Federal funding scores with German Computer Game Prize
31st March 2022 — A jury of 32 experts will select this year's winners of the most important prize for computer and video games in Germany from over 450 applications. The awards will be presented today, Thursday. A total of 800,000 euros in prize money is available in 16 categories. The award ceremony will be broadcast as a live show on the website of the German Computer Game Award from 7:30 p.m., with presenter Katrin Bauerfeind and entertainer Uke Bosse leading the evening.
Eight public-funded projects nominated
Among this year's nominees are six games and two studios that were funded by the Federal Government via DLR-PT. These include CipSoft and Paintbucket Games, two of a total of three candidates nominated in the "Studio of the Year" category. With "Endzone – A World Apart" and "Lacuna", two of the funded companies are in the running for the "Best German Game" award. The makers of "Imagine Earth" can hope for the title "Best Expert Game". The "Newcomer Award Best Prototype" could go to the 3D mystery adventure game "Skuggor". Imagine Earth" and an expansion of "Tropico 6", nominated for "Best Expert Game" and "Best Live Game" respectively, also take users into exciting digital worlds. The game "VR Skater" translates the typical leg movements on the skateboard into hand movements and actually conveys a skating feeling. For this, it could win in the category "Best Innovation and Technology".
In 2021, two winners of the Computer Game Award came from the ranks of the federally funded, with the complex political simulation "Suzerain" winning in the category "Best Expert Game" and the Munich-based company Mimimi Games named best studio of the year. Their latest project, the real-time tactics game "Codename Sweet Potato", is also currently being funded by the Federal Government via DLR-PT. With this game, the company itself wants to take over the distribution of a game for the first time. "It is only through this kind of co-financing in game development that we are now in a position to keep the brand– das Computerspiel – and distribute it ourselves," says Johannes Roth, founder and managing director of Mimimi Games, stressing that the Federal government’s computer game funding is a real game changer for his company. " Without it, we wouldn't be where we are today."
The Federal Government's computer games funding has given the industry an incredible boost. It is thanks to this funding measure that many small studios have been able to emerge, try out or develop new game mechanics.
"Incredible boost for the industry"
The games industry has long since become a crucial player and innovation driver in the creative industries. After the great success of the first funding round in 2019, the computer games funding programme has now been made permanent. The Federal Government will invest 250 million euros in the games industry in the coming years. The aim is to significantly increase the market share of computer and video games produced by German companies and to make Germany more attractive as a development location. So far, some 370 projects have been funded, while 200 projects have now been completed and another dozen are added every week. "The Federal Government's computer games funding has given the industry an incredible boost. It is thanks to this funding measure that many small studios have been able to emerge, try out or develop new game mechanics. In the meantime, there is hardly a German game studio that has not yet submitted an application to us," says Dr Matteo Riatti, head of the Computer Games/Creative Industries Department at DLR-PT.
DLR-PT supports the Federal Government's computer games funding on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) with an interdisciplinary team that also includes employees who come from the creative industry and have already programmed video games themselves. Together with team members who have many years of experience in project funding, they accompany the project proposals. In addition, the teams advise interested parties on how to apply for funding and inform them about the Federal Government's funding mechanisms with the help of a virtual seminar programme.