Eligible to apply are both natural persons as well as Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs); developers and developer associations, student teams, start-ups, and teams in the process of founding a company.

Please note:

• Team size should not exceed 5 members per team.
• All team members should be available to attend Games Lift events and workshops during the incubator year. Please note that Phase 1 (September to early December) can be very time-consuming with several workshops and meetings per week.
• The precondition is always that the team is already based in Hamburg or can prove that they will relocate their residence to Hamburg or open a subsidiary or branch establishment in Hamburg upon entering the Games Lift Incubator program.

If de minimis subsidies are involved, yes, but these may not exceed a total volume of €200,000 in three years from the first subsidy. Other public subsidies that are not subject to the de minimis regulation can be applied independently of this. Gamecity Hamburg must be consulted for a planned accumulation of subsidies for a project supported by Gamecity Hamburg.

If you are already receiving funding through the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding Program, you cannot be granted funding through the Games Lift Incubator at the same time for the same project. It is however possible to receive both fundings for the same project if the funding periods do not overlap. If you are applying for the Incubator with one project while being granted the prototype funding for another project, this is generally possible if you can plausibly demonstrate how your team can handle each project and that it does not affect the timing or any other aspects of your prototype funding contract. Please make sure to discuss this in your consultation appointment before applying.

Gamecity Hamburg runs one application period for Games Lift each year. The application phase for Games Lift 2023 ran from May 2 (1:00 pm) to June 20 (11:59 pm). The next application round will be announced in early 2024. To make sure you are up to date with all deadlines regarding our funding programs, join our Discord Server and subscribe to our monthly newsletter. A detailed document on How to apply for the Games Lift Incubator can be found here and will take you through the application form step by step.

We strongly recommend a consultation appointment before submitting the application. Please contact us at funding@gamecity-hamburg.de to set up an appointment and include the following information:

• Short project outline (max. half a page of text or a slide) of the project
• Background of the team (max. half a page of text or a slide)
• All your questions regarding the application

Interested in applying next year? Leave us your name & email here and be among the first to know about upcoming application dates.

The awarding committee will review all valid applications and invite teams to an online pitch. Based on the pitches, the committee will give a recommendation on which five teams will enter the Games Lift Incubator program.