For the first time in June, an awarding committee consisting of five experienced industry experts from game development, the Ministry of Culture and Media, and the location initiative Gamecity Hamburg will decide on the award of the new Hamburg prototype funding.  

The current round of applications for games funding runs until May 25: Apply here: https://www.gamecity-hamburg.de/funding/

The following experts and industry insiders form the awarding committee for the current funding round:      

Clockwise: Mareike Ottrand, Nina Müller, Michael Schade, Jens Unrau, Dennis Schoubye

Mareike Ottrand, founder of Studio Fizbin, Professor of Interactive Illustration and Games at HAW Hamburg

Mareike Ottrand is an illustrator and game developer. Her diploma project "The Inner World" won the German Computer Game Award in the category "Best German Game" in 2014. As a founder of Studio Fizbin, she knows the requirements of game development very well and was responsible for art direction. Since 2015 she has been teaching "Interactive Illustration and Games" as a professor at the HAW in Hamburg.  

Michael Schade, Co-Founder, and CEO of Rockfish Games  

Michael Schade has more than 25 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur in the CGI and video game industry. After founding Fishlabs Entertainment in 2004 and developing it into a renowned mobile games studio, he restarted with ROCKFISH Games in 2014 as an independent studio specializing in action games for PC and consoles, including the space shooter EVERSPACE.  

Nina Müller, Head of Studio Goodgame Studios  

With more than ten years of professional experience in the German games industry, Nina Müller, Head of Studio Goodgame Studios, understands the path young talents can take in the industry. Her experience in leading positions at the Hamburg studios Bigpoint and Goodgame Studios, especially in the area of live game management and the development of online, browser, and mobile games, she brings to the board with her comprehensive view of criteria such as customer orientation, feasibility, and profitability.  

Jens Unrau, Head of the Media and Digital Industry Department at the Ministry of Culture and Media in Hamburg has been accompanying and supporting the development of the media and digital industry in Hamburg for over 20 years. Since 2003, he has also been the contact person for the Hamburg games industry and, as an initiator of the first Hamburg prototype funding scheme, which ran until 2010, he can contribute his accumulated experience to the committee.  

Dennis Schoubye, Project Lead gamecity:Hamburg has been working in the games industry since 2011 and, through his positions as a communications consultant for agencies and companies, knows the requirements of professional games development. Since July 2019, he has been leading the gamecity:Hamburg location initiative and, together with his team, has been implementing targeted programs to support the games industry in addition to prototype promotion.  

The new awarding committee will pay particular attention to the criteria when selecting the prototypes: Promotion of young talent, feasibility, market potential, and the location effect for Hamburg. The funding recommendations will be preceded by a pitch by the applicants before the awarding committee to present their project.      

The application for Hamburg's prototype funding is possible until May 25, 2020.

All information on prototype funding and application can be found at https://www.gamecity-hamburg.de/funding/