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 MEDIA strand's annual development scheme for video games and immersive content (call CREA-MEDIA-2027-DEVVGIM) funds the pre-production of interactive narrative works with original content and quality gameplay intended for commercial release on PC, console, mobile or XR platforms. WHAT IT FUNDS: concept and prototype development up to a first playable, vertical slice, alpha or demo; production-phase work is excluded, as are puzzle, sports, racing, quiz and party genres. WHO: European video game production companies, XR studios and audiovisual production companies whose main activity is game or software development or audiovisual production, established in a country fully participating in MEDIA and majority-owned by nationals of such countries. Publishers and natural persons cannot apply. The coordinator must have produced or developed a game or immersive experience commercially distributed between 1 January 2024 and the deadline, evidenced by a sales report (work-for-hire and Early Access titles do not count), and must hold the majority of rights. WHAT YOU GET: a lump sum of up to EUR 200,000 (60 percent of the estimated budget) from a EUR 13.5 million pot. APPLICATION: single stage via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. DEADLINE: 2 February 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time.
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.