Gaming Meet-Up

Venue: Bowling Center Baden-Baden

Welcome remarks from hosts SWR and the EBU.

Gaming isn’t just entertainment anymore. It’s where young people socialize, build identity, and form communities. From multiplayer worlds to creator platforms, gaming is shaping how the next generation connects and communicates. In this session, we’ll explore how game design, data, and digital experiences are influencing culture far beyond the screen and why brands, businesses, and institutions can’t afford to ignore it.

KEYNOTE: Press Play: Why every company needs a gaming strategy
Bastian Bergmann, Founder, Technically Entertaining

INTERACTIVE MOMENT - What are you hoping to get out of these two days? An interactive kick-off shaped by the audience’s biggest hopes, questions, and ambitions for gaming and PSM.

This session breaks down the evolving gaming ecosystem, from platforms and audiences to the latest industry trends, and provides an overview of key gaming statistics and market insights from Ampere Analysis, alongside perspectives on how gaming is developing across the EBU and its Members.

Gaming industry overview: Key players, trends, and evolution
Katie Holt, Senior Analyst, Ampere Analysis

Gaming strategy at the EBU
Will Davies, Senior Media Analyst, EBU

ARD gaming strategy
Thomas Dauser, Director of Innovation Management and Digital Transformation, SWR

What drives a media organisation to enter the world of gaming, not just as a platform, but as a passion? This session unpacks the deeper motivations behind that leap, exploring why gaming has become a space public service media organisations are compelled to care about and what that passion unlocks.

How ARTE started with gaming
Adrien Larouzée, Head of Digital Project Management, ARTE
Alexander Knetig, Head of Digital Distribution, ARTE

Gaming isn’t just part of pop culture; it is pop culture. This session is your fast-track into understanding the world of games from the outside in, exploring what public service media can learn from gaming’s influence on creativity, community, and culture.

Dr Rob Gallagher, Lecturer in Digital Media Industries, King’s College London

Gaming is as much about connection as it is about play, from bite-sized hits like Duolingo and Wordle to live communities on Twitch and the  global stage of esports. This session explores how engagement and learning intersect to make games powerful social experiences that keep   players coming back.

Part 1: Small is beautiful
LRT Interactive brain games platform
Ričardas Baltaduonis, Head of Internet Department, LRT

Part 2: Watch. Play. Belong.
Speakers to be announced soon.

In gaming, storytelling isn’t just watched but lived, and brands are becoming part of the narrative. This session explores how immersive worlds and interactive design are reshaping the way brands connect with audiences.

Tom von Simson, Senior Client Manager, GEEIQ
Annabel Dewar, Chief Commercial Officer, The Gang
Hugo Gesbert, Head of Production, Exclusible

Venue: Löwenbräu Restaurant Baden-Baden

In this session, discover how EBU Members are making a mark in the gaming space and turning ambition into impact. From bold ideas to real- world execution, see how they’re shaping the space and why it matters.

Going All-In on the Metaverse: Bringing Yle to Roblox
Wesa Aapro, Metaverse Lead, Yle

Gudarnas Berg: AI, Roblox, and the Public Service Playbook
Calle Gisselsson, AI Project Lead, SVT
Alexandra Gripenhoftner-From, Producer, SVT

Games as a public service – engaging audiences with interactivity
Neil Leyden, Head of RTÉ.ie, RTÉ
Nicky Coghlan, Radio and Podcast Producer, RTÉ Kids 

Valdras Helte: A Story-Driven RPG for Children
Katrine Granholm, Digital Commissioning Editor, DR

Covering games for everyone in Norway
Rune Håkonsen, Project Manager Gaming, NRK

How to run an in-house game development team
Gregg Young, Head of Innovation, VRT

In this focus session, discover how Germany’s public broadcaster is expanding its storytelling universe through games, including SWR’s new  narrative adventure game inspired by its hit television series Babylon Berlin, ARD’s experimental Promptables AI Duel exploring the creative  possibilities of AI-driven gameplay, and the adaptation of a European game project into the Tatort game experience. You will also get an          exclusive look at upcoming gaming initiatives across ARD to reach new   audiences and innovate across platforms.

Babylon Berlin
Mario Waldleitner, Game Producer & Software Engineer, SWR

Promptables – The AI Duel
Lucca Reder, Innovation Manager, SWR X Lab
Paul Redetzky, CEO, Emergo Entertainment
Gregor Schmalzried, Journalist, BR

Great ideas are one thing, making them real is another. This interactive session aims to explore the practical side of gaming, from funding opportunities and co-production models to smart collaboration strategies across public service media, studios, and beyond.

INTERACTIVE SESSION - What’s holding PSM gaming back and what could move it forward? Share your insights and ideas on funding, partnerships, and collaboration across and beyond PSM.