GCB Inside – with Maik Reichelt

What began almost 20 years ago as a bold idea between three friends in a basement now lights up screens around the world. For nearly two decades, ByteRockers’ Games has shown just how much innovation is coming out of Berlin’s games ecosystem. CEO Maik Reichelt talks about independence, the multi-million-euro project Neo Berlin 2087, and the strength of Berlin’s games community.

Competing with global industry giants takes more than a big budget – it takes conviction. ByteRockers’ Games is committed to true independence: four in-house development teams, a marketing team and up to seven external partner teams work on productions in parallel, driven by creative freedom and a willingness to take risks.

The studio’s biggest publishing project to date shows what that approach can achieve: Neo Berlin 2087. With a production budget of more than €4 million, the title has attracted international attention. It delivers Double-A production quality under indie conditions – a strong testament to Berlin’s capabilities as a game development hub.

Berlin’s ecosystem plays an important role in making this possible. Institutions such as Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, networks like medianet, and local universities create opportunities for exchange and help foster new talent.

ByteRockers’ Games sees itself as an active part of this community. Through knowledge sharing and support for local initiatives such as Games Ground, the company invests directly in the next generation. Its outlook for Berlin is clear: when studios, talent and funding institutions work closely together, Berlin’s games industry has a sustainable chance to compete on the global stage.

Our competitors are stronger, bigger and have more money. But if you’re lucky and believe in what you’re doing, there’s a chance.

My name is Maik Reichelt. I’m the Managing Director of ByteRockers’ Games. ByteRockers’ Games has been around for almost 20 years. Our DNA is similar to that of many other indie developers. It all starts in a basement with three people who are highly motivated to develop mobile games.

Now that we also operate as a publisher, we have around 12 games in our portfolio. Of course, the games we develop ourselves – currently four of them – are especially important to us. Every game has the same odds: a 99% chance of failing and a 1% chance of going to the moon and far beyond.

ByteRockers’ Games is a company made up of many teams. We have four development teams, one marketing team and up to seven external teams working on different projects – and every one of those teams is incredibly passionate about their own game. Every game is unique, so every situation is unique as well.

Neo Berlin 2087 is the biggest game we’ve signed as a publisher. By the end of production, it will have cost more than €4 million. But the game also generated a real buzz last year because it attracted so much attention. This could be a game made in Germany that, for an indie production, comes close to Double-A or even Triple-A quality – which is incredibly exciting.

To me, “indie” means independence – real independence. Independence from everything, independence from money, independence from the market. It simply means being creative, being bold, being crazy.

One of ByteRockers’ Games’ missions is to support smaller indie developers. That means supporting them with advice, funding and knowledge.

The games industry is by far the youngest industry on this planet, and young people need a place that is exciting, crazy and creative – and that’s Berlin. Here in Berlin, we have a funding system with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg that helps make things possible. We have great networks like medianet. We have schools and universities, which means you can make new connections almost every day, around every corner.

ByteRockers’ Games has made the conscious decision to be at the forefront, right in the first row. We support universities here, we support Games Ground in Berlin, and my biggest wish would be for us to support each other and build stronger connections.

Because if we work together, we have a chance.

Published 05.11.2026