When we talk about EU funding, we usually focus on the Creative Europe Media grant as it’s a natural fit for game developers. However, under the Horizon 2020 moniker, Europe has a couple more initiatives to support innovative tech start-ups and SMEs.

SME Instrument of the European Innovation Council

• For who: SMEs (defined by Europe as a company with 10 employees minimum) focusing on ground-breaking games disrupting existing markets or shaping up new ones
• Budget: in phase 1 you can get € 50.000 to conduct a feasibility assessment including a business plan. In phase 2 you can get between € 500.000 – € 2.500.000 for your approved innovation project.
• Submisions deadline: the system uses multiple cut-off dates. Upcoming deadlines in 2019 for phase 1 are May 7 and September 5.

ICT-13-2018-2019 Supporting the emergence of data markets and the data economy

• For who: game developers experienced in building platforms who ideally also have worked with Big Data or are knowledgeable about Cybersecurity.
• Budget: there’s a total budget for Innovation Actions of € 4-6 million.
• Deadline: March 29, 2019

ICT-15-2019-2020 Cloud computing

• For who: game developers experienced with cloud services who are also knowledgeable about Cybersecurity.
• Budget: there’s a total budget for Research & Innovation Actions of € 3-5 million.
• Deadline: March 29, 2019

ICT-33-2019 Startup Europe for Growth Innovation Radar

• For who: Clusters supporting game developers
• Budget: there’s a total budget for Innovation Actions of € 10 million.
• Deadline: March 29, 2019

We’re well aware that these grants all require very specific criteria and as such won’t be of use to most developers, but we wanted to let you know about the possibilities nonetheless.

While we’re at it, we’d also like te remind you that the next submission deadline for Creative Media Europe is coming up soon on February 27, 12 AM (noon). If you’re still toiling away at it, make sure to use this checklist, kindly provided by the peeps at EGDF, for maximum success. Good luck!