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Hutch Expands Team with Three New Senior Hires

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4 years ago

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London based mobile game development studio Hutch has announced the addition of three new senior hires as it expands its HR, licensing and game development teams. The new joiners bring years of experience that will provide valuable expertise as the studio continues to grow.

Shaun Rutland, CEO and co-founder of Hutch said: “The Hutch team is incredibly ambitious, so we’re constantly looking for fresh, motivated minds to help us reach the next level of our development. Welcoming Charmaine, Damian and April, we are excited to maintain the momentum that not only makes Hutch a great developer, but also levels up our publishing capability and overall work environment.”

Please see full details of each new hire below:

Charmaine St John, Head of People

Charmaine kicked off her diverse, and 20-year long, career in HR at M&C Saatchi, and has since worked across a wide variety of companies and agencies, such as PHD and Fuse. Becoming a vital and trusted advisor throughout her career, Charmaine has been responsible for helping companies achieve Best Company status, and has been recognised with a place on the iList by the IPA for achievements in Diversity & Inclusion.

Charmaine joins Hutch as Head of People. This is a new position designed to support staff development, further build on company culture, and continue to foster an inclusive environment where people are inspired to do their best work.

Damian Hosen, Game Director

With an extensive portfolio of game companies under his belt, including Sony, NaturalMotion and Sumo Digital, Damian has built a highly successful career, and brings more than 25 years of expertise to Hutch. Damian has directed successful AAA and mobile games, alongside managing company wide design departments, working on titles such as LittleBigPlanet3, Until Dawn and more.

Damian joins Hutch as a Game Director for Rebel Racing, where he will use his wealth of experience to manage and expand the player experience, helping Hutch shape the future of racing.

April Huang, Licensing Manager

Starting her career as a teacher in Taiwan, and transitioning into a doctoral researcher in the Department of Languages in Finland, April’s globe-trotting career saw her move to the UK to kickstart her games career with Codemasters. Over a ten-year period, April worked on all major titles in Codemasters and advanced from an initial Research role, to a Senior Licensing Executive role overseeing all F1 titles. She then moved onto a production role bringing her transferable skills to the role of Producer.

April joins Hutch as a Licensing Manager, bringing her prior licensing experience to the team. She will further seek to strengthen Huch’s relationships with licensing partners, such as F1 and the car manufacturers, alongside exploring new partnership opportunities.

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eSports

eWear launches aim.one – the world’s first functional gaming wear for esports athletes and gaming-fans

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2 days ago

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July 28, 2025

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From hoodies to short-sleeved jerseys: the entire collection has been developed to meet the specific needs of gamers – uncompromising, highest-quality and thought-out down to the last detail.

“There is the right functional clothing for every sport – for soccer, tennis, golf… Gaming used to have this gap. Not anymore!”, say the founders.

The debut collection features 4 products and thus offers the right piece for all gamers: hoodie, longsleeve, shirt and pants. Each combines innovative functionality with comfort and style. Smart gadgets – including special ventilation zones, padding and other features to promote reaction, focus and grip – make this clothing a real support in the game.

Developed from the ground up specifically for playing at a PC, “aim.one is for everyone who wants to take their gaming to the next level – from high-end eSports pros to hobby gamers,” say the founders. “With this collection, gamers finally get their own clothing tailored to their passion!”

 

The product launch will take place via Kickstarter on the 5th of August!

Until launch, Gamers can unlock MVP status for only a €/$1 donation. This grants up to 35% discount during the campaign — plus a free nickname print on their apparel.

The post eWear launches aim.one – the world’s first functional gaming wear for esports athletes and gaming-fans appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Central Europe

Number of companies and employees in German games industry falls for first time in years

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1 week ago

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July 23, 2025

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After years of growth, the number of companies and employees in the German games industry declined in 2025. This was announced today by game – The German Games Industry Association on the basis of data from gamesmap.de in cooperation with Goldmedia. According to the data, the number of companies in Germany that develop and/or publish games has dropped by 4 per cent within the past year, to 910. The boom in start-ups in the games sector, which was set in motion by the introduction of the German Federal Games Funding Programme in 2020, has now completely subsided. Last year’s figures already indicated a clear slowdown. This decline was due in particular to the consolidation of the global games market and the unreliable availability of games funding to date in Germany.

Three times since 2020, there have been months-long suspensions placed on funding applications. Despite the newly registered drop, the number of companies has risen by 46 per cent overall since the initial start of the games funding programme in 2020. Of the 910 present companies, 454 work exclusively in game development and 52 exclusively as publishers. The remaining 404 companies are active in both the development and publishing of games.

‘Last year was another very difficult one for the German games industry,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Germany’s international competitiveness was further decreased by the ongoing flip-flopping of the games funding policy, which ran right into the consolidation wave that swept the global games sector. Fortunately, the new federal government has already taken the necessary steps to level the playing field for companies in this country. The future funding budget is to be increased and thus adjusted to actual needs, and applications can be submitted from August onwards. These are crucial growth impulses that are urgently needed. The additional funds will not only give companies more planning security, but also time to implement additional tax breaks for games, as set out in the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD. The improved conditions will finally give games companies a boost, which will hopefully soon be reflected in more start-ups and the creation of new jobs.’

The number of employees at games companies in Germany has also declined over the last year. Whereas game developers and publishers employed 12,408 workers in 2024, the current figure stands at just 12,134 – a drop of 2 per cent. As with the number of companies, the employee numbers had previously shown strong growth since the introduction of the games funding programme at the federal level: a rise of 23 per cent from 2020 to 2024. The recent decline indicates that the current conditions for the games industry, which offer limited scope for planning due to the repeated funding application stoppages and significant current funding restrictions, are having an impact on the job market. A year ago, there were still more companies with ongoing projects that were internationally competitive thanks to funding at levels comparable to those in other countries – financing that had stabilised Germany’s game sector, despite the global consolidation wave and a lack of funding certainty for the industry here. The game industry secures a total of over 30,000 jobs in Germany. In addition to jobs in development and publishing, these include, for example, skilled professionals in educational institutions, the media and the public and commercial sectors.

About the data
The data is drawn from a survey carried out by Goldmedia on the basis of entries on gamesmap.de. It was conducted on behalf of game – The German Games Industry Association for the period ending on 12 May 2025.

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Asia

METABORA Partners with LINE NEXT

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2 weeks ago

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July 15, 2025

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METABORA, a global casual game developer and blockchain project operator, has announced a strategic partnership with LINE NEXT Inc. Through this partnership, METABORA will distribute Web3 games via the LINE Messenger–based Dapp Portal, expanding its reach in the Web3 gaming space.

The Dapp Portal is a platform built on the KAIA ecosystem that offers Mini Dapps (decentralised applications) directly within the LINE Messenger app. Users can enjoy a variety of Mini Dapps—ranging from games to social features—without needing to install separate applications. Since its launch in January this year, the platform has garnered significant attention, surpassing 100 million cumulative users.

Through this new partnership, METABORA and LINE NEXT will work closely to accelerate the growth of the Mini Dapp’s gaming ecosystem. Leveraging its network of development partners and global experience in game development and publishing, METABORA will supply Web3 games to the Dapp Portal. LINE NEXT will expand accessibility to Web3 games and support marketing of these games through its platform.

As part of the collaboration, METABORA will also expand the utility of its BORA token within the LINE Messenger–based Mini Dapp ecosystem. The company plans to implement a payment infrastructure that enables users to purchase in-game items currently planned for upcoming titles to be released under the BORA brand. Additionally, METABORA will apply Gas Abstraction technology, allowing users to make in-app purchases with BORA without needing KAIA tokens to cover gas fees. This feature is expected to be fully implemented in the second half of the year.

By expanding the utility of the BORA token, METABORA aims to elevate its value beyond the confines of the BORA Chain, laying the groundwork for broader integration across the Web3 ecosystem.

In addition, METABORA and LINE NEXT plan to continue their collaboration by researching and developing infrastructure to support the use of stable coins such as USDT, further enhancing the Web3 gaming experience within the LINE ecosystem centered on the Dapp Portal.

Lim Youngjun, Co-CEO of METABORA, said: “We’re pleased to partner with LINE NEXT, a company making remarkable strides in the global Web3 gaming market with its vast user base. Through our strong network of development partners, we will carefully select and bring high-quality games to the Dapp Portal, working together to create a leading example of Web3 gaming reaching a mainstream audience.”

Kim Woosuk, CSO at LINE NEXT, said: “Through this partnership with METABORA, we look forward to creating a major success case for Mini Dapp. Moving forward, we will continue working closely together across multiple fronts, including enabling USDT stablecoin support to improve game onboarding and the overall user payment environment.”

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