Christophe De bont 
20/10/2021You all know what it takes to create a great video game: talent, skills, and time. However, in order to give your talent uninterrupted time to put their skills to use, you also need money. Enter ForsVC, a new private investment fund headed up by HOWEST, Cronos, DAE Studios, and BNP Paribas Fortis with a single-minded focus on the growing #BelgianGamesIndustry.
Unveiled during last week’s Unwrap festival in Kortrijk, ForsVC wants video game developers to do what they do best: create awesome video games. In extension to government funding, our studios often need to take on work for hire to finance the development of their own projects. During his Unwrap talk, Triangle Factory CEO Timothy Vanherberghen showed that’s a valid way to build a healthy business. But it can also detract from what you’re trying to achieve as a studio, losing focus on a never-ending development trail in the process.
No more, as far as ForsVC is concerned. They have a firm belief that offering financial support so a studio can focus on their dream project will lead to more Belgian success stories and an overall stronger Belgian video game ecosystem. In turn, this should allow our region to keep talent from working abroad, and even attract international talent to work at our Belgian video game companies.
According to managing director Arne Ottoy, the fund has currently raised € 6,5 million, but extra closings might bring that number to somewhere between € 10 and € 15 million. ForsVC will offer support in various ways. They can invest on a studio level by taking a minority stake in your company, or they can offer project funding to promising titles.
Next to managing directors Arne Ottoy and Kristof Vaes, the management team consists of Demis Holvoet (Cronos Interactive) as industry lead and Michiel Houwen (DAE Studios) as technology lead. External industry experts advising them include Academic Director of DAE Rik Leenknegt, LuGus Studios co-founder Kevin Haelterman, Fishing Cactus co-founder Laurent Grumiaux, and Steam Data Suite COO Eric Diepeveen. Meet the full team here.
Combining the financial, technological and industry knowledgde of these people, ForsVC hopes to rapidly identify the next #BelgianGamesIndustry success story. If you feel that should be you, you can reach out here. Since launching last Friday, there are already a number of talks happening, but details remain firmly under wraps for now.
There’s no doubt ForsVC is a welcome extension to the current video game funding opportunities. We think we’re not the only ones who’re curious to see the first results.
