Games Lift 2022: These Are the Five Teams

Gamecity Hamburg announced the five teams selected for the third Games Lift Incubator in July 2022, a regional startup support program run by the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft. The announcement serves to celebrate the chosen projects and outline what the cohort will receive, reflecting Hamburg's effort to nurture early-stage games talent.

Of 21 applications from teams and solo developers, an awarding committee selected five projects. Committee member Mareike Ottrand noted that both the number and quality of applications were particularly high, pointing to a large pool of emerging Hamburg studios and graduates. The selected projects are About Cannons + Sparrows by ACAS, a physics-based puzzle platformer; Babsi Bullet by Team Marty, a touchscreen tap-and-shoot game; Evergreen Garden by Elin Meinecke, a nature-focused farming simulation RPG with puzzle elements; METACORE by Team Metacore, a co-op first-person shooter for one to four players; and Stack'em up by Team Godcomplex, a two-to-six-player party game playable online or locally.

Each team receives 15,000 euros in financial support, places in a Hamburg co-working space, and a three-month workshop and mentoring program beginning September 12, 2022. Content covers project management, marketing, and company formation, with a workshop on game art added for the first time. The program culminates in a public pitch in December 2022, but support continues for another 12 months through individual coaching and a PR agency specializing in indie games.

Mentors and experts come from across the German and international industry, including representatives from IndieAdvisor, astragon Entertainment, Osmotic Studios, Heather Makes Games, Happy Broccoli Games, Deep Silver Fishlabs, and independent consultants. Page sidebar content shows the program has continued, with 2026 applications offering the same 15,000 euros plus a 1,000 euro coaching budget and a trip to an international industry event.