The fourth edition of Pitch Level Up by Gamecity Hamburg took place on February 20 and gave founders, developers, students and other participants the opportunity to show their game pitch in 1:1 sessions to dedicated games market experts. The main goal of the mentoring sessions was to spread knowledge about how to successfully pitch a game to publishers and investors. A talk program targeting different aspects of game pitching complemented the mentoring opportunities. Plus, for the first time ever this Pitch Level Up offered the more than 70 Pitch Level Up visitors a new peer-to-peer area to receive feedback from other devs.

Following games industry experts offered 1:1 sessions for individual pitch feedback:

• Christopher Kellner (Head of Business Development at astragon Entertainment)
• Søren Lass (Business Development Consultant at Tugboat Interactive)
• Nina Müller (VP Publishing & Development Services at Goodgame Studios
• Steffen Rühl (Business Development Consultant, specialized in the Games Industry)
• Michael Schade (CEO & Co-Founder at ROCKFISH Games GmbH)
• Margarete Schneider (Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg and Games Lift Incubator)
• Dennis Schoubye (Head of Gamecity Hamburg, member of the awarding committee for Gamecity Hamburg prototype funding)
• Kristin von der Wense (Publishing Producer Daedalic Entertainment)

But the Pitch Level Up program also had a lot to offer beyond the coveted feedback sessions: The various expert presentations provided further food for thought and imparted knowledge in various aspects of game pitching:

• "THE Sample Pitchdeck - How we pitched Everspace 2" by Michael Schade (CEO & Co-Founder at ROCKFISH Games GmbH)
• "Die Games-Förderung des Bundes – Informationen zu Bedingungen und zur Antragstellung" Simon Ledder, DLR Projektträger
• "PUBLISHERS - an Introduction and overview of the Publisher Market for Games in 2025!" by Søren Lass (Business Development Consultant at Tugboat Interactive)
• "Funding Ahoy! Charting Godcomplex Games’ Course Through Germany’s Grantscape" by Godcomplex Games
• "Realistic Business Cases 101" by André Bernhardt (Business Consultant at Indie Advisor) 
• "Kickstarter x Video Games: A love story - Best practices, trends, and references made in Europe" by Michael Liebe (Outreach Games Europe Lead of Kickstarter)

Those who also wanted to exchange ideas with other aspiring participants could use the a dedicated peer-to-peer area as new addition to the event. Here, participants were able to share their experiences, discuss all the new input they gathered and give each other feedback on their game pitches. A next edition of the Pitch Level Up will return in 2026.

Many thanks go out to our experts, speakers, the participants, and everyone who made this day an unforgettable experience! Click through the photo gallery for more wonderful impressions: