Money only for big projects
The federal government sees states as having an obligation to promote video games
April 17, 2024, 7:00 p.m
In order for game developers, especially small ones, to be able to implement projects in Germany, they need funding from the state. The federal government now wants to make cuts here. The Federal Ministry of Economics only provides money for larger projects. The states, on the other hand, should take care of the smaller ones.
The Federal Ministry of Economics intends to withdraw from funding relatively small computer game developments. The responsible State Secretary Michael Kellner presented key points of new funding guidelines on the streaming website Twitch, according to which eligible games projects must cost at least 400,000 euros. “It has to have relevance and size for nationwide funding,” said the Green politician in an online conversation on the Twitch channel of the computer game association Game.
So far, the minimum is 30,000 euros for prototypes and 100,000 euros for games produced for the market. Kellner believes that the federal states, which have their own funding programs, are responsible for projects under 400,000 euros. The Game association reacted critically to the project. The computer and video games industry is growing; people are spending significantly more money on games in the digital age than before. However, Germany is lagging behind; as a developer location, the Federal Republic only plays a minor role in the globalized industry. This is also due to low funding: According to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, developers in Germany only receive around a quarter of the money that their colleagues in countries like France receive.
Federal funding began in 2020, but the funds included were not enough: demand was so great that in 2023, a funding application freeze was imposed in May. Since then, the money – around 70 million euros in 2023 and around 50 million euros in 2024 – has only been used to gradually pay for applications that have already been approved. New money will not be available in the Federal Ministry of Economics’ funding pot until 2025 – how much is still open. Now it’s about the rules on how the funding is allocated. The final decision will be made later this year. Separate from the federal funds, the federal states have their own, rather small, funding pots. In total, their money adds up to around 17 million euros annually.
“Just bad luck”
Some countries do a lot, others little: According to association figures, in Berlin-Brandenburg there is 5.3 million euros in games funding, in Bavaria 4.4 million and in North Rhine-Westphalia 3.5 million euros. Hesse does comparatively little with only 0.26 million euros, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania does nothing at all (zero euros). Game association head Felix Falk noted that with the 400,000 euro limit, developers in some federal states would be “simply unlucky”, such as in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or Hesse. Their projects there would be too small for federal funding and there is no or only marginal state funding. “A lot of people will have a stomach ache.”
Federal politician Kellner, however, defended the planned 400,000 euro limit: This would increase the pressure on the federal states to finally provide more funding. In the end, there could even be more funding in the system than before, said Kellner. Several Twitch viewers warned of negative consequences for the developer scene. “Some indie studios are falling over,” one viewer wrote in the comments of the livestream. Another noted that this would undermine the Federal Ministry of Economics’ plan to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Germany.