From March 3 to April 5, founders, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for Gamecity Hamburg's Prototype Funding. Applicants can apply for up to 120,000 euros for the development of a prototype for a digital game. Through the funding program, Gamecity Hamburg will provide a sum of 400,000 euros for game developers on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 2023. Gamecity Hamburg is part of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft. 

"The new Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding has been in place since 2020. In the four funding rounds since then, we have been able to support 21 games projects from Hamburg with a total of more than 1,120,000 euros. The decision on the funded projects is made by an awarding committee that has first-hand knowledge of the games market. Accordingly, we are pleased that many of the funded projects were able to convince investors or publishers with strong prototypes and secure follow-up financing. With the prototype funding, we will continue to promote the diversity and quality of computer games developed in Hamburg," comments Dennis Schoubye, head of Gamecity Hamburg.  

Funding is provided for 80 percent of the eligible costs for the creation of prototypes of digital games. If no cumulation with another public funding program (such as the federal computer games funding or EU funds) is sought, a maximum of 80,000 euros can be applied for. In the case of planned cumulation with other funding programs, projects can be funded with up to 120,000 euros. 

The application procedure 
Eligible to apply for Prototype Funding are: 

• Developers and developer communities 
• or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 
• who are based in Hamburg  
• or who are relocating their headquarters to Hamburg 
• or are opening a branch office/branch of operations in Hamburg 

A consultation with Gamecity Hamburg is mandatory and recommended no later than two weeks before the submission deadline, March 22, in order to optimally prepare applicants for the application. Interested developers should contact funding@gamecity-hamburg.de to arrange an appointment. 

The awarding committee consists of Nina Müller (Head of Publishing, Goodgame Studios), Jonas Hüsges (Publishing Director, Daedalic Entertainment), Valentina Birke (Head of Project, Indie Arena Booth), Jens Unrau (Head of Department Media and Digital Economy of the Ministry of Culture and Media in Hamburg) and Dennis Schoubye (Head of Gamecity Hamburg) and will decide on the awarding of the funding after the end of the application phase on May 3 based on the applications and a subsequent pitch of the applicants. 

All further information on the application, a comprehensive FAQ, required templates, and the link to the online application can be found at: https://gamecity-hamburg.de/funding/apply-now/.

Projects supported by the Prototype Funding 

Since the beginning of the first funding round in 2020, the Prototype Funding has so far supported 21 game projects with more than 1,120,000 euros. Among the funding recipients are, for example, the indie studio Tiny Roar, which received Prototype Funding in 2022 for its dreamlike worldbuilder game "Wanderful" and was able to enter into a partnership with Hamburg-based developer and publisher Daedalic Entertainment in the same year. The serious game "Mambio" by neurodactics, an educational software for primary school children to make arithmetic understandable for all children, received Prototype Funding in 2021 and was able to secure additional funding of over 1,100,000 million euros through the federal computer games funding in 2022.  

All previous funding recipients, and teams can be found on our website: https://gamecity-hamburg.de/funding/#All_Projects 

Further funding programs for the Hamburg games industry from Gamecity Hamburg  

The Games Lift Incubator supports five teams, developers, and start-ups each year in developing concepts for digital games and planning projects geared toward the market. In addition to 15,000 euros in start-up funding, the recipients receive a comprehensive coaching and mentoring program with experienced international experts, as well as workshops and subsequent individual support. The application phase for this year's Games Lift will start in Q2 2023.  

Further information can be found at: https://gamecity-hamburg.de/incubator/ 

Interested developers are invited to join the Gamecity Hamburg Discord Server: https://discord.gg/gamecityhamburg 

News about prototype funding and other topics can be found in the monthly Gamecity Hamburg Newsletter: https://gamecity-hamburg.de/newsletter/ 

For further inquiries please contact: 

Anna Jäger
Gamecity Hamburg 
PR Managerin 
T +49 – 40 – 23 72 435 78 
anna.jaeger@gamecity-hamburg.de