Prepares Developers for Stronger Press Conversations at gamescom

SwissGames, Pro Helvetia’s initiative supporting Swiss game developers internationally, was preparing a delegation of 17 indie studios for gamescom. The participating teams ranged from early-stage projects to games much closer to release, so their media needs varied considerably.

The goals were to help developers explain their games clearly and prepare for interviews, demos, and conversations with journalists. Because the studios had varying needs and levels of experience, SwissGames wanted practical training that could be tailored to where each team was in its development and media readiness.

We divided the 17 studios into two groups based on their stage of development, so the training could be more relevant to what each team was preparing to show at gamescom. One session focused on near-term titles that needed help sharpening their pitches and preparing for media demos, while the other was designed for earlier-stage games that needed guidance on explaining their projects and deciding what was ready to discuss.

We also wanted the training to extend beyond the live sessions themselves. Alongside the presentations, we planned a set of practical resources that studios could use afterward as they practiced, prepared for interviews, and applied the guidance on their own.

We delivered two 90-minute media training sessions and created three supporting resources: a pitch practice worksheet, a pre-conversation checklist, and a media interview guide. SwissGames also received copies of the presentation slides and session recordings to share with the participating studios.

Each group received guidance suited to its stage of development, along with materials they could revisit as they practiced and prepared for gamescom. Together, the tailored sessions and take-home resources gave the studios a practical framework for approaching media conversations, and feedback from SwissGames confirmed that the training was valuable for the participating teams.