Frankfurt may be cosmopolitan and chic, but observers insist it is free from the ‘short-termism’ of Germany’s famed hipster hotspots
advanced and dynamic industries, both by the local government of Frankfurt, as well as by the regional government of Hessen.” Boasting a list of over 30 members,
Gamearea’s primary achievement to date is helping to establish programmes to promote the industry with public funding. “These programmes are one achievement
of Gamearea’s close work with the governmental institutions. As always, funding could be more and we are working on it,” adds Bimboese, whose work we’ll hear more about later.
WORKING ON IT This year, Develop has previously investigated Hamburg and Berlin. How Frankfurt stacks up when compared to its cousins tells us more about the region’s prospects on the world stage. While the city’s success stories have led
some to proclaim Frankfurt as the next “triple-A Mecca”, Cliffhanger’s Wagner is more measured about this would-be dev ‘hotspot’. “Well, in the first place it isn’t a hotspot –
Top-to-bottom: Deck 13’s Jan Klose, Uniworlds Manuel Scherer, and Frankfurt Centre of Creative Industries’ Manuela Schiffner
30 | OCTOBER 2013
there have not been massive amounts of money pumped into the industry here, as in Berlin. We haven’t seen the quick rise and fall of a certain business model, as with Hamburg’s many browser companies, and we certainly don’t see the tax-exemption based industry growth as in Canada,” says Wagner. “At the same time, while we may be less hip,
we are also less driven by the short-termism that goes with it.” From the slow down of some of Hamburg’s biggest browser companies, such as Bigpoint, perhaps it’s healthy to exercise pragmatism at
The city and region is aware of the
importance of the games industry, and they support us wherever possible.
Pete Walentin, Keen Flare
this point. Survival and adaptation is what its about, says Wagner, and many of his peers tend to agree. “The biggest challenge nowadays is to find
employees,” says Jan Jöckel, MD of Keen Games. “We have so much to do and the business is growing here. We have built a very strong base and now we need developers who would love to join us.” In addition to sourcing talent and the cost of
labour, Michael Liebe of Deutsche Gamestage also feels that the city’s primary draw, its transport network, is presently under threat.
“From outside, what I can observe is that
Frankfurt, as a city, is getting more and more competition in Europe,” he says. “For a long time it was the central communication hub thanks to its massive airport. Air transfer is turning less centralised, so that has an effect on the city.”
Does that mean Frankfurt needs more
support from its local government and trade bodies in order to meet these shifts? “Frankfurt studios do not need the
support,” Keen Flare CEO Pete Walentin argues. “We are strong and stable. We take care of ourselves. The city and region is aware of the importance of the games industry, and they support us wherever possible.” However, Wagner feels Frankfurt does need
more support, especially when it comes to getting games recognised on a even keel with the rest of the arts. “We have been struggling for proper
support for a long time – while the city of Frankfurt has always been very supportive, on a regional and national level games still are way behind the films as a creative industry,” he states. “To me, this damages the potential for
creating games outside the immediate market value – elevating the art of games to something more relevant for society at large beyond being a favourite pastime. I think if politicians did not see it as a kind of
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