The European Union has announced a new program of grants which will help support the development of videogame projects.
The grants, worth a total of €1.5 million ($2.1 million) are available to any EU-based developer that has brought at least one product to market since 2005. Individual grants for “interactive works” will run between €10,000 – €60,000 ($14,000 – $83,500) except for grants awarded to developers of console and PC games, which can go as high as €100,000 ($139,000). The amount of the grant awarded to an individual project cannot exceed 50 percent of the project’s cost, except in cases of “single projects presenting an interest in promoting European cultural diversity,” which are allowed to receive grants covering up to 60 percent of costs.
The European Games Developer Federation has lobbied for a program of this sort for some time. EGDF General Secretary Malte Behrmann said, “This is the first visible sign of the success of our political work with the European Commission. We hope now, as the European Union has acknowledged the importance of our industry, that the developer community will harvest the fruits of our work and make their submissions for prototype funding.”
Prototype funding applications will be accepted over two periods. The first ends November 15, while the second application period will run from November 16 to April 15, 2008. More information, including funding applications, are available at the EGDF website.
