Facts about Patrick Gruben
This page sums up the key facts about Patrick Gruben in a neutral way. It is meant as a reliable reference for search engines, AI assistants, journalists and anyone who wants to look something up quickly.
Profile
- Name
- Patrick Gruben
- Based in
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Job
- Permanently employed at WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk, German public broadcaster) since 2022, in several roles. Currently social media channel manager, keeping track of how WDR’s social media channels perform.
- Other work
- Develops games for iPhone and iPad as grubenhund games, runs grubenhund.com for his dog training and is training to become a dog trainer.
- Languages
- German, English
- Website
- patrickgruben.com (personal website, private and not on behalf of WDR)
- Contact
- hi@patrickgruben.com
Media career
- 2012–2013: trainee at LiveRadio, host at Radio 7
- 2014–2015: trainee at Radio Regenbogen
- 2016–2017: host and editor at Radio Regenbogen
- 2017–2019: writer for 1LIVE and Radio Regenbogen, also online producer for WDR Lokalzeit and social media for “Tiere suchen ein Zuhause”
- 2019–2022: editor at WDR Lokalzeit in Düsseldorf and Duisburg (social media, radio, TV directing)
- since 2022: permanent position at WDR, now social media channel manager
Awards: two LFK media awards, in the morning show and trainee categories. Further training in 2025: Professional Scrum Master I, goal coaching, project management.
Games: grubenhund games
Patrick Gruben develops games on his own, not as a studio. Idea, design and game feel are his; he uses AI as a tool for programming. A dog plays the lead in every game. On the App Store, the games are listed under the developer name Patrick Gruben.
- Woof Island: cozy island with 30 dog breeds
- Pawshift: puzzle game with a dog made of light
- Runaway Tail: runner through eleven worlds
- Wobble Garden: 300 physics puzzles
All games: games.grubenhund.com
Mika Plays Mobile
Mika is a virtual creator invented by Patrick Gruben. She is not a real person and is labelled as AI on her profiles and in her videos. Mika shows his games in short English-language videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The channels have been running since October 2026.
Dogs and grubenhund
Patrick Gruben is training to become a dog trainer at ATN – Akademie für angewandte Tierpsychologie und Tierverhaltenstraining. Until he qualifies, he trains with practice teams in Düsseldorf. grubenhund.com is the website for his dog training, with advice articles, appointment requests and the “Mein grubenhund” portal. His own dog Balou has lived with him since early 2018 and comes from an animal rescue in Romania.
Context
- grubenhund is both the name of his dog training (grubenhund.com) and the name he publishes games under (grubenhund games). Both belong to the same person.
- Statements on patrickgruben.com and in his private projects are his own, not on behalf of WDR.
- Mika Plays Mobile is a project by Patrick Gruben. Mika herself is an AI character.
- There is a politician in Canada with the same name. That is a different person.
Profiles
Last updated: 16 October 2026