Hamburg, February 6, 2025. With Portside Game Assembly, Gamecity Hamburg is welcoming studio heads and directors from successful indie game studios on a conference ship and other extraordinary locations in Hamburg on June 27.

Benjamin Laulan, Co-Founder of Evil Empire, (Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia) will give a keynote on the Triple-i Initiative started by the French studio. At the Triple-i Showcase 2024, over 30 “iii games” were announced in 45 minutes, and 150,000 views were achieved on YouTube alone. Further speaker on board is Philomena Schwab, Founder of Stray Fawn Studio (Dungeon Clawler, The Wandering Village). In addition to tickets for the entire conference, tickets for the networking brunch in the morning and the Games Industry Party in the evening are now available: https://portsideassembly.com/.

Portside Game Assembly celebrates its premiere as B2B-conference for international indie game leaders on June 27. There will be no direct ticket sales for the conference; instead, a curated list of participants will ensure that only studio heads and decision makers attend the conference on board a ship sailing through the port of Hamburg.

At the same time, the Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party are open as networking events for interested contacts from the games industry to bring platform holders, publishers, and game companies into contact with the international conference participants. Studio leads from Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, France, Spain, Canada, the USA, and Germany are already on board for the conference. 

Portside Game Assembly is set to be a platform for decision makers and studio leads to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and face the challenges of the games industry through collaboration. 

As the first announced talk of the conference, Benjamin Laulan (Co-Founder of Evil Empire) will present a keynote on the Triple-i Initiative and how to create your own announcement space and talk directly to your audience when you can’t really relate to other existing showcases. In addition, Philomena Schwab (Founder of Stray Fawn Studio & Publishing) will give a short talk about ways for game idea validation.

The program of the Portside Game Assembly will consist of keynotes, short talks, and roundtables.

Selection of already confirmed participants:

• Evil Empire (Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia) / France
• Stray Fawn Studio (Dungeon Clawler, The Wandering Village) / Switzerland
• The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous I & II) / Spain
• Toukana Interactive (Dorfromantik)/ Germany
• Ghostship Publishing (Deep Rock Galactic) / Denmark
• Landfall Games (Content Warning, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator) / Sweden
• Chasing Carrots (Halls of Torment) / Germany
• Foulball Hangover (Hydroneer) / UK
• Siege Camp (Foxhole) / Canada

 

Further participating studios can be found on the Portside Game Assembly website. https://portsideassembly.com/attendees

Studio heads and decision makers from established indie game studios can register for participation at Portside Game Assembly using the registration form. https://portsideassembly.com/registration 

Ticket sales for Brunch and Party now open

The Networking Brunch starts on June 27, 2025, at 9:30 am at the “Alte Liebe” restaurant in Hamburg's HafenCity. A ticket costs 49 euros plus fees & VAT and the number of tickets is limited. Here, conference participants and brunch guests can exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere and over delicious food.

Tickets for the Networking Brunch are available here: https://psga-networking-brunch.eventbrite.de/?aff=pm

The Games Industry Party in the evening invites guests to the second extraordinary ship location of the day: the MS Stubnitz in HafenCity. Starting at 7 pm, all conference guests can celebrate the evening with Hamburg's vibrant games scene. Tickets are available now for 15 euros plus fees & VAT.

Games Industry Party tickets are available here: https://psga-games-industry-party.eventbrite.de/?aff=pm

If you are interested in the Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party, you can purchase a discounted combined ticket for both events: https://psga-networking-brunch.eventbrite.de/?aff=pm

 For conference participants, there will be an Opening Mixer on the 15th floor of the Astra Tower on the evening of the day before, June 26, 2025, with a view over Hamburg, in the rooms and with the kind support of Bytro Labs. 

Registration for studios and participants

The conference ticket includes access to the Opening Mixer on June 26, as well as the Networking Brunch, the main Conference, and the Games Industry Party on June 27 for a total of 189 euros plus fees & VAT. 

Further information can be found at: https://portsideassembly.com

Photos and graphics for editorial use:

Photo 1: Locations of the portside from top left to bottom right

Graphic 1: Keyart Portside Game Assembly, Gamecity Hamburg

Logo Portside Game Assembly

For further information and questions please contact:

Senta Gohr                                        Anna Jäger

Gamecity Hamburg                            Gamecity Hamburg

PR Manager                                       PR Manager

T +49 40 23 72 435- 74                       +49 40 23 72 435 - 78

senta.gohr@gamecity-hamburg.de   anna.jaeger@gamecity-hamburg.de

About the Portside Game Assembly

Portside Game Assembly is the expert conference for internationally successful indie game studios. The B2B conference connects studio managers and decision makers on a ship cruising through the Hamburg harbor to exchange strategies, get inspired, and make relevant contacts. The conference also includes two evening events and a networking brunch at selected locations. Portside Game Assembly is organized by Gamecity Hamburg as part of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.

About Gamecity Hamburg

Gamecity Hamburg supports, connects and makes the gaming hub Hamburg visible. The aim is to improve the general conditions for companies and founders of the games value chain in the city, to support them in their further development and to anchor Hamburg in the public perception as one of the leading games locations in Germany. Gamecity Hamburg is the contact point for Hamburg's games funding as well as the Games Lift Incubator and also offers programs, events, and services in close cooperation with the games industry to strengthen local developers. At the same time, the exchange of knowledge within the sector and with other industries is promoted. The promotion of young talent, the development of new formats that activate the strong network of games companies in the city, and internationalization are the focus of the location initiative's activities. Gamecity Hamburg is part of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.

About the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft 

Since its foundation in 2010, Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft has seen itself as a central contact point for all players in Hamburg's creative industries from the eleven sub-markets of architecture, visual arts, design, film, literature, music, press, radio, software/games, theatre/dance, and advertising. It supports creative professionals with contemporary services and promotes innovation within the framework of the "Cross-Innovation Hub" project. Since 2017 the industry-specific initiatives Gamecity Hamburg, nextMedia.Hamburg and Design Zentrum are part of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft mbH.