Alumni and students from the IT University honoured at Spilprisen 2026
At Spilprisen, the prestigious awards ceremony for the Danish games industry, the Debut Award, Talent Award, and Student Award were all presented to teams connected to the IT University in Copenhagen.
Written 18 March, 2026 18:19 by Niels Thrane
Spilprisen is organised by Games Denmark, which represents most of the Danish games industry. According to the organisation itself, it works to “make Denmark a small creative superpower in the world of games by creating the best conditions for development."
Three alumni from the IT University won the Best Debut award
One of the winners, Crinkle Cut Games, is a game studio founded by three alumni from the IT University: Anne Christina Elsberg, Freja Schifter, and Magnus Wahlers. They won Best Debut for their game Discounty, a management game in which the player runs a discount supermarket in a small town, handles local intrigue, and expands their business empire.
“As a company, we have been very focused on making games in a genre that may not be as recognised, is sometimes looked down on, and is underrepresented in the industry. It is what some people, somewhat condescendingly, call ‘girls’ games’ — a genre that has traditionally had lower status and has been harder to secure funding for. But, given the kind of developers we are, that is exactly the type of game we want to play ourselves,” says Anne Christina Elsberg, Co-founder, Director, and Designer at Crinkle Cut Games.
The prototype was created at ITU
The three founders of Crinkle Cut Games began the project as part of their master’s thesis. There, they created a prototype that they planned to continue developing after completing their degree.
“But then reality hits — unemployment benefits and things like that tend to put projects on pause. However, we were lucky enough to receive support from the Danish Film Institute, funding that gave us two years to continue development. People believed in us, saw the potential in the work we had already done, and gave us the support we needed to pursue our dream,” says Anne Christina Elsberg.
Part of the Spilprisen jury’s reasoning for awarding Best Debut to Discounty was as follows: “The game keeps the player on their toes without feeling stressful, and draws you into the intrigues of the small town of Blomkest with a story that touches on darker themes such as capitalism and greed.”
“The award is a huge recognition because it is given by people from the industry. A professional jury has judged us to be the best in our category, which is fantastic and gives us credibility in the games industry,” says Anne Christina Elsberg.
ITU students won the Student Game award
This year’s Best Student Game went to a group of students working under the name Ghost Frequency Games, who developed the game Infernal Logistics through a project at DADIU, the National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment, in just seven weeks.
Infernal Logistics is a narrative game in which the player, as a stranded courier, must deliver goods around a fog-covered island, help locals, and avoid demons using a cursed radio in an atmospheric horror adventure.
Out of the group of 12 game developers, four are currently studying at the IT University. According to them, their education at ITU played a major role in the success of Infernal Logistics.
ITU’s Game Design programme played a key role
“I’ would like to praise ITU, and especially the Game Design master’s programme, for its focus on all the aspects of games that are not technical — everything that gives games personality and identity. That has been a huge help in the process,” says Rana Roza Keyna Kara, designer of the game.
The Best Student Game prize includes the opportunity to present the game at gamescom, the world’s largest game expo, in Cologne, Germany, with the entire team. In addition, the group plans to continue developing the game with the aim of turning it into a commercial product.
ITU alumnus wins Talent Award
The Talent Award went to Enrico Lauletta, who received his master’s degree in games from the IT University in 2024. Since 2025, he has been working at one of the major companies in the Danish games industry, IO Interactive.
IO Interactive achieved worldwide success in 2000 with the release of Hitman. It was during the development of the game about Agent 47 that Enrico Lauletta impressed his colleagues at IO so much that they nominated him for the Talent Award. Their nomination included the following statement:
“Always patient, humble, and friendly, Enrico quickly established strong connections across the team and showed a genuine eagerness to learn and take on new challenges. He made a noticeable difference from day one, helping us get off to a strong start and playing a key role in the successful launch of Hitman WOA on PSVR2 and all associated touch interactions”.
A complete surprise
Enrico himself did not know he had been nominated. He attended Spilprisen, like many others, simply to mingle and catch up with friends and colleagues.
“I asked one of my colleagues a few days before the awards whether IO Interactive had nominated anyone for the Talent Award, and he just said, ‘No, no.’ So I didn’t know anything until I heard my name being called from the stage,” says Enrico Lauletta with a laugh.
Enrico Lauletta is from Italy, and it was especially meaningful for him to call home and tell his family about the award.
“My family has played a big role in my development, so it meant a lot to be able to tell them that their efforts were not in vain. The award is a huge pat on the back. I do not know what it will mean professionally, but personally it means a great deal,” says Enrico Lauletta.
Jari Kickbusch, phone 7218 5304, email jark@itu.dk