Federal Games Funding – First call for funding under the funding guideline ‘Federal Games Funding’ of 27 December 2024

I. What can be funded under the guideline?

According to § 2 of the funding guideline,

Prototypes

Prototypes are projects that are intended to provide a basis for decision-making for a later production phase of a game. Prototypes can serve different purposes, including: evaluating the game idea, technical feasibility, comparing different implementation variants, creating a ‘vertical slice’ for investors. Funding a prototype does not create any legal entitlement to subsequent production funding.

Productions

The term ‘production’ encompasses all projects that aim to create a market-ready product offered to the public for customers. In addition to new games, this can also include ports of existing games to new platforms or extensive expansions for games that have already been released (e.g. DLC, add-ons or season passes).

can be funded.

II. To what extent and under what conditions are projects funded?

According to III No. 3 of the first funding call, the funding ceiling is 2 million euros.

The grant is a partial financing. The self-financing share should be at least 50 percent of the total costs.

The development costs or costs for the project must be at least 300,000 euros.

The basic funding rate is up to 25 per cent.

The basic funding rate can be increased by funding bonuses

Large companies: no funding bonuses: max. 25 per cent funding.

SMEs: funding bonuses of up to 25 per cent: max. 45 per cent funding.

o Start-ups à funding bonus of up to 25 per cent (from SMEs) + 5 per cent start-up bonus à max. 50 per cent funding

è Bonuses can be accumulated in principle.

III. What conditions must be met for funding to be granted?

The company's registered office, place of business or branch office must be in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The company must be a legal entity. Exception: associations, GmbH & Co. KG and UG & Co. KG are not eligible to apply.

The project must not have commenced before the application is submitted.

The necessity of funding must be demonstrated (project description).

à The project must contribute to achieving the objectives of the funding guideline (§ 1 Funding Guideline).

The requirements of the culture test must be met.

Youth and consumer protection must be observed (§ 4 No. 6,7 Funding Guideline)

Measures for accessibility must be implemented in the project (explanation required)

IV. What costs are eligible for funding?

Costs that are necessary and directly related to the project are eligible for funding. These include, in particular:

· Personnel costs incurred during the implementation of the project (and not already covered by other financing),

· Rights to use protected names, third-party (partial) works (assets) and other intangible goods used in the game,

subcontracting of up to 50% of the applicant's personnel costs (including overheads and/or the flat-rate costs),

costs for obtaining project-relevant feedback, e.g. trade fair appearances, community management, beta tests, creating trailers,

costs for necessary project-specific travel,

costs for project-specific legal advice and the protection of intellectual property rights, and

costs for server infrastructure and hardware costs, provided that these go beyond the usual workplace equipment for the respective activity.

This list is not exhaustive!

V. What costs are not eligible?

Costs incurred before or during the application process,

costs for rebranding, company formation or relocation,

distribution costs including advertising costs (including personnel and material costs of distribution, dealer commissions, storage costs, packaging and shipping costs)

marketing costs (excluding the creation of trailers)

VI. How long can the approved funds be accessed?

According to Section VII of the first funding call, the funding call applies to applications submitted during the validity of the funding call (by 31 December 2025 at the latest) and continues until the end of the project. The project may therefore extend beyond 2025. The period is limited by a time limit in § 8 of the funding guideline. Accordingly, the projects should be completed by 31 December 2029.

VII. Is it possible for a company to receive multiple grants?

The funding is project-specific. In the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the funding guideline, it can be assumed that a company can apply for funding for several different projects.