Games Lift: these 5 games projects will be supported in Batch 1

August 26, 2020

Games Lift: these 5 games projects will be supported in Batch 1

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

Starting in September, the five aspiring teams will be supported with 15,000 euros each in funding as well as a three-months long workshop and mentoring program to turn their ideas into high-quality games projects.

In Games Lift, the up-and-coming developers will work together with over 30 international coaches and experts on their projects and on successful entry into the professional games industry.

A total of 16 project teams applied for the first Games Lift in July. The Games Lift awarding committee agreed on a pre-selection of teams, which were invited to an online pitch of their projects.

After intensive discussions, the awarding committee, consisting of Anne Beuttenmüller (Director Marketing EMEA Niantic, Inc.), Tobias Kringe (Founder Bytro Labs), Wolf Lang (CEO Super Crowd Entertainment), Margarete Schneider (Project Manager Gamecity Hamburg) and Jens Unrau (Head of the Media and Digital Industry Department at the Ministry of Culture and Media in Hamburg) decided to sponsor five projects in the first Games Lift Batch.

The five projects and teams of the first Games Lift Batch:

Alchymia by Julia Reberg
Crumbling by Team Crumbling
Leif's Adventure: Netherworld Hero by OneManOnMars
Luna Park by Curvature Games
Ninja Brigade by Impawsible Games

The high quality of the selected projects and the wide range of genres from VR games to imaginative platformers to an economy simulation convinced the awarding committee, and once more highlights the diversity and high potential of Hamburg's developer scene.

In addition to start-up financing during the three-month incubator period and support through a comprehensive coaching and mentoring program, the teams will receive access to a co-working space. The teams will start with the first workshops on September 7, 2020. In December, the projects and the progress made in the incubator will be presented in a public final pitch.

The following experts have already been confirmed for the Games Lift program, among others:

Andreas Suika (EPIC Games), Anne Beuttenmüller (Niantic, Inc.), Arno Heinisch (Rocket Beans Entertainment), Dr. Christian Rauda (GRAEF Rechtsanwälte), Ed Valiente (Thunderful Publishing), Jan Taaks (Overhype Studios ), Jan Theysen (KING Art), Jan Wilfarth (allaboutHRlaw), Jan-Peter Ewert (Valve), Johan Toresson (Raw Fury), Jörg Luibl (4players. de), Linda Rendel (Ubisoft), Markus Windelen (Six Foot), Marta Adamska (GOG), Martina Santoro (EPIC Games), Michael Schade (ROCKFISH Games), Michael Schieben (Product Field Works), Rebecca Lautner (Landfall Games), Stefan Walter (InnoGames), Steffen Rühl (Rühl Gameconsult), Tobias Kringe (Bytro Labs), Wolf Lang (Super Crowd).

News

Games Lift: In Alchymia, players won’t skip the fun

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.

Time for the Milestone Pitch: What have the teams achieved in 6 weeks of Games Lift?

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.

Games Lift: Crumbling feels like playing with action figures

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.

Games Lift: Ninja Brigade will suck you into an Arcade

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.

Register now for the Online Game Jam at the PLAY20 Festival

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

5 unique ideas: The projects that make up Games Lift

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.

Games Lift - What's in a workshop

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.

Application for Gamecity Hamburg program "Games Transfer" now possible

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".

The Games Lift Incubator starts now. What does it incubate, exactly?

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.

Survey: How are the media and creative industries doing in Hamburg?

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?

"REPTRAILS - Save the FRD" - Interview with developer Torsten Fock-Herde

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

9 game studios and Gamecity Hamburg at the digital gamescom 2020

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.

More News