Currently 3 active game design grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Worldwide. 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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She Got Game is a Pro Helvetia mentoring programme promoting equal opportunities in the Swiss and international game industry, supporting the representation of women in management positions through dialogue with experienced international experts from the game industry. The call is aimed at professional game designers who identify as women from the regions of Pro Helvetia's liaison offices: the Arab region, East Asia, South America, South Asia and Vietnam, and West, Central, East and Southern Africa. ELIGIBILITY: Emerging Talents are game developers or game studios whose relevant training or registration (self-employed, sole proprietorship, or company) dates back less than seven years. Selection criteria include digital content for devices such as computers, consoles, mobile devices, or mixed-reality devices requiring a high level of interaction; clearly defined objectives in terms of participation and career; originality, feasibility, degree of innovation, and marketability of the project; and project leaders holding the copyright and rights of use. Excluded: commissioned work and projects that are part of an advertising or promotional campaign, and purely technological projects without obvious narrative and/or aesthetic content. WHAT IS OFFERED: individual coaching and input talks on project development, business strategy and finances, marketing, PR, and pitch training; involvement in a growing community of female game developers; potential access to international trade fairs; CHF 3,000 toward the production of a prototype or demo version; and up to CHF 250 per week toward childcare or children's travel expenses when attending international trade fairs (a budget must be presented in advance). All modules are conducted in English; the programme is a time-consuming commitment of roughly 30 hours over six months, plus potential additional time attending events or trade fairs. APPLICATION: submit a short CV (including education/training, nationality, and residency status in Switzerland), a short description of the current project (type and genre, gameplay, platform, development status, target audience, with relevant visual material, max. 10 A4 pages), a project portfolio, and expectations regarding the programme's objectives. All documents should be submitted in English; if not possible, applications may be submitted in German, French, or Italian. KEY DATES: applications open 1 July 2026; submission deadline 1 September 2026, 23:59 CEST; notification of decision in November 2026; earliest project start 1 January 2027. Apply via the Pro Helvetia application portal.
Epic MegaGrants are financial grants from Epic Games for creative, noteworthy and innovative projects built in and around Unreal Engine, or projects that enhance the open source 3D graphics ecosystem. Over 2,000 grants have been awarded to date. The programme is explicitly aimed at smaller teams, solo developers and individuals as well as studios: Epic states that individuals and small teams are eligible and encouraged, and that it treats every project equally regardless of who you are. WHAT IS FUNDED: (1) INDIE GAMES, small or solo teams working in Unreal Engine, submitted past the idea and design phase with at least some working prototype, ideally with a video link; (2) UEFN EXPERIENCES, Fortnite Creative islands and interactive experiences built in Unreal Editor for Fortnite; (3) ENGINE MIGRATION, a proportion of MegaGrants is reserved for teams moving a partially developed project from another engine to Unreal; (4) FILM, TV AND LIVE EVENTS, including live-action and animated films and shows, broadcast, live and location-based events; (5) OTHER NON-GAMES VERTICALS such as architecture, automotive, manufacturing, simulation, product design, advertising and VR/AR, where more detailed project plans and prototypes are expected; (6) EDUCATION, including research, curricula and course development and university programmes, though for institutions Epic accepts submissions only from degree-granting schools and educators at such schools; (7) TOOLS AND OPEN SOURCE, creating open source tools or enhancing open source software using Unreal Engine. NON-UNREAL PROJECTS ARE ELIGIBLE if you want to move them to Unreal Engine, or if the project enhances open source 3D content creation whether or not it relates to Unreal Engine. EVALUATION rests on three things: quality and unique appeal (high-quality demos or builds, well-documented descriptions, technical ambition); community benefit (how you will give back, for example open-sourcing the project, releasing assets through a marketplace, sharing learnings, or shipping an SDK, tool or plug-in); and viability (a clear budget with major spend areas and a project plan with milestones, deliverables and timeline). NOTE ON DEADLINES: the FAQ still describes MegaGrants as an ongoing programme with no specific deadline, but the timeline published on the same page now runs in fixed cycles, and the Cycle 2 submission window closes 4 September 2026 at 23:59 ET. Treat the cycle date as the operative deadline. You may apply for more than one project, and may reapply for the same project after a decision if you have made updates. Epic is not offering sponsorships and cannot give feedback on applications. Apply at megagrants.unrealengine.com.
Slamdance's DIG (Digital, Interactive and Gaming) showcase presents work at the edges of cinema and interactivity: interactive documentaries, VR/AR, experiential installations, and experimental games, a strong fit for interactive AI and data-driven work. Film categories run on similar deadline tiers. DIG deadlines: regular 10 August 2026 (USD 60), late 14 September 2026 (USD 70), extended 6 October 2026 (USD 90).