Hamburg, July 24: Five teams have won over the Games Lift awarding committee with their game projects. On September 9, the Games Lift Incubator will start for them as a unique support program in Germany. Included is a one-year workshop and mentoring program with international industry experts and 15,000 euros in financial support, as well as room for collaboration and exchange with the other participating teams. More than 30 experts in game design, product development, pitching, business development, press relations and marketing from the Games Lift network will share their experience with the teams to give their projects a professional start. Starting this year, the program also offers participating teams a joint trip to an international industry event. The Games Lift Incubator is organized and implemented by Gamecity Hamburg on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
A total of 21 teams and solo developers applied for the fourth Games Lift Incubator. The decision for the five participating teams was made by the awarding committee, consisting of Kristin von der Wense (Publishing Producer Daedalic Entertainment), Ole Schaper (Managing Director The Sandbox Hamburg (Sviper GmbH)), Heiko Gogolin (Managing Director Rocket Beans Entertainment) and Tobias Graff (Co-Founder, Programmer and CEO Mooneye Studios).
Margarete Schneider, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg, on the award committee's decision: “We are delighted with the large number of applications for our incubator and the high standard of the pitch decks submitted once again. It is particularly pleasing that we are receiving more applications from outside Hamburg, who see the city as an attractive location for starting a new business. The Games Lift Incubator provides gaming start-ups with comprehensive starting support and enables them to forge connections in Hamburg's diverse games scene.
The five winner projects and teams for Games Lift Incubator 2024:
- ForeFeathers by Team Honeybeak
- Frisia – Cozy Villages by Rouven Cabanis
- Light of Atlantis by Duck ‘n’ Run Games
- Pubcrawler by Triflgard
- Tiny Garden by Tales from the Garden
ForeFeathers by Team Honeybeak is a 3D Puzzle-Platformer where players slip into the role of a penguin, who explores the sky-high ruins of an ancient civilization of birds. Traversing the flying islands with the ancient powers of flight, solving tricky puzzles and keeping the penguin’s friends away from trouble are some main aspects of the game.
In Frisia – Cozy Villages by Rouven Cabanis the player gains control over an uninhabited Northsea island and is tasked with building a functional, yet cozy and beautiful little town. Inspired by the frisian architecture of the Dutch and German Northsea coast, Frisia aims to create a cozy gameplay experience in harmony with simple town-building and strategy game mechanics.
Light of Atlantis by Duck ‘n’ Run Games is a 2D puzzle metroidvania in which players take on the roles of various robots with individual abilities to explore the sunken ruins of Atlantis. By draining and releasing water into the various rooms, the robots shape their environment and improve their chances against different enemies. Light of Atlantis was part of the Gamecity Hamburg prototype funding in 2023 and received in the same year the German Computer Game Award (Deutscher Computerspielpreis) in the category “Best Prototype”.
Pubcrawler by Triflgard is a co-op PC game in which up to four players need to work as a team, to navigate a giant, mechanic, wandering pub through an apocalyptic wasteland. In the process, they must complete a variety of challenging tasks that can only be mastered as a team. Working together efficiently, pleasing the different guests and keeping a cool head even when the giant pubcrawler faces technical issues are the key to a successful journey.
In Tiny Garden by Tales from the Garden players slip into the role of a deity who fills a deserted planet with life. Together with their servants, a group of cute leaf creatures that must be protected from evil spirits, they plant a constantly growing garden. As soon as the garden is fully grown, the evil spirits can be soothed and the player can move on to the next planet in help.
More information about the projects at https://gamecity-hamburg.de/incubator/
The incubator program addresses the individual needs of developers with comprehensive workshops, mentoring and coaching content. Workshops and mentoring sessions are offered in the fields of project management, marketing and business start-up.
After completing the three-month workshop program of Phase 1, the teams will present their results to a broad audience at a final public pitch in December 2024. Phase 2 will immediately follow and will run until September 2025.
For the second time in a row, selected mentors will work even closer with the teams and will support them directly and according to their needs throughout the entire incubator period; Manny Hachey (Accelerator Program Director, Xsollar), Björn Bergstein (Coach & Consultant for Management and Leadership), Daniel Marx (CEO & Game Director Osmotic Studios), Søren Lass (Founder Tugboat Interactive UG) and Steffen Rühl (Expert for digital and analog games industry). In periodic, personalized mentoring sessions, they will provide advice to the teams and their project progress.
In addition, the Games Lift Network, with more than 30 experts from all areas of the industry, will once again provide support to the participating teams on specific issues from all areas of the development and marketing of digital games.
As a premiere of Games Lift Incubator 2024 the teams will get the chance to visit an international industry fair event accompanied by Gamecity Hamburg to learn more about the international business behind the games industry.
You don't want to miss the registration start for Games Lift Incubator 2025? Then sign up for our Games Lift Mailing List at https://airtable.com/shrHJMH96v6fYe2yQ.
Further funding opportunities through Gamecity Hamburg
In addition to the Games Lift Incubator, Gamecity Hamburg also supports developers and games companies from Hamburg with a prototype funding. Each year, 400,000 euros are available for games projects from Hamburg, of which up to 120,000 euros can be applied per game. The next application round will start in spring 2025.
All information on prototype funding can be found at https://gamecity-hamburg.de/funding/.
For further questions please contact:
Senta Gohr
Gamecity Hamburg
PR Manager
About Gamecity Hamburg
Gamecity Hamburg supports, connects and makes the gaming hub Hamburg visible. Founded in 2003, Gamecity Hamburg is the longest existing public funding institution for the games industry at the state level in Germany and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The aim is to improve the general conditions for companies and founders of the games value chain in the city, to support them in their further development and to anchor Hamburg in the public perception as one of the leading games locations in Germany. Gamecity Hamburg is the contact point for Hamburg's games funding as well as the Games Lift Incubator and also offers programs, events, and services in close cooperation with the games industry to strengthen local developers. At the same time, the exchange of knowledge within the sector and with other industries is promoted. The promotion of young talent, the development of new formats that activate the strong network of games companies in the city, and internationalization are the focus of the location initiative's activities. Gamecity Hamburg is part of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.
About the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
Since its foundation in 2010, Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft has seen itself as a central contact point for all players in Hamburg's creative industries from the eleven sub-markets of architecture, visual arts, design, film, literature, music, press, radio, software/games, theatre/dance, and advertising. It supports creative professionals with contemporary services and promotes innovation within the framework of the "Cross-Innovation Hub" project. Since 2017 the industry-specific initiatives Gamecity Hamburg, nextMedia.Hamburg and Design Zentrum are part of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft mbH.