Leonard Schölch, co-founder and developer at the Berlin-based games startup “Stoked Sloth Entertainment”

Image: GamesCapital

Leonard Schölch about Berlin as a launchpad for gaming startups

Interview with Leonard Schölch, co-founder and developer at the Berlin-based games startup “Stoked Sloth Entertainment”.

“The entire community is really strong on the independent games developer side in Berlin. So it’s really hard to imagine our game outside of Berlin.”

GamesCapitalBerlin 1:1 with Leonard Schölch

Interview: GamesCapitalBerlin talked to Leonard Schölch, co-founder and developer at the Berlin-based games startup “Stoked Sloth Entertainment”

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Hi, it’s a pleasure having you. Could you please be so kind and give us a little introduction about yourself, the company you co-founded, and your recent project?

Definitely. I’m Leonard Schölch, and I’m one of the two co-founders of Stoked Sloth Interactive, a company we founded in Berlin to develop Driftwood, a downhill longboarding game featuring a sloth as the protagonist.

We’re here at the medianet berlinbrandenburg booth. Could you tell us what your connection to them is and how they have helped you?

Well, they definitely helped us come to gamescom for the first time. I’ve never actually been before, so it’s been really nice just being here for networking in general, and also they helped us get settled in Berlin, because our company was founded with support from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

That’s how we were able to develop a first prototype and get started. So, what sparked the idea to do it in Berlin and not somewhere else?

Well, this wasn’t really much of a decision, because we are both from Berlin. We studied game design here, so we were already based in Berlin. We’re definitely really happy with all the support we’ve had in the city. The Medienboard, the entire community – it’s really strong. There are so many events. When we were just starting out, we took part in Talk and Play, which is a small event where you can showcase your game and get really hands-on feedback.

What do you think – when people from outside look at Berlin, developers from, I don’t know, Spain or somewhere else – what is their perception of the city?

I mean, Berlin has that notion of being a young city. There are a lot of people trying out different kinds of creative endeavors. So I think the atmosphere is just really right for making something creative. You don’t feel like you have to create something very serious. You have the space to experiment, to see what works. I mean, I basically just have to write somebody, and I can meet other independent developers for a coffee and talk through ideas with them.

And one last personal question: you have a game about skateboarding. Do you have a personal favorite skateboarder? And if so, who would that be?

Wow. I mean, this entire game was inspired by the longboarding community on Instagram. The community as a whole inspired this game, and they actually welcomed us. Our game has blown up on the longboarding subreddit multiple times, and so many people from the community have approached us, telling us, “Hey, in my city it’s winter at the moment, I can’t go outside skating, and your game is keeping the spirit alive.” That’s been really heartwarming.

Published 16. September 2025

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