The Games Lift Incubator aims to enable young developer teams to create successful concepts for digital games and games related projects with high market potential. Its mission is to provide the developer teams with the necessary resources to allow them to work on their projects in a first step with high concentration accompanied by input from experienced industry professionals.

Games Lift provides developer teams with a workshop program, financial support, and office space in a co-working space.

Eligible for support through the Games Lift Incubator are digital games related concepts and projects. Teams can apply with concepts for a digital game as well as other games related projects and innovations. If you are in doubt about whether your project is a fit for the Games Lift incubator, we recommend setting up a consultation appointment with funding@gamecity-hamburg.de.

There are no strict requirements regarding the stage of the project you want to work on in the Games Lift Incubator program. On your application, please state what stage the project is in now and what you want to achieve inside the Games Lift program.

Eligible to apply are developers and developer associations, student teams, start-ups, and teams in the process of founding a company. Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are also eligible to apply.
Please note:
• Team size should not exceed 5 members per team.
• All team members should be available to attend workshops on approx. 2 days per week for the three-month duration of the Incubator program.
• The precondition is always that the team is already based in Hamburg or can prove that they will relocate their residence to Hamburg or open a subsidiary or branch establishment in Hamburg upon entering the Games Lift Incubator program.

If de minimis subsidies are involved, yes, but these may not exceed a total volume of 200,000 Euros in three years from the first subsidy. Other public subsidies that are not subject to the de minimis regulation can be applied independently of this. Gamecity Hamburg must be consulted for a planned accumulation of subsidies for a project supported by Gamecity Hamburg.

If you are already receiving funding through the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding Program, you cannot be granted funding through the Games Lift Incubator at the same time for the same project. If you are applying for the Incubator with one project while being granted the prototype funding for another project, this is generally possible if you can plausibly demonstrate how your team can handle each project and that it does not affect the timing or any other aspects of your prototype funding contract. Please make sure to discuss this in your consultation appointment before applying.

• A funding recipient may receive a total amount of up to 200,000 Euros without notification within three years from the date of the first de minimis aid.
• Furthermore, the grant recipient is required to disclose all de minimis aid received during the three years in relation to the maximum allowable de minimis aid. The recipient is also be obliged to declare any aid granted under this policy when applying for other aid.
• If the aid exceeds the permitted thresholds or the highest possible funding rate, the aid is inadmissible and results in the aid not being able to be granted or, if it has been granted, must be recovered in full.

Yes, but at the same time the precondition for entering the Games Lift Incubator program is always that the team is already based in Hamburg or can prove that he will relocate their residence to Hamburg or open a subsidiary or branch establishment in Hamburg upon.

The application round for the first batch of the Games Lift Inkubator has ended on July 27, 2020. The start of the next application round will be announced on the Gamecity Hamburg Discord Server, the Gamecity Hamburg newsletter, on social media, and in press announcements.
A detailed document on How to apply for the Games Lift Incubator can be found on the Application page and will take you through the application form step by step.

We strongly recommend a consultation appointment before submitting the application. Please contact us at funding@gamecity-hamburg.de to set up an appointment and include the following information:
• Short project outline (max. half a page of text or a slide) of the project
• Background of the team (max. half a page of text or a slide)
• Questions regarding the application

The awarding committee will review all valid applications and invite teams to an online pitch in August. Based on the pitches, the committee will give a recommendation on which five teams will enter the Games Lift Incubator program.

The applicants will be informed by Gamecity Hamburg about the date and necessary preparation for the pitch in front of the awarding committee in time. During the pitches, the contents of the application documents will be presented by the applicants and the awarding committee will have the opportunity for further questions.

Workshops will cover basic knowledge needed for developing game projects with high quality and market potential like defining your project’s main concept, USPs, needed resources, potential target groups, and market strategy. The program will also cover business and legal aspects relevant for founding a new company.
Games Lift aims to tailor the workshop program to the teams’ needs based on the project they apply with as much as possible while making sure they stay relevant to all attending teams.
Workshops will be held typically once per week. Since some topics might take up more time than others, please prepare for being available for workshops on 2 days per week during the Incubator duration.

Providing teams with industry knowledge and experience is a primary component of the Games Lift Incubator. Therefore, all teams should be available for all workshops to make sure they can make full use of the program. If a team member should be indisposed for a particular workshop, please give notice to Gamecity Hamburg in advance.

Depending on the Corona situation, workshops will be held either inside the co-working space in the Hamburg city center and/or online. We will provide participating teams with further information regarding online workshops ahead of time.

Workshops will be held in German or English with regards to both the language of the speaker and the teams.

Teams can receive an expense allowance of up to 15,000 Euros. The first batch of 7,500 Euros will be paid out at the beginning of the program in September. The second batch will be paid out after the team has successfully completed Phase 1 of the Incubator program as well as the milestone pitch in October.
The expense allowance can be used to cover project related-costs. This may refer to the livelihood of team members as well as contracting freelancers for tasks on the project as well as software or travel expenses to showcase the project.

No, the funding is granted as a non-repayable grant on a de minimis basis. Only under certain specific circumstances that constitute a breach of the funding contract must the grant be repaid.

Aside from workstations (desk, chair, lockable mobile container), the co-working space provides WIFI, conference rooms, printer/copier, a mailbox as well as water and coffee. The co-working space is located in central Hamburg.

The office space is provided to teams 24/7 for the whole duration of the Incubator program from early September to early December 2020, pending the Corona situation.
Workshops, pitches, and networking events are also planned to be held inside the co-working facility, depending on the Corona situation.