First ever Baltic Sea Games award at GameOn in Vilnius

At the video game conference GameOn in Vilnius, Lithuania, 16 November 2019, Baltic Sea Games presented the first ever Baltic Sea Games Award. Together with the audience, the jury crowned the game "Weakless" as the "Best Startup Game 2019". "Weakless" was developed by Punk Notion from Poland and is a game in which the player switches between two characters, one of which is blind and the other deaf, in order to solve puzzles together. 

Start-ups from all eight EU countries of Baltic Sea Region were invited to the first selection round. This online competition resulted in 4 winners in the categories "Best Game Art", "Best Game Audio", "Best Game Narrative" and "Best Game Design". The winners classified themselves for a live pitch in front of a large audience at GameOn. An expert jury of investors and publishers evaluated the live presentations of the games and business ideas of the four finalists. The combination of the creative aspects of game development with a convincing marketing strategy was the deciding factor in this final round. 

BGZ Berliner Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit mbH, as lead partner of the EU-Interreg project Baltic Game Industry, organised the award in close cooperation with the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce. Kaunas STP is a partner organization in Baltic Sea Games initiative. Baltic Sea Games acts as an umbrella brand, connecting the video game industries of the Baltic Sea region under one roof. In the future, the brand Baltic Sea Games will act as a central point of contact for the video game industries of the Baltic Sea region. This joint presence will not only facilitate easier access, e.g. for investors, but also increase the visibility of the Baltic Sea region as a hotspot for its growing video game industry within the EU and worldwide.