How Gaming and eSports fell in Political Conflict in Germany
A position from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs on the non-profit status of e-sports published by GamesMarkt has upset the games industry, politicians and civil society in the last weeks. The debate is not concluded, but the minister rowed back on her initial statement. In the end, a better understanding of the problems in gaming and esports could emerge for all sides.
For a long time, there was silence on the issue of the non-profit status of e-sports discussed at federal level in Germany. At the end of 2022, when commentary on the issue last emerged, the discussion was less concerned with e-sports in particular and more with conflicts over definitions of social organisations between the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens on the one hand and the Liberal Party (FDP) on the other, as GamesMarkt research at the time showed. The parties and ministries actua...