Games Lift Incubator: Grown Together

The Games Lift Incubator, a program managed by Gamecity Hamburg, concluded its 2022 cycle with a graduation pitch event held at the Virtual Reality Headquarters in Hamburg. The primary purpose of the incubator is to provide emerging game development teams with professional guidance, workshops, and networking opportunities to accelerate their projects. The program emphasizes the development of team synergy and technical proficiency, offering participants three months of intensive training followed by 12 months of ongoing coaching and public relations support.

The 2022 cohort featured five distinct teams—About Cannons & Sparrows, Metacore, Godcomplex, Team Marty, and developer Elin Meinecke—who showcased significant progress in their respective titles. Notable achievements included the transition from conceptual ideas to playable demos, such as the development of a functional level for the platformer About Cannons & Sparrows and the creation of dynamic, tactical gameplay mechanics for the co-op shooter Metacore. Other projects, including the party action game Stack’em up, the touchscreen-focused platformer Babsi Bullet, and the pastoral simulation Evergreen Garden, demonstrated the diverse creative output fostered by the program.

The incubator relies on a network of over 35 industry veterans who provide mentorship and expertise to the participating teams. By facilitating collaboration between developers with varying skill sets—such as media production and coding—the program aims to build a supportive community within the Hamburg games industry. The graduation event served as a platform for these teams to present their work to an audience, highlighting the program's success in fostering both technical development and professional self-confidence among participants.