Funding & Subsidies

The Dutch cultural tech fund. Grants for digital culture, game design, and e-culture.

Midgame Fund is an early-stage investment fund founded by veteran Dutch game developers. They provide not just funding but also active mentorship and strategic advice for indie game studios.

[Recurring - Check current round] The Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme provides financial support to European video game production companies and studios to develop highly innovative and creative narrative storytelling video games. Apply via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (search CREA-MEDIA-YYYY-DEVVGIM). The Creative Europe Desk NL is hosted by DutchCulture.

The Creative Industries Fund NL operates several grant programs for the Dutch game industry, supporting independent game developers in creating artistic, cultural, and socially relevant games.

A $100 million fund by Epic Games designed to support game developers, enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators, and tool developers doing outstanding work with Unreal Engine.

The Regional Development Agency for the Utrecht Region offers funding and growth support for innovative companies, including game studios located in or moving to the Utrecht area.

NOM provides funding and business development support for companies in the Northern Netherlands (Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe), actively supporting the growing game industry in that region.

The WBSO is a Dutch tax incentive for research and development. Game developers creating innovative new technology or software architectures can apply to lower their wage costs for R&D.

The MIT scheme stimulates innovation among SMEs across regional borders. Game studios collaborating on innovative R&D projects can apply for feasibility studies or R&D cooperation grants.

While primarily focused on cybersecurity, they also look at related deep-tech which occasionally overlaps with serious gaming, simulation, and training technologies.

An early-stage VC fund focusing on gaming and interactive media. Though globally operating and India-focused, they are part of the broader international VC ecosystem accessible to ambitious studios.

A global interactive entertainment venture capital firm providing capital, access to a wide network, and strategic guidance to founders in the gaming industry.

An early-stage gaming venture capital firm investing globally in games and gaming services startups, including European and Dutch studios.

GTR is an interactive accelerator and publisher that invests in early-stage studios worldwide, offering funding, publishing support, and network access to help them grow.

A venture capital fund based in Belgium that specializes in the gaming industry. They focus on supporting early-stage game studios, publishers, and companies developing game technology and services in the Benelux, France, and Germany. They typically invest amounts ranging from €150,000 to €1.5 million.

A European crowdfunding and investment platform specifically dedicated to the video game industry. Allows both individual players and professional investors to contribute to PC and console game projects in exchange for a share of the game's future revenues. Funding amounts range from €100,000 to €5 million per project.

A major program funded by the National Growth Fund to stimulate the development and application of immersive experiences (VR, AR, games). CIIIC provides funding primarily through open calls for applied research and innovation projects in collaboration with knowledge institutions and game studios.

For Dutch game startups with an innovative tech component. Intended for innovative starters and SMEs to investigate the commercial feasibility of an idea or concept, often with a proof-of-concept phase. Fits game-tech, tools, AI, multiplayer/backend, XR, simulation, or serious games.

Relevant for studios with serious technical development risks and market potential (e.g., new engine tech, AI/gameplay systems, XR training, procedural content). RVO positions it as funding for innovative projects with technical risks and strong market perspective.

For international R&D collaboration. Subsidy for SMEs collaborating with European partners on new, market-oriented technologies. Ideal for game-tech, serious games, AI, data, or simulation.

Heavy innovation funding. Horizon Europe is the EU research and innovation program; EIC focuses on high-risk deeptech innovations. Relevant for XR, AI, simulation, digital twins, health, defence, education, and cultural-tech consortia.

Supports projects around digital technology, new media, and games. Grants of €10,000–€25,000 are possible with a minimum of 20% co-financing required.

[Closed / Recurring] Open Call Game Sector Professionalisation and Practice Development. Intended not for game production, but for professionalization, practice development, and strengthening of the game sector.

Finances innovative entrepreneurs in Brabant, with amounts up to €5 million and a large network of co-investors.

Invests in disruptive startups and scaleups in South Holland and manages InnovationQuarter Capital.

Early-stage and growth financing for innovative companies with economic and social impact in Gelderland and Overijssel.

Funds and programs for innovative startups, scaleups, and SMEs in Limburg, including innovation projects with prototype costs.

Helps innovative entrepreneurs in North Holland with funding and fundability, evaluating both social and financial returns.

Helps companies with innovation, financing, and internationalization, especially those with regional growth or innovation potential in Zeeland.

For dual-use, defence, simulation, and security. Focuses on startups, scaleups, and innovative SMEs contributing to Defence innovation needs. Managed by BOM and other ROMs.

Direct and indirect investments in innovative companies where market financing is difficult. Deep Tech Fund focuses on knowledge-intensive startups; Dutch Future Fund helps SMEs scale up. Relevant for game-tech.

For international growth. Finances Dutch or Netherlands-linked companies with international growth ambitions, publishing, co-development, or B2B game-tech.

Interesting for games related to digital autonomy, online safety, internet culture, public digital infrastructure, media literacy, or civic tech. Offers pioneer projects up to €10,000.

For health games, e-health, behavioral change, rehabilitation, prevention, or healthcare innovation. Serious-game projects can fit within open healthcare innovation calls when partnered with healthcare providers.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme has been renamed the Innovation Impact Challenge (as of December 2024). Calls frequently center on serious games (e.g., better functioning through better choices). Important to monitor for applied game studios.

For participatory, educational, community-based, or cultural participation projects using games or interactive media.

Offers funding, guidance, and networks for innovation in the cultural and creative sector. Relevant for cultural-tech, immersive media, tools, and crossmedia.

[Closed / Check current round] A Creative Europe strand supporting innovative digital tools, models, and methods across sectors. Relevant for distribution tech, audience engagement, AI-tools, or new production models.

Relevant for educational games, internationalization, curriculum development, or game-based learning through transnational cooperation.

Can fit games about democracy, citizenship, equality, inclusion, or societal values, especially in consortia with NGOs or educational institutions.

[Check current round] Supports video games from companies in Flanders and Brussels. Relevant for Dutch studios via the Benelux Co-Development Grant when coproducing with a partner.

Foreign regional funds such as CNC FAJV (France, cnc.fr), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (medienboard.de) or Gamecity Hamburg can fund prototypes, production, and DLCs via coproduction or local entities.

Project financier for independent games, established by experienced game makers. Has funded dozens of games.

Highly relevant if the studio is founded/co-founded by women or gender-marginalized developers. Project financing up to $500,000 and business support for premium indie games.

Fund by the creators of Among Us (Innersloth). Focuses on indie developers needing funding to start or finish a game, with recoup/revenue-share deals.

Well-known game financier doing project financing for premium indie games. Relevant for European/Dutch premium PC/console studios.

A $100M project financing fund using revenue-share instead of equity. Perfect for studios seeking project funding without selling shares.

Early-stage VC for game developers and gaming technologies/services.

Early-stage VC fully focused on games.

Early/mid-stage VC for gaming and emerging tech.

Invests in interactive entertainment, deep tech, and related sectors.

European VC focusing on games, spatial AI, deep tech, and next-gen cloud.

Offers non-recoupable funding for porting or prototyping, without exclusivity or equity, aimed at emerging and underrepresented creators.

For social-impact, education, culture, sustainability, and real-time-3D projects, offering significant prize pools.

[Closed] Multi-million-dollar rapid-prototyping fund for newly formed VR studios.

For UGC platform games. Funds innovative games on Roblox, Fortnite, and other UGC platforms.

Crowdfunding routes. Kickstarter (kickstarter.com) remains relevant for games; BackerKit (backerkit.com) builds repeatable funding from fanbases; Gamefound (gamefound.com) is strong for tabletop and hybrid games.

Finances development (often 12–24 months) and has demonstrably funded Dutch games like Kingdom.

Published Descenders by the Dutch studio RageSquid. A publisher that visibly works with NL studios.

Published Lake by Haarlem-based Gamious. Interesting for narrative, cozy, and accessible games.

Publisher of Station to Station by the Dutch studio Galaxy Grove.

Developer-focused strategy publisher. Worked with Dutch content around Reus 2 by Abbey Games.

SCHiM was published by Extra Nice (a Dutch studio/publisher) and PLAYISM. Interesting for style-driven indie games with international/Japanese fit.

Dutch publisher based in Haarlem, active with PC/console and international indie/midsize developers.

Explicitly offers publishing, go-to-market, and development funding.

Very interesting for strategy, sim, city-builder, and tactical games. Offers development funding without a 100% recoup structure.

Fair and transparent publisher suitable for premium PC/console. Funding terms are negotiated per deal.

A collective/label that strategically and commercially supports studios; less approachable for early-stage but highly relevant for established teams.