European Games Developer Federation (EGDF)

Your next game prototype could be EU-funded🙌 Every year, Creative Europe’s call for video games and immersive content helps studios turn a creative idea into something they can build. It supports the concept and pre-production phase of narrative games and interactive immersive projects, the early stage before production starts. What studios get: 🔹Up to €200k per project with a 60% funding rate 🔹Faster funding for solo studios 🔹Open to consortia of 2+ applicants too 🔹Total budget grew from €10M to €13.5M this year Creative Europe is the EU programme where games get their own dedicated call. It’s one of several EU funding routes open to game studios🎮 Join our webinar on 24 November at 14:00 CET. We walk through the options and what each one means for a studio. Register here👉https://lnkd.in/dupHbu5N

Poland is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the European game industry. It is now a leading talent hub and one of the largest hubs in terms of the number of gamedev studios. However, the Polish industry's turnover is lower than its talent and studio base would suggest, and EGDF is looking for ways to support the sector's growth at the European level.

AI tools that reverse-engineer existing games and port them to new platforms are a new challenge, but copycat games are something the European game industry has struggled with for years. It is high time the European Commission took action on them when negotiating trade agreements or reviewing the need to update the EU consumer law framework.

Keep calm and carry on!

Five key EGDF messages on the EU Kids Act: 1️⃣ European games industry has built, over two decades, a functioning PEGI co-regulatory system for the protection of minors. PEGI system is built on a risk-based approach that granularly balances children’s access to digital games culture with their protection from content and business practices unsuitable for their age. Therefore, EGDF calls for regulators to strengthen the role of European co-regulatory systems, PEGI and USK, in the negotiations. 2️⃣ European cultural sovereignty is based on ensuring that children’s access to European digital culture is based on European standards. Therefore, further clarifications are also needed to ensure that all distribution platforms follow European PEGI/USK age ratings for games. 3️⃣ EGDF cautions against sweeping age verification measures applicable to all games. EGDF generally supports default-off settings for certain features and believes parents should be empowered to grant their children access to games according to the child’s maturity. This approach balances the responsibility of our industry to keep their services safe, and the role parents play in considering the specific situation of their child. This respects the principles of protection, privacy and proportionality.   4️⃣ EGDF is pleased to note that the Commission acknowledges that age gating happens at the device level and age signals generated by these age gates should be accessible to all applications used on the device. However, further work is needed to ensure that game developers can rely on and have free-of-charge access to both age signals and parental control tools from both platforms and operating systems. 5️⃣ The scope of the regulation requires further discussion. The scope of the regulation should be developed in a more risk-based direction. Furthermore, EGDF welcomes the fact that edugames used in schools are not included in the scope of the regulation. Regulators should further examine the possibility of widening that exemption to also cover games that are playable in libraries, games used for medical purposes in hospitals and games accessible in museums. Similarly, non-profit games created by natural persons as a hobby or art (e.g. on game jams) should be excluded from the scope to ensure the regulation does not create unreasonable limitations on freedom of expression. Read the full statement from here: https://lnkd.in/dK5a9qkQ

📣Creative Europe: European Slate Development is now open📣 🔹Who it's for: independent European production companies. For games, it fits studios working on interactive and immersive narrative projects, such as VR/XR/AR. 🔹Call budget: €22.4M. Grants between €90k-510k per project, 70% pre-financing rate. ⏳Deadline: Dec 1, 2026 (17:00 CET) 🔗https://lnkd.in/dqijBmfa

🇪🇺🎮It is again time for our weekly update on EU game politics. On Wednesday, the European Consumer Protection Authorities CPC new launched EU-level coordinated action in relation to nine game developer studios. The industry has made substantive proposals on how to improve transparency for players in in-game stores: indicative unit prices, easier access to transaction history, simplifying in-game currency structures, minimising residuals of in-game currencies etc. Do you want to learn more? Check them from here: https://lnkd.in/dkd5qdqf ➡️Should you want to be notified of how EU regulators are planning to disrupt the EU game market, contact our local member associations or Marc Bosch.

📣Creative Europe: Innovative Tools and Business Models is NOW OPEN!📣 🔹Who it's for: game developer studios, publishers and trade associations. 🔹Scope: innovative tools and new business models, including promotion and marketing tools. 🔹Call budget: €14M. No cap per project, 80% funding rate. ⏳Deadline: January 14, 2027 (17:00 CET) 🔗https://lnkd.in/d3zdYkdf

📣Video games and immersive content development is NOW OPEN!📣 🔹Who it's for: European game developer studios, including XR/AR. 🔹Scope: innovative, globally competitive projects that grow the industry, build collaboration, and strengthen IP in Europe. 🔹Call budget: €13.5M. Up to €200k per project, 60% funding rate. ⌛Deadline is February 2, 2027 (17:00 CET) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dNCrixcr

Industry’s response to the CPC Network’s non legally binding principles on in game currencies European Game Developers Federation, Video Games Europe, and their respective members have been constructive throughout the process with the CPC Network in terms of transparency of pricing of paid in-game currencies, refunds, bundles, the right of withdrawal and more. The industry has worked hard to build solutions that keep it clear and fully transparent for both businesses and players where the actual financial transaction happens. However, since the start of the dialogue, there has been a substantial disagreement with the CPC Network regarding the legal classification of in-game currencies. These are not digital representations of value as the CPC Network argues – they are not bitcoin or cryptocurrency, nor should they be defined as such. Doing so will only make video game players less safe online and could have unintended consequences also on player experience. Since spring 2025, the industry has asked the CPC Network for the legal basis of their position, which they still have not shared. The industry has made clear to the CPC Network that they are ready to implement these proposals on the condition that the legal uncertainty is addressed.