Games Lift Incubator: Ed Valiente, Rebecca Lautner, Arno Heinisch and more are on board

July 21, 2020

Games Lift Incubator: Ed Valiente, Rebecca Lautner, Arno Heinisch and more are on board

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

At our Games Lift Incubator industry experts will share their expertise and their experiences, starting in September 2020. With the knowledge background they gain in the Incubator, the up-and-coming developer teams will be enabled to a successful start in the games industry.

Among others, the following experts will support the Games Lift Incubator teams with their knowledge and experience:

Rebecca Lautner (CBO Landfall Games)

“In my diverse jobs in the games industry, I have experienced and learned an incredible amount – and I’m very much looking forward to sharing this knowledge with the teams in the Games Lift Incubator.”

© Marco J. Drews

Arno Heinisch (CEO & Co-Founder Rocket Beans Entertainment GmbH)

"I’m very happy to be part of the Games Lift Incubator! And I hope to inspire prospective game developers to mindfully listen to their hearts while building up a dedicated community.”

Ed Valiente (Director Publishing & Business Development Thunderful Publishing)

“I am delighted to join Game Lift as a coach and get to know the teams and their projects. In my experience with initiatives like Games Lift in other countries, Incubators are a great chance to start in the videogame business."

Jan Theysen (Co Founder & Creative Director KING Art)

"To me, the Games Lift Incubator is absolutely worth supporting. Such a program can provide a valuable contribution to the games industry, it would be great to have more programs like it.”

Also part of the Games Lift Incubator are the following coaches:

Martina Santoro (Business Development Consultant, Hatch Entertainment)
Michael Schade (Co-Founder and CEO Rockfish Games)
Dr. Christian Rauda (Specialized Lawyer for IT law as well as copyright, media and entertainment law and partner at GRAEF Rechtsanwälte)
Michael Schieben (Facilitator and Co-Author Product Field)
Anne Beuttenmüller (Director Marketing EMEA Niantic, Inc.)
Tobias Kringe (Founder & Managing Director Bytro Labs)
Wolf Lang (CEO Super Crowd)

About the workshop and mentoring program:

Games Lift aims to strengthen the skills of young developer teams and support their projects with comprehensive input and methods. For this purpose, the Incubator provides a wide ranged workshop program, covering relevant issues of game development as well as questions regarding the foundation of a new company, marketing, financing and pitch trainings.

About the Games Lift Incubator

Games Lift supports start-ups, founders, and developer teams in creating concepts and demos for digital games as well as other games related projects with high market potential.

For the first batch, Gamecity Hamburg is looking for five teams until July 27 who – after the selection through an awarding committee – will enter the Games Lift program in September, and receive a three months program of workshops and mentoring, office space in a co-working facility as well as financial aid of up to 15,000 euros per team.

Applications are open until July 27, 11:59 PM.

All information regarding the Games Lift Incubator, a “How to apply” guide, FAQ, and a link to the online application form are available at https://www.gamecity-hamburg.de/funding.

For a direct exchange regarding Games Lift and other games-related programs and topics, we recommend joining the Gamecity Hamburg Discord server: https://discord.gg/GxbtfPQ

News

←

→

Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding 2025: Six Prototypes Funded

In the latest round of funding 2025, Gamecity Hamburg supports six promising digital games with up to 80,000 euros each as a non-repayable grant.

Deutscher Computerspielpreis 2025 Photo by Franziska Krug/ DCP via Getty Images

Games Lift: An Incubator With Quantifiable Success

Is the Games Lift incubator worth it? Sure. Anyone can say that, but facts are better than empty claims. We have numbers to show what the incubator brings. 

Applications open for “Games Forged in Germany”: The Steam Sale organized by Games Germany enters its fourth round

German Developers, studios and publishers with their headquarter in Germany can now apply for the Games Germany Steam Sale for "Games Forged in Germany" 2025 until June 9, 2025.

Portside Game Assembly: Conference Speaker and Program Announced

Portside Game Assembly will take place on June 27, 2025 - Time to announce the full conference speaker and program line-up! This new dedicated B2B conference invites dedicated international indie game leaders aboard a ship cruising Hamburg’s famous harbour. In this focused and collaborative setting, indie leaders and decision makers will engage in a curated program of keynotes, impulse talks, and roundtables.

Games Lift 2025: Apply now from May 2 until June 10

Applications for Gamecity Hamburg's 2025 Games Lift are open from May 2 to June 10. Five teams will receive financial support in form of 15,000 euros, a comprehensive workshop program and access to the Games Lift Network of international industry experts. In addition, the teams can benefit from 1,000 euros in coaching budget. After a three-month workshop phase, the teams will be further supported with individual mentoring and will travel together to an international industry event until August 2026.

Road to Nordic 2025 - These Four Hamburg Games are Traveling to Malmö

With a spacious expo area, exciting developer showcases and many opportunities for business meetings, the Nordic Game Conference is one of the most important games conferences in Europe. It offers developers plenty of opportunities to network and meet relevant business contacts in person. Gamecity Hamburg will be back again in 2025, bringing four indie games from Hamburg to Malmö as part of the “Road to Nordic” program.

Road to gamescom 2025 - Apply until April 16!

Road to gamescom is back: We offer spots at our joint Gamecity Hamburg booth at the Indie Arena Booth for Hamburg-based studios, teams and devs. Apply now until April 16!

Prototype Funding 2025: Applications open until April 7

Applications for Gamecity Hamburg's 2025 prototype funding are open from March 3 to April 7. This year's funding round provides 400,000 euros in total and up to 80,000 euros per accepted application team.

Road to Nordic Game 2025

Gamecity Hamburg offers a Road to Nordic Game Conference program: We offer four spots at our Gamecity Hamburg booth for Hamburg-based studios, teams and devs. Apply now until March 30!

Recap: This was Pitch Level Up 2025

The fourth round of Pitch Level Up took place on February 20, 2025. Read our recap here in order to learn more about this beloved mentoring event, which will come back 2026.

School Internship Games January 2025: Pupils discover games industry in Hamburg companies

During a three-week internship, 15 9th grade students from Hamburg gained insights into the various job profiles and companies in the games industry. We visited them for their final presentation and found out what they learned.

Portside Game Assembly: Ticket sales for brunch and party launched

With Portside Game Assembly, Gamecity Hamburg is welcoming studio heads and directors from successful indie game studios on a conference ship and other extraordinary locations in Hamburg on June 27, 2025. More participating studios are announced and the ticket sale for all events has started.

More News