[Cologne, Germany – August 23, 2026] – The first GamingUp Showcase has officially wrapped, bringing together more than 35 upcoming and recently released games from developers and publishers across Germany, Austria and Switzerland in one digital presentation.
Created as a dedicated international stage for the DACH games industry, the GamingUp Showcase featured World Premieres, new trailers, exclusive gameplay, developer insights, release announcements and updates from independent teams alongside established publishers including Ivy Juice Games, Assemble Entertainment and astragon Entertainment.
From ambitious RPGs and atmospheric horror experiences to strategy games, simulators, racers, cozy adventures and experimental concepts, the showcase highlighted the variety of games currently being developed across the region.
Watch the full GamingUp Showcase 2026 on YouTube.
New Games, New Reveals and Developer Insights
Among the announcements was the reveal of The Medieval Journey, a living medieval MMORPG built around a multi-generational dynasty system. Players begin with a single character but can form relationships, marry, raise children and eventually continue their journey as the next generation, carrying their family’s wealth, reputation and legacy forward. Its world is inspired by historical German cities and features professions, crafting, businesses, regional trade and a player-driven economy.
Mica King also made its first public appearance during the showcase. The top-down 3D action adventure from LAB132 introduces a magical kingdom, character customization and combat built around melee, ranged and arcane abilities.
The showcase also went beyond traditional trailers with dedicated developer segments. Babushka Lead Game Designer Katharina Ziolkowski offered a deeper look at the narrative 2D farming roguelite, while Tiny Capsule Collector received its own Deep Dive into the unusual desktop companion experience.
From Strategy and RPGs to Cozy Games and Horror
Strategy fans got a look at Dawn of Defense, which combines Tower Defense, RTS mechanics and Roguelite progression. Players build towers, command troops and manage their economy while attempting to reclaim their tribe’s homeland from the Empire. The game is currently scheduled for PC in Q4 2026.
Asterfel brought classic early-2000s RPG inspirations to the showcase with an open-world third-person
Action RPG built around exploration rather than hand-holding. Players begin as a shipwrecked outsider and can align themselves with three rival factions while developing their own combination of melee, ranged and magical combat abilities. The game is planned for PC and consoles in Q1 2027.
Meanwhile, EVERGUEST: The Veiled Inn combined turn-based Roguelite RPG combat with an active dodge system. Three heroes trapped inside a mysterious inn must repeatedly venture into the surrounding magical mist, using relics, mods and the game’s Overflow system to survive.
Code: 9 challenged players to think like detectives, while KEROGEN descended into a first-person horror mystery aboard an oil tanker lost in the Black Sea.
Cozy, Creative and a Little Chaotic
The GamingUp Showcase also featured several games taking more relaxed – or unusual – approaches to familiar genres.
Cat Me If You Can turns the hidden-cat genre into a fully explorable 3D experience. Players explore handcrafted black-and-white environments, photograph hidden cats and watch them spring to life in full colour. The game launches for PC on September 8, 2026, with Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series versions following in Q4 2026.
Beeing Hive lets players build and manage a beehive from the inside, optimizing comb layoutsand bee roles while defending the colony against wasps, moths, woodpeckers and hungry bears.
Plant Everywhere brought guerilla gardening to the city, while Forefeathers followed a little penguin and his ghostly grandmother on an atmospheric puzzle adventure.
Things became considerably louder with CAAAHR!, a cooperative racing game where one player steers while the other controls acceleration using their voice.
Simulation Fans Were Not Left Behind
Publisher astragon Entertainment brought three simulation experiences to the GamingUp Showcase.
Construction Simulator: Evolution expands the construction series with more than 180 licensed machines and attachments from over 35 manufacturers alongside construction, demolition and manual work.
Seafarer: The Ship Sim puts players at the helm of different vessels in an open maritime world, while Firefighting Simulator: Ignite sends crews into emergency situations where they must battle dynamically simulated fires and rescue civilians.
The Games of GamingUp Showcase 2026
The showcase featured:
Asterfel
Ayna: Shattered Truth
Babushka
Beeing Hive • Burning Bridges • CAAAHR!
Cat Me If You Can
Code: 9
Construction Simulator: Evolution
Dawn of Defense
Drift Stage
Echoes of Mora
EVERGUEST: The Veiled Inn
Firefighting Simulator: Ignite
Fluff’s Adventure: A Tale of Fur and Steel
Forefeathers
IKUMA – The Frozen Compass
In Hope Voiden
KEROGEN
Mazestalker: The Veil of Silenos
Media Circus
Mica King
My Dear Emma
Night Errand
Petty Ungodliness
Plant Everywhere
Rootknot
Seafarer: The Ship Sim
Staged
The Medieval Journey
Tiny Capsule Collector
Triple Realms
Valkyrie Rising: Hordes of Ragnarök
Wizzo PopOut
The showcase additionally featured a dedicated selection of upcoming titles from Ivy Juice Games, including SCHROTT: Roguelike Racer, Slay Goblins, My Little Cafe Nightmare, PRESS: Authorized Disposal and Of Mice And Mechs.
Several Games Head Straight to gamescom 2026
The GamingUp Showcase also serves as a digital starting point for gamescom week, with several participating games making the jump from the showcase to the exhibition halls in Cologne.
Among them, Asterfel will be playable at the Home of Indies booth in Hall 10.2, Booth E010g-D011g. Media Circus will bring its newly updated demo to the Indie Arena Booth following its Steam release on August 24.
Further GamingUp Showcase participants will also be present throughout gamescom 2026, giving visitors the opportunity to experience several of the games featured in the show for themselves. One Showcase. One Region. And We’re Just Getting Started.
GamingUp Showcase was created to give game developers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland a shared international stage and provide audiences around the world with a concentrated look at games currently being developed across the DACH region.
The debut show brought independent developers, emerging studios and established publishers together in a single presentation – from first reveals and experimental indie projects to larger productions and established simulation franchises.
GamingUp Showcase Will Return in 2027
The story doesn’t end here. Following its 2026 debut, GamingUp Showcase will return in 2027, once again bringing together games, developers, studios and publishers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The next GamingUp Showcase is planned to take place around gamescom 2027, continuing its mission to provide the DACH games industry with a dedicated international stage.
More information about GamingUp Showcase 2027, including the date, submissions and participation opportunities, will be announced at a later date.
See you in 2027!
About GamingUp Showcase
GamingUp Showcase is a digital games showcase dedicated to highlighting games and developers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The international English-language presentation brings together independent developers, studios and publishers from across the DACH games industry, featuring new trailers, gameplay, World Premieres, developer insights and announcements.
More information about the GamingUp Showcase 2026 is available at gamingup.de.
The GamingUp Showcase 2026 was officially broadcast on YouTube and Twitch, alongside co-streams from our official media partners and content creators worldwide.
GamingUp Showcase will return around gamescom 2027.
Interested in becoming an Official Media Partner or Co-Streamer for GamingUp Showcase 2027?
Register here: https://forms.gle/cwnuLSzJ7i2DxWqi9 A huge thank you to all our 2026 Media Partners:
GamesPress, MotekGames, NinaMeep, RacingMary, Oyun Günlüğü, The World of Gaming, ReGame It, Tribe Games, Game-kritik.net, web and school Digital,