFLEX, Daniel is passionate about transparency in the indie publishing space. The Games Ground organizers told Daniel that he had no filter — come to his panel and find out for yourself.

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Christiane Gäb

Director People & Culture

InnoGames

Christiane Gäb

Over the course of Christiane’s career, she has accumulated 30 years of experience in the field of human resources. It all started back in 1994 when she began her journey as an HR support professional. From those early days, she has dedicated herself to mastering the entire spectrum of personnel work. Throughout her career, she held positions as an HR/People & Culture Business Partner at esteemed companies such as Tchibo, Techniker Krankenkasse, and A-Gas. In addition, she took trainings as a Business Coach and Mediator, and for a decade, she successfully operated her own consultancy firm, working with various organizations. Her true passion lies in working with people. She firmly believes that people are the heart and soul of every company. It is because of their commitment and dedication that companies are able to thrive and create. Therefore, her focus lies on creating a company culture and atmosphere where people are treated respectfully, are appreciated and can thus concentrate best on their work.

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Erick Passos

Lead Developer New Products

Photon Engine

Erick Passos

Erick is the Lead Client SDK Developer at Photn, the world's leading multiplayer service provider. He works with teams responsible for Unity and Unreal. Erick was also instrumental in developing the prototype that eventually became the global hit Stumble Guys. He holds a PhD in computer science and has an extensive background as a university professor.

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Emily McGregor

Producer on Helldivers 2

Arrowhead Game Studios

Emily McGregor

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, but now based in Stockholm, Sweden, Emily McGregor is a senior artist/producer with 12 years of experience in the gaming industry and four years in films. With a portfolio of games on platforms ranging from the Nokia N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PSP, Switch, Xbox, PC, and now PlayStation 5, Emily has seen it all. Significant projects include Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess, Age of Empires III, and Helldivers 2. Emily finds great joy in crafting environments with an eye for lighting and a passion for creating hidden stories in the details. She enjoys life drawing, modeling, belly dancing, and making costumes in her spare time.

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Benjamin Feld

Studio Director

Thera Bytes

Benjamin Feld

Passionate about the intersection of culture, media, technology and business, Benjamin brings nearly two decades of leadership and creative expertise to projects that bridge these diverse domains. His journey has been defined by a commitment to meaningful storytelling and building great entertainment products. He has worked as an Executive and Creative Producer on over 20 releases and was the former Director of Publishing at Mixtvision Games (which he co-founded). He is currently acting as Studio Director for the German game developer Thera Bytes.

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Felix Falk

Managing Director

game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche

Felix Falk

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Finn Kortenbrede

Managing director

XRBB

Finn Kortenbrede

Finn, a 31-year-old, grew up in a unique environment as the child of an Irish jazz and folk musician. With early influences from skateboarding culture and a deep passion for electronic music and DJing, Finn’s path has been diverse and vibrant, something he values as it has shaped his strengths and identity. Now, he is keen to make an impact in the XR industry and transform the media landscape. As the managing director of the XRBB he’s right at the spot in doing so.

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Helge Jürgens

Managing Director

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Helge Jürgens

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Hugo Pimentel

Kolibri Games

Hugo Pimentel

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Elisabeth Secker

Managing Director

Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle USK

Elisabeth Secker

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Fawzi Mesmar

Vice President Global Creative

Ubisoft

Fawzi Mesmar

Fawzi Mesmar is an award-winning Game designer, leader, author, and public speaker who has been in the gaming industry for almost two decades in a career that spanned the Middle East, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe, working for companies such as Ubisoft, EA, Activision Blizzard, Gameloft, and Atlus to name a few. He has worked on over 20 titles enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, including entries in Battlefield, Persona, and Others. He is also the author of "Al-Khallab in the Art of Game Design," the first Arabic language textbook on game design.

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Jasmin Karatas

Founder

Jasmin Deniz Karatas | RAW-R

Jasmin Karatas

Jasmin stands for gamification, games, business, and all things in between. She’s on a mission to change the world through play—an idea she truly believes in. Nerds and Creative Minds, she argues, have always fueled innovation. With her passion, knowledge, books, and projects, Jasmin shows that play is hardcore business!

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Jason Della Rocca

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Igor Rudolph

Attorney at law (Associate)

Brehm & v. Moers

Igor Rudolph

After working in large and medium-sized law firms and a listed Berlin start-up, I have now been advising both developers and publishers on all legal issues for more than 5 years. This ranges from founding indie studios and advising them on their first contract negotiations, to large publishing deals, company sales and everything in between.

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Jan Halwe

Business Development Manager

ByteRockers' Games

Jan Halwe

Jan's games industry experience combines 8 years in game publishing (gamigo) as well as 2 years in indie game studio investments/incubation (Global Top Round), whereas he joined Berlin-based indie game dev studio ByteRockers' Gams as a BD Manager earlier this year. His track records show closing a wide array of full-service and regional (co-)publishing deals as a publisher (up to seven digits project investments) and his past 2,5 years have been dedicated to closing such deals on behalf of game dev studios (Indie to AA), having seen many orange to red flags on either side along his career.

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Javier Casado de Amezúa

Hulithut Games

Javier Casado de Amezúa

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Jane Katsubo

Senior Concept Artist (fulltime freelance)

Larian Studios

Jane Katsubo

I am a senior concept artist in the video game industry with 8+ years of experience. For most of them, I worked as a part of Larian Studio (2017-2021 in-house / 2021 - today as a full-time freelancer). I had a fantastic opportunity to work on the studio's most successful project, Baldur's Gate 3, from the first day of pre-production until its release. The projects I worked on full-time Included Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur's Gate 3. As a freelancer, Remnant: from the Ashes, Warhammer: Rogue Trader, and Dungeons and Dragons.

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Emily Scahill

Head of Client Success

Skillsearch

Emily Scahill

As Head of Client Success for games industry talent provider, Skillsearch, she has spent the last years supporting candidates and studios in navigating the turbulent waters of the games industry. Whether that be through 1-to-1 support or group resume workshops for studios. Long-time mental health advocate and ex-HR Manager, Emily is committed supporting people through the myriad of change life and employment throws at junior through to senior talent. She will be asking the burning questions of those finding their way during uncertain times, and exploring the expected and unexpected paths to tomorrow.

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Jenni Wergin

Creative Producer

Headup

Jenni Wergin

Jenni Wergin is the Creative Producer at Headup, advocating for player experience and game vision to help teams create better products. Previously, she worked as a Product Manager for Thunderful Publishing and was involved in releasing award-winning titles like Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales, and Planet of Lana. Before her role in publishing, Jenni worked as a funding manager at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and was the project manager for Womenize! Games and Tech. She has also participated in various game-related juries, including the Indie Arena Booth and the German Computer Game Awards.

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Jiri Kupiainen

Chairperson & Founder

Sustainable Games Alliance

Jiri Kupiainen

23 years in the industry, with experience ranging from indie game developer to Disney VP and founding multiple companies.

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Joscha Neumann

Funding Manager Games

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Joscha Neumann

Joscha is working as Funding Manager Games at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, a funding institution supporting the games industry in the capital region. He works closely with various studios and is responsible for evaluating numerous projects each year. Before his role as funding manager he worked in Esports and at the intersection of theater dedicated to topics concerning the social potential of games.

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Johanna Janiszewski

CEO + Founder

Tiny Crocodile Studios

Johanna Janiszewski

Johanna Janiszewski is the founder and managing director of Tiny Crocodile Studios in Berlin. She and her team develop serious games and game-based learning materials, among other things. In 2018, Tiny Crocodile Studios won the German Computer Game Award for the best children's game with their geometry puzzle game ‘Monkey Swag’. She also works as a freelance game designer and gives workshops on game development. She is the author of the books ‘Unity für Dummies’ and ‘Game Design für Dummies Kids’. Johanna has also been a board member of game – Verband since 2022.

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Julian Viezens

Programmer and Head of Innovation

btf Games

Julian Viezens

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Kai Bodensiek

Attorney at law (Partner)

Brehm & Moers

Kai Bodensiek

Kai Bodensiek is a partner at the Berlin office of Brehm &. v. Moers. He has been advising the German and international games industry since 2005. He focuses on advising on the negotiation and conclusion of license and development agreements, rights clearance, compliance in the area of consumer, data and youth protection as well as corporate financing and support in the context of M&A processes.

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Judith Jaskowski

Research Fellow

modus|zad

Judith Jaskowski

Judith has been active in the gaming industry for years, coordinating major events, working in game studios, and co-founding Wondermore Games Studio, focused on safe children’s games. Currently, as a research fellow at modus|zad, she is responsible for expanding gaming-related projects and fostering collaboration between academia and the gaming sector, emphasizing how games can be positive tools to promote social cohesion and build resilience against extremism.

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Katerina Burbela

Business Development Manager

Homa

Katerina Burbela

Katerina has been working in the gaming industry for more than 8 years, with experience as a BD manager in different sectors (outsourcing, publishing, and development). Originally from Ukraine, Katerina is now in Germany (Berlin). She is also a big believer in soft skills.

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Karolina Wecka

Senior UI Artist

Crytek

Karolina Wecka

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Julianne Becker

Co-Founder

Coconat - a workation Retreat

Julianne Becker

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Christof Wegmann

Founder and CTO

Photon Engine

Christof Wegmann

Christof Wegmann is the founder and CTO of Exit Games, responsible for developing "Photon" — a cutting-edge, real-time multiplayer cross-platform solution. Boasting a clientele of over 900,000 game developers, including industry giants such as Scopely, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Disney, EA/Playdemic, Nintendo, SEGA, and Miniclip, Photon is renowned for its high-performance server and cloud capabilities. This powerful technology facilitates seamless multiplayer gaming across Mobile, PC, Console, Web, VR/AR, and various other popular devices.

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Katja Anclam

Managing Director & Head of Media and Communication

Deutsches Institut für Gutes Leben

Katja Anclam

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Kate Edwards

CEO / CXO & Co-founder

Geogrify / SetJetters

Kate Edwards

Kate Edwards is the CEO and principal consultant of Geogrify, a consultancy which innovated content culturalization, as well as the CXO and Co-Founder of SetJetters, an app focused on connecting tourists to filming locations. She is also the former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association from 2012 to 2017 and the Global Game Jam from 2019 to 2022. In addition to serving in several board and advisory roles, she is a geographer, writer, and corporate strategist. Following 13 years at Microsoft, she has consulted for EA/BioWare, Google, Amazon, Meta, LEGO, EA, Ubisoft, SEGA, and many other companies. As an award-winning 30+ year veteran of the game industry, in 2021 she was included in the Forbes' "50 Over 50" Vision List as one of 50 veteran women selected from a wide variety of industries, and in the same year was inducted into the Women in Games Hall of Fame.

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Laura C. Schmidt

Curator for Games

ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

Laura C. Schmidt

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Kristian Metzger

CEO & Founder

Stratosphere Games

Kristian Metzger

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Kayra Keri Kupcu

Head of Gaming and Co-Founder

PlayInn Publishing

Kayra Keri Kupcu

Kayra Keri Kupcu is an experienced Game Designer and industry veteran with a career that began in 1997 and a passion for storytelling in fantasy fiction, science fiction, comics and mythology. Starting his career as an editor in 2002, he localized fantasy content for Turkish gamers and later joined game companies as Localization Manager, QA Manager, Project Manager and Executive Producer. Currently serving as Head of Gaming and Co-Founder at PlayInn Publishing, Kayra has over 20 years of experience supporting and guiding independent game studios from concept to launch.

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Johanna Pirker

Professor

Graz University of Technology

Johanna Pirker

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Lena Falkenhagen

Professor

University of Fine Arts Essen

Lena Falkenhagen

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Ljubica Garic

Senior Recruiter

8Bit

Ljubica Garic

Ljubica Garic works in 8Bit as a Senior Recruiter. She has six years of experience in the field. Her specializations are Art, Animation, and Game design Roles. She uses her expertise to find the best possible job for the game developers. She hosts 8bit’s podcast “Game Dev Insights”.

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Lucina Hum

Founder

Bislina Speedruns

Lucina Hum

Lucina brings the joy of Speedrunning to the big stage. They have made several appearances on regional and international trade shows and not only produced breathtaking Speedruns but also created interesting panels about the issues of E-Sport in Europe. They recently challenged the perception of Speedrunning in Germany by constructing the biggest Speedrun Charity Event in the World, basically out of nowhere.

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Lucas Maria Blatz

Producer

Deck13

Lucas Maria Blatz

My name is Lucas, and I am a producer at Deck13 Interactive. I joined the studio in the summer of 2022 while developing its latest major release, Atlas Fallen. After Atlas Fallen’s launch, I moved on to oversee a follow-up project as the leading producer, driving most aspects of its development, communication, and team management. As a producer, I love to facilitate the creative potential of interdisciplinary teams while shaping an atmosphere marked by passion, empathy, and a healthy dose of humor.

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Leonie Wolf

Associate Art Director & Technical Animator

Maschinen-Mensch, Freelance stage & live host

Leonie Wolf

Leonie is an experienced Technical Animator with over six years of industry expertise. She has played a key role in the release of over twenty games, bringing her skills in rigging and animation to a wide range of projects. In addition to her game development work, Leonie is a versatile freelancer, serving as a stage host at Germany's most prominent gaming events and in livestreams. She is deeply committed to promoting diversity in the gaming industry, focusing on empowering women and marginalized groups of developers to connect with the field.

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Lukas Galinski

Instinct3

Lukas Galinski

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Malte Behrmann

Professor and Independent Lawyer

Malte Behrmann

Malte Behrmann, 53, is a professor and independent lawyer in Berlin, specializing in creative industries and game development. He has taught at bbw Hochschule Berlin, leading the Master's program in "Management of Creative Industries," and held guest professorships in Cluj, Moscow, and Paris. He has also been a long-time instructor at the Games Academy in Berlin. He co-founded the German Association of Game Developers and served as Secretary General of the European Game Developers Federation, representing developers in the EU for a decade. His research focuses on project financing and funding in the games industry, and he has been involved in multiple EU research projects. He has published six books and numerous articles, and runs Game Farm GmbH, a consultancy for clients in the creative and gaming sectors.

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Marco-Alexander Breit

Sub-department Manager

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Marco-Alexander Breit

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Maike Steinweller

Wooga

Maike Steinweller

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Malina Riedl

Project Lead

Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur

Malina Riedl

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Madeleine Egger

Head of Womenize!

Booster Space

Madeleine Egger

Madeleine Egger leads the Womenize! initiative, which focuses on supporting and connecting women and underrepresented individuals in the games industry. In her role, she advocates for gender diversity and inclusion, organizing events to empower individuals in their careers.

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Maria Maunula

Producer

Supercell

Maria Maunula

Maria Maunula, Senior Game Producer, is at the forefront of fostering growth and change at Supercell through a people-first approach. She infuses teams with snippets and best practices of structure, processes, and enhanced communication.

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Marek Brunner

Head of Rating Procedures

USK

Marek Brunner

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Joni Lappalainen

CEO and co-founder

Dreamloop Games

Joni Lappalainen

Joni Lappalainen is the CEO of Dreamloop Games, and an instrumental contributor to Finland’s gaming and startup scene. Joni serves as the Vice President of the Finnish Game Developers Association, Vice President of Tampere Game Hub, the Chairman of the Board at P6, the co-founder of Tampere Startup Hub, and as a regional coordinator for IGDA Finland. Joni is the Creative Director of Inescapable and has served as a producer for more than 30 game projects. In his spare time, Joni relentlessly builds Finland’s gaming ecosystem by mentoring young game studios and plays video games under the judgmental eyes of his cats.

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Maria Wagner

Founder and Managing Director

Sustainable Games Alliance

Maria Wagner

Has experience in running a refugee camp, was leading games:net BerlinBrandenburg, and founded the non-profit, Games Forest Club.

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Manuela Wieczorek

Self-Employed (PT)

Manuela Wieczorek

Manu's deep passion for video games, especially her love for the "Souls" series, has been a driving force in her career. This passion led her to enter the video games industry right after finishing her master's thesis in 2016. Her devotion for gaming is matched by her professional versatility, as she balances her current role as a project manager with part-time self-employment, including (co-)hosting roles.

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Marie Amigues

CEO

Altagram Group

Marie Amigues

Marie Amigues is the founder and CEO of Altagram Group and Alocai. Altagram is a boutique multilingual game localization and audio production agency with offices in Berlin, Montreal, and Seoul. Founded in 2013, Altagram prides itself on flexibility and teamwork, working with prestigious clients such as Larian, Square Enix, Supercell, Blizzard, and Sega. Under Marie’s leadership, the company embraces LGBTQI+ representation and environmental responsibility, striving for a positive global impact. In 2017, Marie was recognized as one of Germany’s Top 10 Women in Management in gaming, underscoring her role as a leader in the industry. In 2019, Altagram received a €1.7 million EU grant to develop Alocai, an AI-enabled culturalization platform, further showcasing the company’s innovative spirit.

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Marilena Cassetta

Producer

Crytek

Marilena Cassetta

I’m a producer at Crytek and working on Crysis 4 (working title) focussing on gameplay production and driving teams and processes. Previously, I worked at KING Art Games on Iron Harvest + DLCs as an art producer and mainly in charge of character and prop production, along with outsourcing and worked with partners around the globe. I’m passionate about helping teams reach their full potential while creating immersive experiences that can move and impress people.

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Markus Zierhofer

Founder

AudioCreatures

Markus Zierhofer

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Matthes Lindner

EU Acceleration Manager

SpielFabrique

Matthes Lindner

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Mathias Tournier

Co-founder

Sonderland Games

Mathias Tournier

After working for several years as a product manager and producer at several studios and publishers, Mathias co-founded Sonderland games in 2022, a Berlin-based indie games studio creating and publishing games on Steam and mobile.

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Melanie Fussenegger

Project Lead

Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur

Melanie Fussenegger

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Michael Liebe

Outreach Games Europe

Kickstarter

Michael Liebe

Michael Liebe is founder and CEO of Booster Space, the company that started gamesweekberlin or Womenize! Games and Tech and offers consultancy gigs around Twitch, community and fundraising. Through Booster Space, Michael represents Kickstarter as Outreach Games Europe. Educational references include teaching at University of Potsdam, UE Germany, MDH Berlin.

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Megan Zoe Garrett

Indie Publishing Marketing Manager

Lively Studio & Electric Square

Megan Zoe Garrett

From AAA to Indie, Women in Games Ambassador Megan Garrett has held commercial positions at Activision, Sega and Square Enix Collective, where she helped launch award-winning titles such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Powerwash Simulator. She’s now representing the Lively Studio team, part of Keywords in business development, with a target of focusing on developing original indie concepts, co-development and other live services.

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Nandita Wegehaupt

Managing Director

Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur

Nandita Wegehaupt

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Michał Gembicki

PC Publishing Expert, Consulant & Advisor

Ex-CD Projekt, Ex-Klabater and Ex-Chimera

Michał Gembicki

Michal Gembicki has over 18 years of experience in video game distribution, publishing, and production. He worked at CD Projekt, working on the success of titles like Witcher I & II, and later founded Klabater SA, an indie publisher. He worked for Remote Control Productions, a leading developer group in Germany. He has produced over 20 multiplatform indie games and led multiple successful Kickstarter campaigns.

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Moco Raffael Schiller

Co-founder & Creative Director

NEEEU Spaces

Moco Raffael Schiller

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Monika Michalak

Founder & CEO

8Bit

Monika Michalak

Monika is a gamedev recruiter with over 13 years of experience in the industry, all spent operating at an international level. This includes supporting a diverse range of studios, from prominent AAA brands to indie developers, in roles as an in-house recruiter, external advisor, and agency owner. Her career in gamedev began in China and Hong Kong, where she was building teams composed of various nationalities for start up-ups and market- listed studios. For over 8 years now, she has been leading an international recruitment agency 8Bit, working with gamedev studios globally.

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Miles Tost

Level Design Lead

CD PROJEKT RED

Miles Tost

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Nicole Stegmann

UX Designer / Creative Producer

Flying Sheep Studios

Nicole Stegmann

Hey there! I ́m Nici and creative producer / UX designer at Flying Sheep Studios. Years ago I started as an 2D artist, mainly in charge of UI design, but soon realised that I enjoy working as a project manager and increasing the creative potential of my team while ensuring a pleasant work environment. As UX designer my passion lies in creating an immersive experience that is accessible to everyone!

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Martine Spaans

Dutch Games Association

Martine Spaans

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Nina Mackie

Co-Founder & CRO

WeGame2

Nina Mackie

Nina brings over 18 years of experience working in the Advertising and Media Industry. The last 5 years have been spent working with Gaming companies to help them improve products, increase reach and uncover new revenue streams. With a global network of C-Suite decision makers across the gaming ecosystem she helps brands and players connect in an authentic way

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Lorenzo Pilia

Founder

BerlinGameScene

Lorenzo Pilia

Lorenzo Pilia is a curator, host and event producer. He's primarily known as the founder and main organiser of Talk & Play, "an event about games for everyone" taking place since 2013 that contributed to the growth of the independent game scene in Berlin. Lorenzo also helps run Saftladen, Berlin’s first indie game collective and co-working space. He has previously worked as a producer for the indie game studio Maschinen-Mensch and as programme manager for A MAZE. / Berlin festival.

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Nathan Solbrandt

Director of Business Development - EMEA

Xsolla

Nathan Solbrandt

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Onat Hekimoglu

Co-Founder, Director, Composer

Slow Bros

Onat Hekimoglu

Onat is a game maker as well as composer from Cologne, Germany. Driven by curiosity he has been making various award winning interactive projects, ranging from installations over VR experiences to games. 2015 he co-founded the games studio SLOW BROS. and has worked as their director and composer on their recently released debut title Harold Halibut.

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Prof. Malte Behrmann

Professor and independent lawyer

Self Employed

Prof. Malte Behrmann

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Prof. Marion Plank

Game Artist and Educator

IU International University

Prof. Marion Plank

As a game artist with over 12 years of experience, Marion Plank has created art and designs for various successful game titles. She is an expert in pixel art and animation, as well as 2D game graphics and concept art. Continuing her own education and research in the areas of storytelling, aesthetics and AI, Plank began teaching in 2015 as well as creating online tutorials for an audience of thousands of game art students. As an ambassador for "Women in Games" she is a mentor for young female game artists. Since July 2022 she is a full-time professor for game art at IU International University.

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Prof. Stephan Jacob

Professor

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Prof. Stephan Jacob

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Nicolas Betoux

Co-Founder / Game Designer

Morphcat Games

Nicolas Betoux

Nicolas Bétoux is an indie game designer at Morphcat Games. He joined Julius Riecke during a game jam in 2015, and the duo has been collaborating ever since, focusing on creating new games for the NES. Together, they founded Morphcat Games. Nicolas specializes in graphics, assets and level design while Julius handles programming and sound. In 2018, they successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign for the physical and digital release of Micro Mages, a 40-Kilobyte game for the NES. They managed the entire production process and delivered thousands of cartridges. Since then, they have released additional games on itch.io including Böbl and Spacegulls. In 2023, they launched another Kickstarter campaign to support the release of their upcoming multi-game platformer cartridge for the NES, which is now in its final production phase.