Round 18 Companies Announced: UK

The UK Games Fund has finalized its eighteenth round of funding, selecting a cohort of twelve independent studios to receive support for their respective game development projects. This initiative serves to provide essential capital for prototype creation, which acts as a critical stepping stone for these developers to secure subsequent publishing agreements or private investment. The selection process for this round was characterized by high levels of competition and a notable influx of first-time applicants to the Prototype Fund.

The twelve companies selected for the Round 18 portfolio include Balloon Studios, Fail Forward Games, Game Anim, Krygon Studio, Nellyvision, Nequinox Studios, Pretty Cool Games, Sigtrap, Tea Imp Games, Triplevision Games, Original Big Games, and The Studio That Threw Nothing Away. These studios are currently initiating work on a diverse range of projects, including titles such as Sea Beyond, You Shoot I’ll Drive, City of Thieves, More Than a Tempo, Possession, Thingy Paint, Thingamajigs, Feral Rebellion, Toss Me, and Anchoress.

This funding cycle represents the final cohort of the year for the UK Games Fund, which operates under the broader mandate of fostering growth within the domestic interactive entertainment sector. While the organization continues to support its current portfolio, it has temporarily paused the acceptance of new expressions of interest for future funding rounds, with plans to reopen the application process in the coming year. The program remains a key mechanism for government-backed investment in the United Kingdom’s games industry, focusing on early-stage development to ensure long-term commercial viability for emerging creative talent.