New York Has a Gamer Mayor Now — and a $2.6 Billion Game Industry to Match

June in New York City wasn’t entirely about the NBA. Three days before the New York Knicks won their first championship since 1973, the city held a press conference for a different sort of sports champion.

The NYC Battle of the Boroughs Champions were honored at the Tweed Courthouse on June 10, bringing together the winners of the 2026 Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs and their coaches.

Two of the year’s three division champions were all-girl teams. One of those, Elementary Division Champions Team Hyper Pigmentation, won back-to-back titles.

The event was designed to highlight how gaming is building a pipeline into careers in coding, design, and technology in New York City. It also underscores a message that the city has been working six years to get out to the world and the game industry in particular: New York City is the largest game development hub on the East Coast.

You can read the full story, which was first published June 25, on Game.