Irish Games Fund Development Fund 2026

The Irish Games Fund Development Fund, run by Imirt with support from the Screen Ireland Digital Games Portfolio, pays up to four Irish studios €50,000 each. The money is for a validated original game that already has a prototype and is moving toward production and a commercial release.

The studio must be a company registered in Ireland and operating for more than one year. It must hold the rights to the game, show existing development through a prototype, build, or similar material, and be ready to do the funded work between November 2026 and August 2027. An idea or a pitch document is not enough. Imirt expects the grant to be spent in Ireland. Spend outside Ireland needs a clear reason and approval before it happens.

You start with an expression of interest. That form is not scored as a competition. Imirt uses it to check that the studio and the project fit the fund. Eligible studios then receive the full application and a budget template. The expression of interest closes on 8 October 2026 at 5pm. Full applications go out from 30 September and close on 22 October 2026 at 1pm.

A full application is read by an independent panel. The weights are creative and cultural quality 25 percent, development plan and use of the funding 25 percent, feasibility and budget 20 percent, team and production readiness 15 percent, and audience and future potential 15 percent. Grants are paid in two parts: 70 percent after the funding agreement, and 30 percent after an agreed milestone.

Imirt will not fund a game that plans to ship with art, audio, writing, or other creative assets that were substantially made by generative systems. Applicants must say where machine learning or generative tools were used. Ordinary game techniques such as pathfinding are not what this rule is about.