June 9, 2022
Games Lift: Good for you?
If things go well here, we like to keep them going. That is certainly the plan with our Games Lift Incubator. After two successful runs, preparations for the third are well underway. We are still open for teams with a strong vision and ambitious goals. But there’s only a few days left.
Applications for the Games Lift Incubator 2022 have to reach us by Tuesday, June 14. Avid readers know this already since May 9:
Teams of all experience levels with an intriguing game project and of up to five persons can apply for a place in the program. If you do not live and work in Hamburg yet, you can still apply – but you have to move here or open a branch by the start of the program in September.
Should you apply? While it is impossible to give a general answer to that specific question, the answer is, in many cases, a resounding ‘yes’. But what’s in it for you? That depends. Take a look at our explainer if you consider applying. If you have any reservations or questions left, feel free to ask us at funding@gamecity-hamburg.de
Objectively successful
Participating in the incubator can enable teams to “significantly move forward” in the course of just a few months. That is not just our own assessment, Symmetry Break Studio told us so. They have been with us in the Incubator’s 2021 iteration with their narrative 2d adventure game "Prospector" and have just now successfully applied for our Prototype Funding program. The additional financial support will enable them to take the next step on their road to attracting investors, sponsors, and publishers.
The path is a different one for each individual project, but by now, five teams have successfully applied for our Prototype Funding after being with us in the Incubator; Denise Koch has done it after wowing us with her interactive rock musical “Monstersongs VR”.
And Pseudoscience Interactive has done it with “Alchymia”, a fascinating building and management rogue-like.
We are overjoyed by these successes, even though the money paid out is not an end to itself. Of course, financial funding is a main pillar of supporting a team. But this kind of funding can only get you off the ground. We want to see self-sufficient success. We want teams to build up knowledge here and to stay in our network. To us, the multiple successful applications for prototype funding are proof that the incubator works: Teams can plan more realistically, express themselves more clearly and sell their projects better. This is essential in an industry where you can hardly finance anything without making a good pitch first.
On that note, we are very impressed by the public demos of "Crumbling" and "Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero". Here, two alumni of the Games Lift Incubator 2020 prove their ability to reach set goals and to open up to an audience. Both are important milestones and a real challenge for newer studios.
Working experts
Happy as we may be with these successes, they do not belong to us. We just happen to know the right people. Real experience and deep knowledge reside in our network of industry insiders; experts that can help you out personally.
Over the span of two years and 36 workshop sessions, seasoned experts have spoken with our teams. To name just a few: Senior producer Heather Chandler has helped Fortnite’s success at Epic Games, games journalist Jörg Luibl is well-known in Germany for his work at 4Players and Spielvertiefung while consultant and all-around veteran Simon Carless is writing the ultimate newsletter on Game Discoverability
We remain immensely thankful for what they have done for our teams. And we are thrilled by the high rate of returning speakers this year. Of course, there will also be new faces in our network, when the program starts in earnest. But that announcement will have to wait until a later date.
So, what’s in it for you in the Games Lift Incubator? In short: financial funding of 15,000 euros per team, personal mentoring, access to a co-working space, three packed months of talks and workshops, and after that, coaching and a time budget with a PR agency. That means a lot of work – but a lot of support too, and a safe space to grow. What exactly happens at the Incubator is always a surprise, even to us. Each and every team and project is different. Identifying and addressing individual needs is important to us. But after two years, 10 teams, 30 mentors, and 150,000 euros in total funding paid out we can safely assume: It should be good. Especially if you join us!
► Find all information on the Games Lift Incubator and how to apply here
