Call for Participation 2023

We are looking for talented indie developers who are passionate about creating innovative and engaging games. If you have a game/prototype that you think deserves to be highlighted on the big stage, we encourage you to apply! Please read our Exhibitor deck for more information

OFFER FOR EXHIBITOR

Booth space
with a high table and 2 stools

TV to display logos or play trailers.

Electricity and internet (Hotel Wi-Fi)

Participation Networking Brunch with free food and drinks on the 360° roof terrace, further contacts can be made and the showcase can be planned while enjoying the fantastic view.

Access to the Business Lounges with free food and drinks, scheduled meetings can be held in one of the provided business lounges with enough space for conversation

Participation Aftershow Party (including 3 free drinks) We will end the evening together. At the party, indie developers and trade visitors will once again have the opportunity to network to reach a collaboration outside the Indie Game Fest.

Possibility to participate in the LetsPlay4Charity event stream.

Possibility to participate in The Art of Games art exhibition.

SUBMIT YOUR GAME

The deadline to submit your game for consideration is March 12th, 2023.

To participate, simply complete the online application form and provide the required information about your game, including a demo or trailer.
Our selection committee will review all submissions and notify selected participants by April 17th, 2023.

Indie Game Fest Impressions

Indie Game Fest 2023 schedule

Indie Game Fest 2023 for Business Representatives

Introducing Indie Game Fest 2023 – the ultimate celebration of independent gaming culture, taking place on June 2nd – 3rd in Cologne! Whether you’re a passionate gamer, an (experienced) professional, or a creative indie developer, this two-day event promises to be an unforgettable experience filled with indie gaming. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of indie games and connect with fellow fans and industry leaders from Germany and Europe.

Offer for Business Representatives

Networking Brunch: on the 360° roof terrace, further contacts can be made and the showcase can be planned while enjoying the fantastic view.

Business Lounges: scheduled meetings can be held in one of the business lounges provided with enough space for conversation.

Game Executives Dinner: due to the unique challenges and problems that executives and founders have to face, we offer them the opportunity to exchange and network with each other.

Aftershow Party: We will end the evening together! At the party, indie developers and trade visitors will once again have the opportunity to network to reach a collaboration outside the Indie Game Fest.

Free Portfolio Review: In 2022, the demand for this offer was so great that all the offered slots were sold out in no time. We are pleased that we were able to inspire the experts to support us in this year’s Portfolio Review:

Nadine Steiner (Art Director at Rivers and Wine Studios)
Christiane Ebrecht (Associate Art Director at Ulisses Spiele)
Julia Goerke-Milde (Concept Artist, Illustrator at Rhenus Vina Musica)

Whether you’re just getting started with the studio or you’re already a little further along, we believe that an unbiased look at your portfolio can’t hurt.

Insight into the Education Landscape: At the Indie Game Fest, pupils can find out more about educational institutions and their training and study programs. Lecturers will be on-site to answer visitors’ in-depth questions about educational opportunities.

Meetings with Content Creators: By working with LetsPlay4Charity and Gaming Aid we are able to invite content creators and offer them the opportunity to conduct activities with their communities.

Game Art You Can Touch: In collaboration with The Art of Games, we illustrate the process from the idea to the finished game as art on canvases, acrylic, and framed art prints to make it “touchable”.

Our location

By car
Arriving via the A3 motorway, take the exit Köln Deutz and change to the A4 towards Aachen. Take the next exit to Köln Deutz again and cross the bridge. Continue straight after the bridge and go through the underpass. After the traffic light, take the first right after the bus stop. Then turn right again onto Kaygasse. You will not miss the tower there! On-site underground parking is available for € 29.00 per day.

By suburban railway (S-Bahn):
Take line 3, 4, 16 or 18 to the stop “Poststrasse”. From there, it takes only 2 minutes on foot to reach the tower.



 

Indie Game Fest 2023 schedule

Indie Game Fest 2023 for Indies

Introducing Indie Game Fest 2023 – the ultimate celebration of independent gaming culture, taking place on June 2nd – 3rd in Cologne! Whether you’re a passionate gamer, an (experienced) professional, or a creative indie developer, this two-day event promises to be an unforgettable experience filled with indie gaming. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of indie games and connect with fellow fans and industry leaders from Germany and Europe.

Offer for Indies

Networking Brunch: on the 360° roof terrace, further contacts can be made and the showcase can be planned while enjoying the fantastic view.

Business Lounges: scheduled meetings can be held in one of the business lounges provided with enough space for conversation.

Game Executives Dinner: due to the unique challenges and problems that executives and founders have to face, we offer them the opportunity to exchange and network with each other.

Aftershow Party: We will end the evening together! At the party, indie developers and trade visitors will once again have the opportunity to network to reach a collaboration outside the Indie Game Fest.

Free Portfolio Review: In 2022, the demand for this offer was so great that all the offered slots were sold out in no time. We are pleased that we were able to inspire the experts to support us in this year’s Portfolio Review:

Nadine Steiner (Art Director at Rivers and Wine Studios)
Christiane Ebrecht (Associate Art Director at Ulisses Spiele)
Julia Goerke-Milde (Concept Artist, Illustrator at Rhenus Vina Musica)

Whether you’re just getting started with the studio or you’re already a little further along, we believe that an unbiased look at your portfolio can’t hurt.

Insight into the Education Landscape: At the Indie Game Fest, pupils can find out more about educational institutions and their training and study programs. Lecturers will be on-site to answer visitors’ in-depth questions about educational opportunities.

Meetings with Content Creators: By working with LetsPlay4Charity and Gaming Aid we are able to invite content creators and offer them the opportunity to conduct activities with their communities.

Game Art You Can Touch: In collaboration with The Art of Games, we illustrate the process from the idea to the finished game as art on canvases, acrylic, and framed art prints to make it “touchable”.

Our location

By car
Arriving via the A3 motorway, take the exit Köln Deutz and change to the A4 towards Aachen. Take the next exit to Köln Deutz again and cross the bridge. Continue straight after the bridge and go through the underpass. After the traffic light, take the first right after the bus stop. Then turn right again onto Kaygasse. You will not miss the tower there! On-site underground parking is available for € 29.00 per day.

By suburban railway (S-Bahn):
Take line 3, 4, 16 or 18 to the stop “Poststrasse”. From there, it takes only 2 minutes on foot to reach the tower.



 

Indie Game Fest 2023 schedule

Indie Game Fest 2023 for Visitors

Introducing Indie Game Fest 2023 – the ultimate celebration of independent gaming culture, taking place on June 2nd – 3rd in Cologne! Whether you’re a passionate gamer, an (experienced) professional, or a creative indie developer, this two-day event promises to be an unforgettable experience filled with indie gaming. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of indie games and connect with fellow fans and industry leaders from Germany and Europe.

Offer for our visitors

Free Portfolio Review: In 2022, the demand for this offer was so great that all the offered slots were sold out in no time. We are pleased that we were able to inspire the experts to support us in this year’s Portfolio Review:

Nadine Steiner (Art Director at Rivers and Wine Studios)
Christiane Ebrecht (Associate Art Director at Ulisses Spiele)
Julia Goerke-Milde (Concept Artist, Illustrator at Rhenus Vina Musica)

Whether you’re just getting started with the studio or you’re already a little further along, we believe that an unbiased look at your portfolio can’t hurt.

Insight into the Education Landscape: At the Indie Game Fest, pupils can find out more about educational institutions and their training and study programs. Lecturers will be on-site to answer visitors’ in-depth questions about educational opportunities.

Meetings with Content Creators: By working with LetsPlay4Charity and Gaming Aid we are able to invite content creators and offer them the opportunity to conduct activities with their communities.

Game Art You Can Touch: In collaboration with The Art of Games, we illustrate the process from the idea to the finished game as art on canvases, acrylic, and framed art prints to make it “touchable”.

Our location

By car
Arriving via the A3 motorway, take the exit Köln Deutz and change to the A4 towards Aachen. Take the next exit to Köln Deutz again and cross the bridge. Continue straight after the bridge and go through the underpass. After the traffic light, take the first right after the bus stop. Then turn right again onto Kaygasse. You will not miss the tower there! On-site underground parking is available for € 29.00 per day.

By suburban railway (S-Bahn):
Take line 3, 4, 16 or 18 to the stop “Poststrasse”. From there, it takes only 2 minutes on foot to reach the tower.



 

Indie Game Fest 2023 schedule

Meet your favorite content creator at the Indie Game Fest!

MrsTahlly

Mrs Tahlly has been passionate about indie games for a long time and has made it her mission to bring these great gems to the attention of others. In her streams and videos, she looks for the little peculiarities, loving details, unusual mechanics and challenging stories. In a relaxed atmosphere she plays, translates and spares no effort to take others along into these worlds.

Mrs Tahlly hat schon lange ihr Herz an Indiegames verloren und hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, anderen diese großartigen Perlen nahezubringen. In ihren Streams und Videos sucht sie nach den kleinen Besonderheiten, nach liebevollen Details, ungewöhnlichen Mechaniken und anspruchsvollen Geschichten. In entspannter Atmosphäre spielt, übersetzt und liest sie diese Spiele vor und scheut keine Mühen, andere in diese Welten mitzunehmen.

OnkelJo

Pixel blood flows in the veins of Joachim Hesse. You may know him from PC Action, spieletipps, Gronkh TV or as "Uncle Jo" from his podcast Start & Select. Meanwhile, he streams even old and new games on Twitch

In den Adern von Joachim Hesse fließt Pixelblut. Sie kennen ihn vielleicht von PC Action, spieletipps, Gronkh TV oder als „Onkel Jo“ aus seinem Podcast Start & Select. Mittlerweile streamt er sogar alte und neue Spiele auf Twitch

Vleafnin

Vleafnin, also known as Vivi is on Twitch since the end of 2017. She likes to stream games with deep storylines and beautiful worlds where you can easily get lost in.
Besides streaming, she loves to cuddle with her two bunnies and craft cosplays.

Vleafnin oder auch Vivi genannt, streamt seit Ende 2017 am liebsten Spiele mit tiefgründiger Story und wunderschönen Welten, in denen man sich leicht verlieren kann.
Neben dem Streamen liebt sie es mit ihren beiden Kaninchen zu kuscheln und Cosplays zu basteln.

Moerp

Moerp has been a gamer with heart and soul since 1989. School and university couldn't stop him from spending a lot of time playing role-playing and strategy games. But he also enjoys other genres, which you can follow on his channels on Youtube and Twitch. In addition, he writes as a freelance author for Gamestar" from time to time.

"Moerp ist Gamer mit Leib und Seele seit 1989. Auch Schule und Studium konnten ihn nicht davon abbringen viel Zeit in Rollen- und Strategiespielen zu verbringen. Aber auch andere Genres haben es ihm angetan, die man auf seinen Kanälen auf Youtube und Twitch verfolgen kann. Dazu schreibt er hin und wieder als freier Autor für die Gamestar"

LaraStreams

Lara is actually a full-time voice actor, yet now she pursues her passion for indie games together with Skotschir!
She loves playing indies on Switch. Her favorite games include Night In The Woods, Celeste, Deaths Door, Coffee Talk and ROM 2064. Although she loves playing video games, she's absolutely terrible at it, which she demonstrates regularly on her Twitch.

Lara ist eigentlich hauptberuflich Synchronsprecherin, aber nun lebt sie ihre Leidenschaft für Indiegames zusammen mit Skotschir aus! Sie spielt ihre Indies am liebsten auf der Switch und zu ihren Lieblingsgames gehören Night In The Woods, Celeste, Deaths Door, Coffee Talk und ROM 2064. Obwohl sie gerne Videospiele spielt, ist sie absolut grottig darin, das beweist sie regelmäßig auch auf ihrem Twitch.

Shigeako

"Nina aka Shigeako is a cosplayer since 2007, part of Schlömpels Reallife since 2014 and Twitch streamer since 2020. Among other things, she works as a freelancer in community and campaign management in the cosplay as well as gaming scene.
Besides the Zelda series and J-RPGs, indie games are especially close to her heart and through her format AB INDIE ECKE she additionally tries to bring indie games closer to her Twitch community on a regular basis."

Nina aka Shigeako ist seit 2007 Cosplayerin, seit 2014 Teil der Schlömpels Reallife und seit 2020 Twitch Streamerin. Sie arbeitet u.a. als Freelancerin im Bereich Community Management und Campaign Management in der Cosplay- und Gamingszene.
Neben der Zelda-Reihe und J-RPGs liegen ihr Indiegames besonders stark am Herzen und durch ihr Format AB INDIE ECKE versucht sie zusätzlich, ihrer Twitch Community regelmäßig Indiegames näher zu bringen.

TazOnAir

TazOnAir is Variety Streamer on Twitch, showcasing everything from indie games to AAA titles. But in between, he also shows IRL streams and in rare moments of legendary - Badestreams.

TazOnAir ist Variety Streamer auf Twitch und präsentiert alles, von Indie-Spielen bis hin zu AAA-Titeln. Zwischendurch zeigt er aber auch IRL-Streams und in seltenen Legendenmomenten Badestreams.

TheFuchsia

Manu aka TheFuchsia, Variety Streamer with a special love for Soulsborn Games.
Challenges are her thing! But since the interaction with the community is the focus, one or another abyss can be her downfall.
Often goofy and always clumsy on the road. But with a lot of love, minimal rage and a touch too little thinking before she says something.

Manu aka TheFuchsia, Variety Streamerin mit einer ganz besonderen Liebe zu den Soulsborn Games - Herausforderungen sind genau ihr Ding! Doch da die Interaktion mit der Community im Fokus steht wird ihr der ein oder anderen Abgrund gerne mal zum Verhängnis. Oftmals verpeilt und immer tollpatschig unterwegs. Aber mit ganz viel Liebe, minimalem Rage und einem Hauch zu wenig Nachdenken, bevor sie etwas sagt.

D1rtyD3vil

TBA

Indie Game Fest Sweepstakes

We would like to celebrate the Indie Game Fest with you.
Thanks to our partner Wasserturm Hotel Cologne we can present you a lot of great indies and a raffle.

The prizes are:

1x overnight stay for 2 persons in a suite at the Wasserturm Hotel Cologne
(Bookable also during gamescom)

Digitale Indie Game Fest

The Digital Exhibition can be found at this link:
https://bit.ly/3o6lOMz 

We hope you enjoy exploring the virtual world of Indie Game Fest!

Teilnahmebedingungen

  1. Das Indie Game Fest Gewinnspiel ist ein Gewinnspiel der INDIE Hub UG.
    Zu gewinnen gibt es drei Gutscheine für den Zugang zu Magenta Gaming für 3 Monate und eine Übernachtung für 2 Personen in einer Suite im Wasserturm Hotel Köln.

  2. Die Teilnahme am Gewinnspiel ist kostenlos.

  3. Teilnehmerin oder Teilnehmer kann jede natürliche Person sein, die das 18. Lebensjahr vollendet hat. Ausgenommen sind Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter der INDIE Hub UG, Petricore Systems, Wasserturm Hotel Köln und Magenta Gaming sowie deren Familienmitglieder und Haushaltsangehörige. Die INDIE Hub UG behält sich vor, aus wichtigem Grund die Teilnahme von einzelnen Personen von vornherein abzulehnen oder sie später vom Gewinnspiel auszuschließen und auch den Gewinn zurückzufordern. Ein wichtiger Grund liegt zum Beispiel in Fällen von Missbrauch oder Betrug (auch schon bei Versuchen) oder sonstigen Verstößen gegen die Teilnahmebedingungen vor.

  4. Das Gewinnspiel findet im Zeitraum vom 02. Dezember 2021 bis zum 19.Dezember 2021 statt.

  5. Die Teilnahme am Gewinnspiel erfolgt durch die richtige Beantwortung der Preisfrage und Einsendung einer E-Mail an die E-Mail-Adresse Gewinnspiel@Indiegamefest.de

  6. Mit der Einsendung einer E-Mail an die E-Mail-Adresse Gewinnspiel@Indiegamefest.de stimmen die Teilnehmer der Nutzung ihrer/seiner personenbezogenen Daten für die Zwecke der Durchführung des Gewinnspiels zu.

  7. Eine vollständige oder teilweise Barauszahlung des Gewinns wird nicht vorgenommen.

  8. Datenschutzinformationen: Der Veranstalter verarbeitet personenbezogene Daten nur für Zwecke dieses Gewinnspiels auf Basis der Einwilligung jeder Teilnehmerin und jedes Teilnehmers gemäß Art. 6 Absatz 1a EU-DSGVO. Weitere Datenschutzinformationen können jederzeit unter https://indiehub.de/privacy-policy eingesehen werden.

  9. Eine über die Zwecke dieses Gewinnspiels hinausgehende Nutzung personenbezogener Daten wird der Veranstalter nur dann vornehmen, wenn die Teilnehmerin/der Teilnehmer dazu eine separate schriftliche Zustimmungserklärung abgegeben hat. Die Abgabe einer solchen Zustimmungserklärung für eine weitergehende Nutzung ihrer/seiner personenbezogenen Daten ist freiwillig und keine Voraussetzung für die Teilnahme am Gewinnspiel.

  10. Der Rechtsweg ist ausgeschlossen.

Conditions of participation

The Indie Game Fest competition is a competition of INDIE Hub UG.
You can win three vouchers for access to Magenta Gaming for 3 months and an overnight stay for 2 people in a suite at the Wasserturm Hotel Cologne.

Participation in the competition is free of charge.

Participants can be any natural person over the age of 18. Excluded are employees of INDIE Hub UG, Petricore Systems, Wasserturm Hotel Köln and Magenta Gaming as well as their family members and household members. INDIE Hub UG reserves the right to refuse the participation of individual persons from the outset for good cause or to exclude them from the competition at a later date and also to reclaim the prize. An important reason is, for example, in cases of abuse or fraud (even with attempts) or other violations of the conditions of participation.

The competition will take place in the period from December 02, 2021 to December 19, 2021.

Participation in the competition takes place by correctly answering the prize question and sending an e-mail to the e-mail address Gewinnspiel@Indiegamefest.de.

By sending an e-mail to the e-mail address Gewinnspiel@Indiegamefest.de, participants agree to the use of his/her personal data for the purposes of conducting the competition.

No full or partial cash payment of the prize will be made.

Data protection information: The organizer processes personal data only for the purposes of this sweepstakes based on the consent of each participant in accordance with Art. 6(1a) EU-DSGVO. Further data protection information can be viewed at any time at https://indiehub.de/privacy-policy.

The organizer will only use personal data beyond the purposes of this competition if the participant has submitted a separate written declaration of consent. The submission of such a declaration of consent for further use of his/her personal data is voluntary and not a prerequisite for participation in the competition.

The legal process is excluded.

Event Schedule

Cologne Game Executives Dinner
November 26th 4 – 6:30 p.m.

Invite Only

The team of the INDIE Hub has the goal to connect the industry.

We would like to take the opportunity offered by the Indie Game Fest and invite you to participate in an exclusive flying dinner.

As special guests we can welcome leading representatives of the business development of the city of Cologne (KölnBusiness ).

Cologne Welcome Drink
November 26th 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

for exhibitors, partners, sponsors. and invited VIPs

The Indie Game Fest team and the city of Cologne would like to welcome you and invite you, together with our exhibitors, partners, sponsors and invited VIPs, to this exclusive networking event.

Get to know each other and see the event location first hand. Thanks to our partner KölnBusiness, drinks are completely free for 2 hours!

Indie Game Fest- Exhibition
November 27th 1:00 – 11:00 p.m.

Everyone!

Exchange ideas with developers on site and play unique games!

You can find a selection of games here:
https://indiegamefest.de/our-exhibitors

Networking Brunch by Ada Quest
November 28th – 11 am- 1:00 p.m.

for exhibitors, partners, sponsors. business ticket holder and invited VIPs

Together with our partner Ada Quest we would like to invite you to a brunch on Sunday morning.

This brunch will give you once more the opportunity to network with our partner, exhibitors, business ticket holders and sponsors.

Indie Game Fest
Matchmaking Days

December 2nd & 3rd
11 am- 11:00 p.m.

Free Matchmaking
for Industrie Professionals.
Twitch Stream
Everyone!

We would like to invite industry representatives, youtubers and press to visit the digital World on these two days and arrange meetings on the platform using the matchmaking tool.

In addition, we will accompany the digital exhibition via the INDIE Hub Twitch Stream!
(November 27th + December 2nd & 3rd).

COVID-19

Your safety and health are very important to us! For this reason, we have once again increased our efforts in the fight against Covid 19.

# The 2g-plus rule applies to all program items that take place during Indie Game Fest. (Vaccinated / recovered plus additional Covid rapid test). People who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons, please bring their proof. Then they can also be tested at the testing station.

# A Covid testing station is located on the grounds of the Wasserturm Hotel.
The tests are free of charge for people with main residence in Germany. The cost of testing for all other participants will be covered by us.

#For tracking purposes, we ask you to fill out the registration form. The data will be deleted four weeks after the event.

# We are obliged to check digital vaccination certificates using the CovPassCheck app from the Robert Koch Institute and to compare the certificates with an official identification document. We ask that you have the documents ready.
All information about the CovPassCheck app can be found at https://digitaler-impfnachweis-app.de/en/covpasscheck-app

# Only persons who follow these rules will be admitted to the site. Violation may lead to exclusion from the event.

We apologize for the expected waiting time and ask for your understanding.

Welcome to our new website!

Hello and welcome to our new website.
We have rebuilt our site a little bit for you and hope you like it.

In the future we will be sharing information here in the blog posts.
Of course, we will continue to keep you updated on our social media channels!