North Rhine-Westphalia creates new opportunities for the funding of games

Federal state government and Film- und Medienstiftung NRW lay down new guidelines on  funding the production of computer and video games

For the first time, companies from the games sector have the chance to apply for financial support for the production of computer and video games in North Rhine-Westphalia. The federal state government has joined forces with the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW to reform the funding of games in North Rhine-Westphalia with the introduction of a new guideline for funding digital games and interactive content, thereby making it fit for the global games market.

Every production company based in North Rhine-Westphalia is entitled to apply for up to 50 per cent of the production costs of a project as a subsidy. Maximum funding is set at 500,000 Euros and granted as a conditionally repayable loan. Interactive projects from the fields of VR/AR (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality), web and mobile can also be supported on the basis of the new guideline.

The Secretary of State responsible for Media and Head of the State Chancellery Nathaniel Liminski: „The new funding programme for games will make companies from North Rhine-Westphalia internationally competitive. Taken together with the doubling of funding budget to three million Euros, the new funding programme for the production of computer and video games stands out in Germany thanks to its financial volume and efficiency.“

Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW: „Video games are culturally and economically among the most important media content of the present day. We are delighted that we are able to continue and expand our games funding programme with a larger budget and a dedicated guideline. This is another milestone in the successful development of North Rhine-Westphalia as a games hub. We would like to thank the federal state and are now looking forward to new, creative projects from NRW.“

The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW’s funding programme for development, which had already been successful in recent years, is also being overhauled. Funding for the development of concepts and prototypes will be allocated grants of up to 80 per cent of the development costs and a maximum of 100,000 Euros.

By doubling the level of funds to three million Euros in the budget for the current financial year, the federal state had already laid the foundation for the expansion of economically-oriented funding of the North Rhine-Westphalian games industry. The guideline, which has now been approved by the European Commission, creates the framework for also establishing North Rhine-Westphalia as the No. 1 games region in the long term.

The implementation of the funding programme is ensured by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW which will also be providing advice and supervision to the applicants.

Details of the most important innovations:

• The production of computer and video games and interactive content can be supported with up to 50 per cent of the production costs to a maximum of up to 500,000 Euros per project.
• An application can be made for a grant of up to 80 per cent of the development costs to a maximum of up to 100,000 Euros for the development of a prototype.