Research in Focus: The University at caggtus 2023 in Leipzig

From 14 to 16 April, video games were finally celebrated once again in Leipzig. As the successor to DreamHack, which had moved to Hanover, this year saw the first edition of Leipzig’s very own “Caggtus” – a massive LAN party combined with an entertainment expo.

With nearly 15,000 visitors and LAN spaces completely sold out, this was not only a success for the event; it also reaffirmed Leipzig’s status as the central hub for the German esports industry and the Twitch gaming scene.

As a regional player in the fields of game development and esports, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences was, of course, a must-attend event. Together with other Central German projects organised and networked under Games & XR Mitteldeutschland e.V., the “Indie Oase” was set up. There, interested visitors could try out video games developed in the region, learn about games-related research projects and chat with the developers.

Students on the Bachelor’s degree programme in Media Informatics and Interactive Entertainment presented the game ‘Lumien’, developed by the most recent graduating cohort as part of the ‘beta’ project, which was released by the university on Steam this February. The event also provided an opportunity to connect with regional and national stakeholders regarding potential collaborative projects in the field of esports.

More and more companies are entering this sector. For example, the Central German energy supplier enviaM – with whom Mittweida University of Applied Sciences already collaborates in other areas of research and which is setting up esports facilities at two of its sites – ran the FPV Arena at Caggtus. There, visitors could race remote-controlled model cars around a track whilst watching the race through VR goggles from the perspective of their own car.

Text: Axel Dietze
Image: Sallisias Dream Photography