Gaming
Stefan Heikhaus Becomes New Director of Gamescom
The German Games Industry Association (game) has announced that Stefan Heikhaus will serve as gamescom’s next director.
From mid-December he will be directing game’s efforts to continue the development of gamescom and its satellite and content formats, including gamescom asia and gamescomLAN. The world’s biggest event for games, which takes place every year at the end of August, brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to Cologne and is followed online by millions more worldwide. The 2023 event set numerous new records, once again expanding its major international presence. Stefan Heikhaus can look back on a long career as a marketing specialist. He had already spent many years in the games industry working for companies like Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ubisoft before continuing his career at technology companies such as Cisco and Microsoft. He succeeds Christian Baur, who left game at the end of October at his own request.
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, said: “gamescom is tremendously important not only for us here at game, but for the entire games industry. It generates interest in our medium far beyond the world of games, making it clear year in and year out just how important games are as an economic factor, driver of innovation and cultural asset. Without gamescom, many of the successes achieved in the policy sphere in recent years – from the German government’s games strategy all the way to the introduction of federal games funding – would hardly have been possible at this speed. That’s why we’re so delighted that Stefan is taking the helm – a marketing expert who not only has extensive experience in the games industry, but in other related fields as well. He thus brings valuable perspectives which, together with our partner Koelnmesse, will be extremely valuable in the further development of gamescom, the satellite and content formats and the brand as a whole.”
Stefan Heikhaus, Director of gamescom at game, said: “I’m very excited about the opportunities that this position gives me to shape the ongoing development of gamescom, the world’s largest games event. gamescom does more than set new standards for the dynamic games industry again and again – it’s also an outstanding event format that is closely followed by other industries around the globe. That’s because events like gamescom where everyone – from trade visitors to the community at large – meet, are of tremendous importance, even for digital media like games.”
SOFTSWISS has solidified its leadership position in the European iGaming market by winning the Game Aggregator of the Year category.
The recognition took place during the prestigious SBC Awards Europe 2026 ceremony, held on April 30 in Malta.
The event served as the official closing of the SBC Summit Malta, bringing together the industry’s top operators, suppliers, and regulators.
The award highlights the platform’s ability to provide content scalability and high-impact engagement tools for its global partners.
Technical performance and scale at the industry’s core
With a portfolio exceeding 40,000 titles, the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator connects operators with over 300 providers across 24 regulated jurisdictions.
Beyond volume, technical stability remains a key pillar, maintaining a 99.999% uptime even during peak traffic loads.
Tatyana Kaminskaya, Head of SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, celebrated the win in Malta, often considered the capital of the iGaming world.
According to Kaminskaya, the award reflects the team’s dedication to creating a practical tool for the daily management of operator brands.
Innovation in retention and new prediction markets
The victory at the SBC Awards follows the recent launch of new features, such as the Tournament Report and Instant Tournaments.
These tools allow operators to monitor campaign metrics in real-time and adjust marketing strategies without switching platforms.
The company has also diversified its B2B offering with the introduction of its Prediction Markets Platform.
This solution focuses on fixed-odds for real-world events, covering areas ranging from politics and economy to technology.
With over 15 years of experience and a team of 2,000 professionals, SOFTSWISS reaffirms its role as a global technology hub in the gaming ecosystem.
The post SOFTSWISS wins ‘Aggregator of the Year’ at SBC Awards Europe 2026 appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Ten Square Games has begun a phased rollout for Medal Hunter, a new mobile PvP shooter for iOS and Android. The title entered technical release on 4 May, with global availability planned around the turn of May and June, subject to further improvements.
The initial rollout covers Mexico, Vietnam, the Philippines and Poland. Ten Square Games said this stage is focused on verifying technical KPIs and performance stability, while the team fine-tunes gameplay parameters.
Around mid-May, Medal Hunter is expected to move into a broader soft launch, with gradual availability in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company said the focus will then shift to validating short-term retention and engagement.
Medal Hunter is set in combat environments inspired by different historical periods, with architecture and weapons “strongly influenced” by real references but stylized for mobile play. At launch, the game includes five locations, and players compete in short PvP rounds by eliminating moving targets including aircraft and naval units, using two different shooting models.
CEO Andrzej Ilczuk said the project builds on Ten Square Games’ development approach used for Trophy Hunter: “Medal Hunter is an example of how we are putting our growth strategy into practice. Trophy Hunter helped us build a new development model based on clear benchmarks, early validation and a better understanding of the signals that matter before scaling a product. Medal Hunter capitalizes on that experience and on the broader product knowledge we have built across our portfolio. By using proven gameplay mechanics and working in this model, we were able to bring a new title to market in less than a year from the start of development. This gives us earlier insight into a game’s potential, helps limit development risk and allows us to shape products more closely around what players actually respond to”.
The post Ten Square Games starts technical release for Medal Hunter ahead of global launch appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Bet on Games, the instant and crash games vertical within the Betcore ecosystem, has launched a new horror-themed crash game called Zombie Rush. The title is now available for global integration via Betcore’s single API, alongside content from TVBET and ElCasino.
Zombie Rush wraps the crash mechanic in a graveyard “survival run” theme. Players decide when to cash out as the multiplier rises, with the round ending when the “crash” triggers.
Bet on Games said the game runs on an “Optimized Math Model” with 97.5% RTP and a “dynamically accelerating multiplier curve.” The release also highlights “Visceral Horror Aesthetics,” linking the crash moment to a “grisly, memorable animation.”
On the feature set, Zombie Rush includes Autoplay and Auto Cash-out. It also adds “Strategic Dual-Betting,” which allows play across two parallel rounds simultaneously.
Betcore is directing partnership and integration inquiries to [email protected]. A gameplay video is available here.
The post Bet on Games launches horror-themed crash title Zombie Rush appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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