Hamburg Prototype Funding 2020

Gamecity Hamburg announced the first-round results of its new prototype funding initiative on June 23, 2020, awarding a total of 430,000 euros to seven game projects from 35 submissions. The announcement presents the program as evidence of the games industry's importance to Hamburg and as validation of a strategy to develop the location's potential sustainably. The Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg added a one-time 30,000 euro increase to the 2020 budget, which otherwise stands at 400,000 euros per year and is committed through 2023.

The funded projects and amounts are Wild Woods by Team Octofox (80,000 euros), Out of Place by Bagpack Games (80,000), Lost Sector by Team Lost Sector (73,270), Project MORPH by THREAKS (70,000), Soulitaire by BeardShaker (48,000), Stadtkinder by Studio Monstrum (48,000), and Lazor Punx by Team Radioactive Dreams (31,273). Awards therefore ranged from roughly 31,000 to 80,000 euros, with the top two projects receiving the maximum amount in this round.

The selection process began with an application window from March 31 to May 25, during which Gamecity Hamburg held more than 40 consultation meetings. Online pitches for a shortlist followed in June. A five-person committee drawn from academia, local studios, the city ministry, and Gamecity Hamburg made the final decisions. Criteria included the project and team, promotion of young talent, feasibility, location effect, and market potential. Organizers describe the decision as narrow because of the high quality of submissions.

Officials emphasized support for start-up studios and young talent as a long-term investment in Hamburg's media and games network, with Culture Senator Carsten Brosda describing Hamburg as one of Europe's largest locations for game development and marketing. The next funding round opens in March 2021, and a new Gamecity Incubator program is slated to launch shortly, offering coaching, mentoring, and co-working facilities alongside financial support.