Game dev grants, hackathons and bounties
57 open game dev funding programs, each checked against the organizer's official page. 9 close in the next 7 days and 8 take applications on a rolling basis.
Money for people who make games: public funds for studios, prototype grants, game jams with prizes and programs for new voices in game design.
VAF Innovatieatelier 2026 for storytellers moving into games and XR
The Flemish Audiovisual Fund gives up to six storytellers €7,500 and coaching to develop a first game or XR project. Apply by 22 October 2026 at noon.
Northern Ireland Screen London Games Festival 2027 cohort
Northern Ireland Screen will take up to 6 games companies to London Games Festival 2027 and cover flights and hotels. Expressions of interest close 22 October 2026.
AT Jam Dole 2026
AT Jam Dole pays $750 per team member for a two week AT Protocol game prototype. Proposals close on 25 October 2026.
FFF Bayern games funding: October 27, 2026 deadline
FFF Bayern funds game concepts, prototypes and production for studios in Bavaria, with grants up to €200,000 and loans up to €500,000. Applications close October 27, 2026.
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg games funding: October 27, 2026 deadline
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg lends game studios up to €300,000 for prototypes and up to €600,000 for production. The next deadline is October 27, 2026.
HERIFORGE 2nd Open Call 2026
HERIFORGE offers up to €50,000 for immersive cultural heritage projects. Up to six projects. Apply by 27 October 2026 at 17:00 CET.
CoSTAR Satellite Labs 2026
AHRC offers UK research organisations up to £2 million to host a CoSTAR Satellite Lab. Apply by 29 October 2026.
Spain's grants for the internationalisation of video games, podcasts and digital culture 2026
Spain's Ministry of Culture offers up to €100,000 per project to Spanish nonprofits that take the video game sector to international markets. Apply by 29 October 2026.
CoSTAR Showcase Labs 2026
AHRC offers up to £4 million to UK research organisations to build a CoSTAR Showcase Lab for film, TV, games and performance. Apply by 29 October 2026.
Pro Helvetia Game Design Emerging Talents: Nordic Game Conference 2027 delegation
Pro Helvetia gives emerging Swiss game studios a place in the SwissGames delegation at Nordic Game 2027 plus CHF 1,000 for travel. Apply by 1 November 2026.
Creative BC Video Games Early Stage Growth 2026/27
Creative BC offers up to $50,000 to new British Columbia game studios with at most one shipped game. Apply by 2 November 2026.
Wallimage Gaming 2026: second call for video game projects
Wallimage Gaming invests up to €75,000 in preproduction and up to €400,000 in production of games with a footprint in Wallonia. Apply by November 4, 2026.
Game Gauntlet SIM Jam 2026
Six week online game jam to build a game that simulates a system, with $1,000 for first place and $500 for second. Submissions close 4 November 2026.
Screen Australia Future Leaders Delegation to BitSummit 2027
Screen Australia gives up to eight Australian gamemakers $6,000 (AUD) each to travel to BitSummit 2027 in Kyoto. Applications close 5 November 2026.
Screen Queensland Games Residency 2027
Screen Queensland's Games Residency 2027 gives Queensland game developers a year of desk space, mentoring and income support. Apply by 11 November 2026.
Zoud GameLab 2026
A virtual game jam on financial literacy from October 15 to November 15, 2026, open worldwide, with a prize and funding pool of up to $140,000.
Meta VR Start Developer Competition 2026
Meta VR Start Developer Competition 2026 offers up to $1,000,000 in prizes for hands first VR experiences. Submit by 18 November 2026.
Creative Saskatchewan Digital Game Development Grant 2026
Creative Saskatchewan grants up to CAD 50,000 a year for commercial digital games made by Saskatchewan owned teams. Apply by 18 November 2026.
Creative Saskatchewan Marketing Grant 2026/27: Digital Games Major Stream
Creative Saskatchewan pays up to CAD 25,000 toward marketing a Saskatchewan digital game. The major stream deadline for games is 18 November 2026.
Ontario Creates Futures Forward Program 2026
Ontario Creates gives new game and XR studios in Ontario up to CAD 20,000 for early project development. Apply by 30 November 2026.
MGZstart 2027: founder grant for media and games startups in NRW
MGZstart 2027 gives media and games founders in North Rhine-Westphalia 12,000 euros and a one year training programme. Apply by 30 November 2026.
Xsolla Scholarship Program at GDC 2027
Xsolla gives 75 game developers a GDC 2027 pass and four hotel nights in San Francisco. Open worldwide. Apply by 30 November 2026.
Decentraland Creator Success 2026: paid game development for indie creators
Up to $4,100 in staged funding for solo developers and small teams to build social games in Decentraland. Apply for V0 by 30 November 2026.
iGi indie Game incubator 7th edition (2027)
iGi is a free incubator from Marvelous for indie game creators living in Japan, with mentoring and up to ¥500,000 in support. Apply by December 15, 2026.
Ontario Creates Screen Marketing and Discoverability Program 2026/27
Ontario Creates pays up to CAD 50,000 toward marketing and launch work for Ontario games it already funded in production. Applications are taken continuously until 16 December 2026.
German Federal Games Funding 2026 (Games-Förderung des Bundes)
Germany's federal games fund gives studios grants of up to 8 million euro for game production and prototypes. Applications are open until 31 December 2026.
GameBCN 12 incubation program for game studios
GameBCN 12 is a free six month online incubation program for game teams, with a €3,000 grant, mentoring and a demo day. Apply by 31 December 2026.
NSW Digital Games Rebate 2025/26
Screen NSW pays a 10% rebate on NSW development spend for digital games with at least AU$350,000 of NSW costs. Apply by 31 December 2026.
Creative Europe MEDIA Innovative Tools and Business Models 2027
The EU Creative Europe MEDIA 2027 call funds new software tools and business models for film, TV and video games, including AI tools, at 80% of costs. Apply by 14 January 2027.
CNC Video Game Fund (FAJV): January 2027 deadline
The French CNC video game fund pays up to half the cost of writing, prototyping or producing a game. The next deadline is 18 January 2027.
Creative Europe MEDIA Video Games and Immersive Content Development 2027
The EU Creative Europe MEDIA 2027 call gives European game and XR studios up to EUR 200 000 to develop narrative games up to the first prototype. Apply by 2 February 2027.
Zürcher Filmstiftung Digitale Kultur games funding: 1 March 2027 deadline
Zurich studios can get up to CHF 150,000 per project for games, XR and interactive work, at prototype or production stage. Next deadline 1 March 2027.
Screen Queensland Digital Games Incentive 2026/27
Screen Queensland pays 15% of eligible Queensland game development spend on projects spending at least AU$250,000. Apply by 30 June 2027.
Screenwest Professional Development Placements 2026/27
Screenwest pays up to AU$25,000 for a Western Australian games developer or screen worker to take a placement with a leading company. Open until 30 June 2027.
Screen NSW Screen and Digital Games Travel Fund 2026/27
NSW game developers and screen practitioners can get up to A$10,000 for travel to markets, festivals and industry events. Applications close 30 June 2027.
Kodansha Game Lab Monthly Awards for indie game creators
Kodansha Game Lab gives indie game creators a ¥100,000 monthly award and an editor, with research funding of up to ¥1,000,000. First cutoff October 31, 2026.
Game Devs of Color Expo awards $21,000 in development grants for 2026
Game Devs of Color Expo gave $21,000 in grants with no strings attached to six creators of color across three game projects, $7,000 per project.
Pro Helvetia Game Design Emerging Talents: trade fair participation grant
Pro Helvetia gives emerging Swiss game designers up to CHF 4,000 to attend a trade fair or market event abroad. Open all year.
GGJ Micro-Missions Studio Microgrants from Global Game Jam
Global Game Jam gives indie studios up to $2,500 to pay emerging talent for small art, audio and QA tasks. Applications are reviewed monthly.
KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator (KIGI) Cohort 4
KIGI Cohort 4 gives India based game teams milestone funding of $50,000 to $150,000 plus mentoring. Applications are open, with no deadline published.
FRAME1GAMES accelerator for independent game developers
FRAME1GAMES, the CAA program for indie games, offers a year of financing, mentorship and marketing to a yearly cohort. Applications are open now.
SAFC Digital Games Fund 2026: round two for South Australian developers
The SAFC Digital Games Fund gives South Australian game developers grants of up to A$150,000 from a A$1 million round. Applications open 21 October 2026.
VicScreen Victorian Production Fund Games 2026/27
VicScreen's Victorian Production Fund Games gives Victorian studios up to A$300,000 per stage and A$500,000 per project. Applications are open year round.
a16z speedrun SR008
a16z speedrun invests up to $1M in startups. Applications are open year round, and the priority window for the SR008 cohort runs October 12 to November 1, 2026.
UK Games Fund Content Fund
Grants of £100,000 to £250,000 for established UK games studios developing commercial entertainment games with a prototype in place. Expressions of interest are open.
Indie Fund
Indie Fund is a group of experienced game makers that funds independent game projects, most often with $10,000 to $50,000. Applications are open at any time and need a playable prototype.
thatgamejam #02 2026 by thatgamecompany
Two week online game jam from thatgamecompany with five cash prizes, the largest USD 3,000. Submissions open 24 October and close 7 November 2026.
Kajaani Game Catalyst 2027
Kajaani Game Catalyst is a free, mostly online growth program for game developers, teams and young studios. Applications for 2027 run from 26 October to 22 November 2026.
Canada Media Fund Prototyping Program 2026/27: fall intake
Canada Media Fund grants up to $250,000 CAD help Canadian companies build a first interactive prototype. Apply October 27 to November 10, 2026.
Canada Media Fund Iteration Program 2026/27
Up to $350,000 CAD for new content in successful CMF funded interactive projects. Opens October 28, 2026, first come, first served until December 8.
Canada Media Fund Business Development Program 2026
A new Canada Media Fund pilot gives Canadian screen and interactive media companies up to $300,000 CAD to grow. Apply November 10 to 26, 2026.
Screenwest Digital Games Business Accelerator Fund: January 2027 round
Screenwest grants up to AU$25,000 to Western Australian game businesses for growth and skills. The next round opens 3 December 2026 and closes 18 January 2027.
NOVA Fellows Program 2027: $100,000 game grants for recent graduates
The NOVA Fellows Program gives graduates of 13 partner game schools $100,000 to make an original game. Apply 7 December 2026 to 10 January 2027.
Screen Australia Emerging Gamemakers Fund: February 2027 round
Screen Australia grants up to AU$30,000 to emerging Australian gamemakers for prototypes or micro scale games. The next round opens December 14, 2026 and closes February 25, 2027.
Screen Australia Games Production Fund: February 2027 round
Screen Australia grants up to AU$100,000 to Australian studios producing original independent games. The next round opens December 14, 2026 and closes February 25, 2027.
Pro Helvetia Game Design Emerging Talents preproduction grant: 1 March 2027 deadline
Pro Helvetia gives young Swiss game designers up to CHF 20,000 to develop a game prototype. Applications open 1 January and close 1 March 2027.
Canberra Screen and Games Fund 2027, Round 2: Games Production and Development Program
Screen Canberra gives games grants of up to AU$30,000 for development and AU$100,000 for production. Round 2 opens 11 January and closes 19 March 2027.