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Young Talent Awards for WE ARE Games
On June 18, three games created as part of our WE ARE project—which promotes digital creativity—received the City of Salzburg’s Game Prize for Young Talent. The City of Salzburg awarded the prize for the first time in 2026.
In his speech, Mayor Bernhard Auinger emphasized: “The award-winning games from this year’s Game Prize impressively demonstrate how strongly digital art is developing in Salzburg. Children, teenagers, and adults are bringing together creativity, technology, and the courage to innovate—exactly the qualities we aim to strengthen with our cultural strategy. Heartfelt congratulations to all the winners.”
Dagmar Aigner, Head of the Culture Department, said: “The award-winning games were developed as part of the WE ARE Game Camp by gold extra, which is co-funded by the City of Salzburg. This result shows that, from a cultural policy perspective, it makes sense to focus on outreach and self-empowerment in the field of digital art—a wonderful success!”
The games honored with the Young Talent Game Award were:
“Blobs’n’Space” by Joakim Schneckenleithner and Paul Zechenter impressed the jury with its playful diversity and cleverly interwoven game mechanics—a varied gaming experience that stands out for its creativity and ingenuity using simple means.
“Island of Hedgehogs” by Samuel Grösswang, Jonas Danzl, and Alexandar Kracun impressed with its meticulous attention to detail: unique graphics, a well-developed story, and a harmonious blend of visuals and gameplay give the game an unmistakable style.
“Knack den Tresor” by Ibrahim Kinar, Drishti, and Tobias (Verein Spektrum) stood out for its unique approach: The game combines digital and physical elements—a tactile, screen-free object invites players to touch and experiment, creating an immediate, physical gaming experience beyond the screen.
The city’s press release described “digital creativity as an urban mission,” which we find particularly gratifying.
Congratulations
This year’s Game Prize grand prize went to Lajos Talamonti and Georg Werner for the project “LOVE WORK MACHINE,” which was developed in collaboration with ARGEkultur and AK Salzburg, among others. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and to our project leaders Sophia Reiterer and Liese Stiebritz, as well as to the mentors Marie Aufinger, Felix Ludwig, Raffael Moser, and Sebastian Frisch, and we look forward to another year full of WE ARE games!
