The Parliamentary Group for Esports and Games has grown to include more than 60 deputies

Six months after the elections to the Bundestag, the Parliamentary Group for Esports and Games has met for the first time – and the number of members has increased dramatically.

The cultural assets of automobiles, biosphere reserves, electric mobility, medium-sized businesses, brewing culture, “free-flowing rivers” and even low German – so-called “parliamentary groups” exist for these and other topics. There, members of the Bundestag regularly exchange ideas across party and faction boundaries and invite experts.

Meetings usually take place under the radar – content and opinions rarely leak. One exception: as Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) in the aftermath of the far-right attack in Halle in October 2019, the ‘player scene’ “Take a closer look” Wanted, the esports and gaming parliamentary group felt compelled to protest vigorously. The group had formed only a few months ago.

It is the nature of things that these parliamentary districts first have to regroup after the federal election – as MPs leave and new members join. The group’s first meeting took place on March 17, where it addressed the topic, among other things “Non-Profit E-Sports” been discussed. Among the guests at the Bundestag were E-Sports Federation board member Martin Müller and the association’s director general, Felix Falk.

At this point, the group had already grown exponentially, that is, by more than 50 percent. The list, which is exclusively owned by GamesWirtschaft, includes more than 60 parliamentarians. With 736 states, this means that every member of the 12th Parliament belongs to this body.

By far the largest proportion comes from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group of 20 members – about 12 politicians affiliated with the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, followed by the AfD (4) and Die Linke (2).

Notable participants list: And union greats such as former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, former Aviation Coordinator Thomas Jarzombek and longtime Digital Secretary Dorothy Barr, as well as FDP digital politicians Manuel Hoferlin and Thomas Hacker, budget politician Otto Frick and Happy Birthday Secretary Michael Kellner, recently received the main award. The German Computer Games Award 2022.

Hofferlin, who founded the parliamentary group with colleagues such as Jens Zimmermann (SPD), Mario Brandenburg (FDP), Saskia Esken (SPD), Petra Sitte (Die Linke), and Tabea Rößner (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), is in At the same time, the spokesperson for the department – Bear is his co-spokesperson. Along with late FDP politician Jimmy Schulz, the duo already had one in 2011 Counter-Strike LAN Party It was organized under the dome of the Reichstag – long before computer games became a hot spot in political Berlin.

The Bundestag’s younger makeup means there are a staggering number of under-40 MPs on the list of members – such as Ronja Kemer and Johannes Steiger of the CDU, social democrats Lena Werner and Carmen Wije, CSU politician Emi Zeolner, greens; Sabine Grützmacher and Tobias Bacherle or FDP men Valentin Abel and Maximilian Mordhurst.

It remains unclear exactly when the esports and gaming parliamentary group will meet for the second time Summer months are targeted. There are enough themes – from the acute shortage of skilled workers to the aforementioned nonprofit status of esports to continued gaming funding. The state invests 50 million euros in video games made in Germany each year – in addition to a seven-figure budget for the German Computer Games Prize. Both pots are now located in the toys department of the Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection.