The Games Lift Incubator is going into the third edition in 2022 already, so we took the opportunity to ask three alumni of the past two years about their experience with the program. These are three very different projects so we were especially curious about their impressions. You can currently apply to the 2022 edition of the Games Lift Incubator until June 14. We hope these reports on the Incubator will help you with your decision to apply.   

Join our Games Lift Team and Cassia Curran, Founder and Strategic Advisor at Curran Games Agency, for insights into our Games Lift Incubator program and a workshop about games market analysis for indies on May 24 at 4:30 pm. The event will be held online and in English.

The Hamburg Games Conference on March 2 and 3 was a real success as a hybrid event! We look back on two wonderful days on board the digital cruise and interesting conversations on site at the RCADIA.

Together with our parent organisation Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft and our sister initiatives nextMedia.Hamburg and Design Zentrum Hamburg we stand in solidarity with the people in Ukraine. In this post we provide some information and links on how you can provide support for people in Ukraine or fleeing the country.

“It’s action time! Woosh! Bam! Pow!” – this is how the official trailer adequately announces the freshly released demo of the third-person action-roguelike “Crumbling” by Games Lift Alumnus Ole Jürgensen and his team.

The application phase for Prototype Funding has started and is open until April 11! New this year: if you plan to combine the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding with other public funding programs, it is possible to apply for up to €120,000 instead of the usual €80,000.

At our fourth Portfolio Slam, three young Game Artists will have the chance to present their Game Art portfolio live on stage to an expert jury. Get your ticket to join the audience, cheer the three slammers on learn more about what makes a good portfolio!

The Hamburg Games Conference sets course for new markets – with international experts from academia, games industry and public funding institutions as speakers for the hybrid event on March 2 and 3, 2022. A new location was chosen for this year's on-site part in accordance with local regulations.

We’re looking back on an exciting and eventful year 2021, which once again presented many challenges to our methods, workflow and implementation of our programs and offers - but also brought along so many interesting encounters, new projects and opportunities! 

The Hamburg Games Conference sets course for new markets – with international experts from academia, games industry and public funding institutions already confirmd as first speakers for the hybrid event on March 2 and 3, 2022. Also: New trailer gives a peek into the extended hybrid event concept!

​​​​​​​For the people behind the project, Games Lift Graduation is a cause for celebration. After three intense months, they can pause for an evening and marvel at the accomplishments of the five incubator teams. For the actual team members, celebration comes only after the presentation. Find out all about our Games Lift Graduation event in this Games Lift Log.

Five teams from Hamburg participate in our Games Lift Incubator 2021 with their promising games porjects from September to December - and now it's time to see what they have achieved and what they're up to. Join us for their final presentations on December 2 - live via stream or on-site in Hamburg!

Timo Schneider and Kevin Westphal have been developing software successfully for years. Then something unexpected happened: An app of theirs was way too much fun to just be useful. With "supernightshift", they are taking the next step. Read more in our Games Lift Incubator Log.

In the second funding round in 2021, Gamecity Hamburg supports three promising games projects with a total of 159,000 euros through its Prototype Funding program. The non-repayable grant enables companies and developers based in Hamburg to develop prototypes of their games for the growing global games market. Together with the six projects selected by the awarding committee in the first funding round, Gamecity Hamburg funds nine prototypes with a total of 411,000 euros this year.

Making games is a team effort. Symmetry Break are our biggest team this year; they have thought a lot about what their game is, and how they want to make it as a group. “Prospector” seems to reflect that. Communication is a crucial part of the game. Talking, it turns out, is harder than picking the right option. Read more about them and their game project in this issue of our Games Lift Incubator Log!

Her project casts a big shadow. But the artist is taking part in the Games Lift Incubator 2021 on her own. Denise Koch is here to kick-start her project "Monstersongs VR" – an interactive musical for virtual reality. More about her and her project in this issue of our Games Lift Log.

In our Milestone Pitch event, our Games Lift participants presented their progress from the lessons learned in the Incubator program and pitched their development status in their games projects and concepts to mentors and the awarding committee. Find out more about our teams' progressions in our Games Lift Log #7.

Good things come to those who start: SUPERNATURAL GAMES are Gerrit and Patrick Henschel. The brothers have been successful in their separate careers. Now, they are working together on their personal dream game. With “The Treepoids”, they are winning over even skeptical experts. Find out more in our Games Lift Log!

Hamburg Games Conference will return on March 2-3, 2022, focusing on the topic "Moving Markets", featuring keynotes, panels networking, expo and more. For the first time the conference will follow a hybrid concept - online and on-site in Hamburg.

Meet tool1: Three guys with big plans and a clear strategy. Their project “The Invitation” already found some success. But it’s still early days; tool1 are planning big things for their audience next year. More in this issue of our Games Lift Log.

Good things are happening in our Games Lift Incubator workshops right now. A lot of them are confidential. But some of them are not! We got to listen in on two veterans of game marketing and pitching. One of them is a new addition. Find out more in our new Games Lift Log entry!

After our first Games Lift Incubator 2020 was a success, we worked on the program for the new Games Lift teams 2021. Find out what is new and what improved in our Incubator Log #3

For all developers, teams and studios who want to apply for our Prototype Funding: this video will give you some valuable tips and overview of the steps needed for to apply. Project Lead Dennis Schoubye shared some Dos and Don'ts.

The preparations are done. Now comes the fun part: The 2021 iteration of our Games Lift Incubator has begun in full. Workshops are in session. Read more in entry #2 of our Games Lift Incubator Log.

It’s on: Yesterday, we kicked off the intensive phase of Games Lift Incubator 2021 together with the five dev teams from Hamburg. For the next three months, the teams will be able to fully concentrate on their game ideas and attend workshops and individual mentoring sessions with international industry experts.

Meet three project management professionals from the games industry to learn what they would have liked to know when they first started out. Live on September 07, from 6 pm (CEST)

Apply now for the second round of Prototype Funding 2021: Up to 80.000 euros per project for the development of prototypes for digital games. The application phase runs from August 30 to October 18, 2021. Workshop on how to apply on September 08!

Five up-and-coming game developer teams from Hamburg convinced the awarding committee with their project ideas, pitching their way into the Games Lift Incubator 2021. The incubator program starts on September 9 and aims to prepare the teams for the challenges of developing and marketing their games projects in the international markets – through start-up funding of 15,000 euros per team and an intensive three-month workshop and mentoring program under the guidance of international industry experts.

In our online event series "Gamecity Impulse" Gamecity presents talks and discussions about the topics of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In our third session Manuel Manhard will discuss how to build a respectful and caring gameing community.

Five indie developers and publishers from Hamburg will receive booth spaces on the multiplayer trade fair platform Indie Arena Booth Online as part of the virtual gamescom 2021 through our "Road to gamescom" program.

What can games companies do to actively contribute to strengthen equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry and in games? And what challenges do studios, publishers and other games businesses - from large corporations to small indies - face in this field?

A few weeks ago we held a working session titled “Gamecity Forecast: Is work still a place?” to discuss the future of workspaces in the games industry, as well as the challenging way leading there together with Hamburg-based games companies. Read here, what we found out.

From June 21, the Games Lift incubator program launches its application phase for 2021, supporting five games developer teams in creating concepts for digital games with high market potential.

Hate speech isn't an easy topic - but one that every provider or operator of online communities should be aware of. To make it easier to inform the proper authorities about harassment and hate speech, the city of Hamburg now offers an online service for companies to directly report such activities.

For a growing sector like the games industry, supporting the next generation of professionals is important. Step one: Sparking young people's interest in the games industry as a career option and giving them an overview of career paths and ways into the industry.

The six funded projects were selected by an awarding committee of games industry experts. The quality and number of applications show the great potential of Hamburg as a games hotspot. The application phase for the second funding round in 2021 starts on August 30.

On June 3, our Project Manager Maggie Schneider and Jan Theysen, Co-Founder and Creative Director of KING Art Games will provide you with insights into our Games Lift Incubator program and a basic workshop about crowdfunding for game devs!

In our new worksession series “Gamecity Forecast” we aim to take a look beyond the day-to-day business - and put our heads together on topics that will gain importance for the games sector in the (near) future.

Apply now for a free Small Booth package for Indie Arena Booth Online at gamescom 2021

Nordic Game Conference is coming up on May 26-28 with a three-days online program and many opportunities to network. Gamecity Hamburg provides a number of free tickets to Hamburg game studios, developers, publishers and students. Apply until May 16!

On May 6, the first version of the Gamecity Online Hub opens its digital doors. Explore the multi-faceted network of Hamburg's games industry as a playable browser game in an authentic Hamburg setting.

In the new online event series "Gamecity Impulse" Gamecity presents talks and discussions on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In the first session Rebekka Niederländer from the initiative “Keinen Pixel den Faschisten” will deal with the question how the games we make influence society.

Christopher Kellner, Head of Business Development at astragon entertainment GmbH and Gamecity Hamburg gave insights in an online workshop on what to consider when applying for the Prototype Funding. Watch the video on Youtube.

The application phase for the Hamburg Prototype Funding starts on March 29 and runs up to and including May 17, 2021. The funding is aimed at founders, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises, which can receive up to 80,000 Euros for the development of prototypes of digital games. 

The Hamburg Games Conference 2021 welcomed more than 600 international attendees at the first online edition, featuring an industry first in its multiplayer online format as a virtual cruise ship.

What is the best way to make a game? Don’t answer! It’s a trick question. There may never be one universal way of managing work across different teams and project sizes. Still, valuable lessons can be learned from the actual experience of the professionals in our teams.

2020 is a year we will all remember. Apart from the fact that the entire world has changed, our working methods had to change, too. Plans, programs, and offers had to be redesigned and rethought.

We have reached our destination. After three months of hard work, our five teams got to present what they did during the Games Lift incubator. For most of them, this was their biggest showing yet. But to us, it did not feel like an exam – it felt like the celebration after.

You can see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, even tell it by the way their e-mails are worded: Our teams are excited. And they have very good reason to. On December 8, the Incubator will end with a public presentation. What’s in store?

The five Hamburg-based teams of the first Games Lift Incubator are coming out of three months of intensive workshops and coaching concerning the development and marketing of computer games. In the final event on December 8, the founders will present how the mentors' input has been applied to further develop their game concepts.

The Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft mbH is as of now looking for a working student (m/f/d) for the communications department for Gamecity Hamburg (16 hours per week)

The Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft mbH is as of now looking for a PR / Communications Manager (m/f/d) for the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft and Gamecity Hamburg (full- or part-time, starting with a limited contract)

Last weekend was all about "Exploring Borders" with the PLAY20 Creative Gaming Festival and our PLAY20 Game Jam, where teams from all over the world participated to create new games in about 45 hours.

Working on Public Relations for video games is challenging; it is especially so for small game developers working on tight schedules and limited budgets. That is why at Gamecity’s Games Lift Incubator, PR is a special focus. We sat in on two luminaries coaching our teams.

It may be powered by a technical achievement, but this novel VR game is all about the story. Players will walk around a dilapidated amusement park, solve puzzles and take in the scenery. There is a layer cake of a tale to discover.

And it might be done soon! Developer Roman Fuhrer has worked at a variety of successful game studios. But this action-adventure is his very own. And he wants to get it just right.

Developer Julia Reberg has a small, but enticing idea: Research alchemy in a fantasy world and find a miracle cure. If you don’t, Zombies will arrive and end the game. But we do not need to worry yet.

The Milestone Pitch on October 19 marked the end of the first half of Gamecity’s Games Lift Incubator 2020. In a two hour presentation, the awarding committee and mentors of the program got to check in on the progress of our five teams. There was a lot to see and talk about.

Ole Jürgensen and Leonie Brosz still remember the way we all used to play when we were kids. Now, they are bringing it back. The novel idea at the heart of VR game „Crumbling“ is a really natural way of controlling your character.

Or, to be more precise, it is keyboardist and composer Jonah Weingarten who gets sucked in. Players get to look like him and fight through a fantastic landscape inspired by feudal Japan. Dev team members Nico Plötz and Robin Stephan explain their wild idea.

Gamecity Hamburg invites you to participate in an online game jam that will take place during the PLAY20 Festival.

It’s time to talk teams and projects. They define the Games Lift Incubator’s purpose: The whole point of the program is to help them thrive. In the coming weeks, we will take a closer look at each of them. But in order to get a sense of their diversity, let’s start with an overview.

Good workshops are hard to find. In the Games Lift incubator, they are a main attraction of the program. It’s seasoned game devs giving personal advice to a small group. But there is a crinkle: Because of the pandemic, this time around all talks and workshops of the Games Lift Incubator are being held remotely.

In order to increase the visibility of current game projects and to support the initiation of new business contacts, Gamecity Hamburg now promotes participation in online and in-person events for game developers and studios from Hamburg with the program "Games Transfer".

As another important program to support up-and-coming game developers and the games ecosystem in Hamburg, our Games Lift Incubator finally lifts off. Time for a quick inventory: What does the program do? What does it hope to achieve? We asked Gamecity Hamburg’s project manager Margarete Schneider to get us into the details of this new incubation program.

How are the media and creative industries doing in Hamburg? What influence does the covid-19 pandemic have on media and creative companies, how does it affect business and companies‘ requirements? What do you expect in relation to the media location Hamburg?

We talked with kabuff.co developer Torsten Fock-Herde about their upcoming game REPTRAILS - Save the FRD and the ongoing crowdfunding project.

The participants for the first batch of the new "Games Lift" Incubator by Gamecity Hamburg have been selected

The first purely digital gamescom opens its doors from August 27 to 30. Internet users worldwide will have the opportunity to experience the newly developed Indie Arena Booth Online for the first time.

In the past weeks and months we have built up a workshop and mentoring program for our Games Lift Incubator.

Margarete Schneider explains what it's all about.

Hamburg supports 7 game projects with 430,000 euros in first round of new prototype funding initiative

Our team is growing and our new project manager, Margarete Schneider brings extensive experience in the games and digital industry with her and will, among other things, plan and implement the Gamecity Incubator, which will be launched in the second half of the year.

Hamburg based Indie Studio Tiny Roar releases "Bomb Bots Arena"

Applications are open until May 31

gamecity:Hamburg offers the new event format Game Starter to intensify the exchange between games industry experts and career starters.

An awarding committee consisting of five experienced industry experts will decide on the award of the new Hamburg prototype funding

Developers, studios and small and medium-sized enterprises can now apply for the Hamburg Prototype Funding and receive up to 80,000 euros per project as a non-repayable grant.

The Application is open until March 17

Highlights and top speakers 2020

In all three cinema halls of the Zeise cinema, the cutting edge event of Hamburg's digital industry will focus on the main topic "Digital revenue models in games - how game developers will earn money with their content in the future" via talks, panels and on-site live let's plays.

We want you!

Hamburg supports the development of computer games with 520,000 euros per year and a new incubator

On February 27, 2020 the 11th Hamburg Games Conference invites decision-makers from the games and digital industry.

Gamecity Treff meets Gamevention was a successful network evening that brought together Hamburg's games industry and trade visitors of the Gamevention Business Day.

An event of the Cross Innovation Hub and gamecity:Hamburg in cooperation with ZAL - Zentrum für Angewandte Luftfahrtforschung:

PLAY19 - of Monsters and Games, the Hamburg Creative Gaming Festival enters its 12th round on November 14.

At the first Industry Hearing: Games, we discussed the current challenges in the games industry and support in Hamburg.

gamecity:Hamburg invites you to the Gamecity Treff at Nochtspeicher in the wake of the new Hamburg games exhibition GAMEVENTION on November 22.

Apply now!

We are looking for ambitious Indie Studios based in Hamburg or northern Germany! The Grumpy Old Men give a few answers to the upcoming Indie Pitch Workshop 2019.

Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and gamecity:Hamburg invite you to meet & mingle: animation meets games at the SAE Institute Hamburg on Tuesday, 22 October from 5:30 pm.

We are looking for ambitious Indie Studios based in Hamburg or northern Germany!

In order to make our offers even more relevant, we cordially invite you to the first &ldquo Industry Hearing: Games&rdquo .

Sieben Hamburger Unternehmen und Start-ups präsentierten sich auf dem gamecity:Hamburg Gemeinschaftsstand auf der gamescom 2019. Mehr als 500 Gäste begrüßte gamecity:Hamburg bei zwei Events am vergangenen Dienstag – dem Fischbrötchenempfang auf dem Messestand und dem ersten Games Compass Hamburg auf der gamescom, der gemeinsam mit InnoGames veranstaltet wurde.

This year, gamecity:Hamburg will for the first time invite trade visitors to its traditional fish bun reception on Tuesday, 20 August at 3 p.m.

200 guests of the Hamburg games industry and others celebrated the Gamecity Sommertreff 2019 at the location Ehemaliges Hauptzollamt Hafen Hamburg in the Speicherstadt.

In addition to a new project manager, gamecity:Hamburg receives two further positions in communication and event management.