Currently 5 active game design grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the EU. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Feminist Gaming Project is opening applications for its first Fellowship cohort: five fellows from different creative and research fields spending three months developing 3D assets, tools, and documentation for its Open Access Asset Library (OAL), a free, open repository of inclusive 3D content created by, with, and for intersectionally feminist and diverse communities. Where mainstream marketplaces default to hyper-athletic, idealized, or hyper-sexualized characters, the OAL offers average bodies, real postures, everyday objects, and the kinds of lives most games leave out (pregnancy and postpartum, care work, ageing, disability, domestic labor). This first cohort is dedicated to 3D content. Supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and working across the Netherlands, Türkiye, Germany, and the UK, the project challenges exclusionary norms in how games are made. The fellowship offers a EUR 1,000 honorarium per fellow over three months (half at start, half on completion); mentorship from the core team and advisors in feminist design, game studies, 3D production, and digital culture; a peer community across NL, TR, DE, and the UK with biweekly meetings; visibility through a travelling exhibition program, publications, and public events; and authorship credited in the OAL under its license terms. Five roles are recruited (one fellow each): 3D Character Artist for inclusive base meshes; 3D Character Artist for pregnancy and postpartum assets; 3D Animator for neutral and everyday movement; 3D Modeller for domestic and care-labor environments; and Researcher/Writer for documentation and the representation framework; applicants may rank up to two. Open to 3D artists, animators, modellers, designers, researchers, and writers committed to inclusive and intersectional representation in games; prior game-industry experience is not required, and emerging creators, underrepresented practitioners, and researchers at the intersection of games, gender, and culture are especially encouraged, particularly those based in or connected to NL, TR, DE, or the UK. To apply, email feministgamingproject@gmail.com with a short statement (max ~500 words), a portfolio or work samples (a link is fine), and confirmation of availability for the three-month period; name the role(s) in the subject line or statement. The project explicitly asks applicants to write statements in their own voice rather than using AI-generated text. Indicative timeline: applications close 12 July 2026; selection and notification late July; fellowship period August to October 2026; showcase and publication November to December 2026.
Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents pre-production grant supports early-career game designers in developing playable prototypes for digital games. Emerging Talents are game developers or studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 20,000, plus possible additional coaching. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents production grant funds the production of digital games based on advanced prototypes or vertical slices. Emerging Talents are studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. Applicants must be legal entities (sole proprietorships accepted if willing to convert). ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 50,000, requiring a matching grant of equal value from own or third-party funding. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents post-production grant funds the dissemination and marketing of advanced game-design projects. Emerging Talents are studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. Applicants must be legal entities (sole proprietorships accepted if willing to convert). ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 20,000, plus potential individual coaching. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
She Got Game is a Pro Helvetia mentoring programme promoting equal opportunities for women in the Swiss and international game industry, supporting the representation of women in management positions through dialogue with experienced international experts. This is the variant for professional game designers FROM Switzerland who identify as women (a separate variant exists for practitioners in the liaison-office regions). Emerging Talents are developers or studios whose relevant training or registration dates back less than seven years. ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. WHAT IS OFFERED: individual coaching on project development, business strategy, finances, marketing, PR, and pitch training; a growing community of female game developers; potential access to international trade fairs; CHF 3,000 toward a prototype or demo; and up to CHF 250 per week toward childcare or children's travel when attending trade fairs. Roughly 30 hours over six months. Submission deadline 1 September 2026 (23:59 CEST); notification November 2026. Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.