Five studios have received funding from the German Federal Government's Video Game Funding Programme. Claymore Game Studios, TML-Edition, tox² interactive, ByteRockers' Games and Stratosphere Games are among them. The funding amounts to almost €4.5 million.
The German federal government's video game funding programme is set to provide funding to a further five studios in Germany. The funding amounts to almost €4.5 million.
Claymore Game Studios is set to receive almost €2.5 million for the 'New Tomorrow' project. The studio, which is based in Darmstadt and is part of the Kalypso Media Group, most recently released Commandos: Origins, along with two DLCs. Direct project funding will run from 15 March 2026 to 14 June 2029. This is Claymore Game Studios' third grant, following Commandos: Origins DLC2 (Capture) and the Commandos: Origins DLC Season Pass, which received €361,496 and €477,656 respectively.
tox² interactive, based in Chemnitz, has received €764,109 in funding for the NGVS Project². This direct project funding will run from 15 March 2026 to 14 February 2028. The simulation specialist studio most recently released Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator in collaboration with publisher Aerosoft. This is the second federal grant, following the €172,397 provided for Heavy Cargo Simulator 2020.
The project, aptly titled Fernbus Simulator 2, from TML Edition (TML Studios) in Erfurt, has received federal funding of €750,416. This direct project funding will be provided from 01 May 2026 to 30 April 2029. This is the fourth grant received by the company, which is renowned for its bus simulation games. Previous grants include Fernbus Simulator – DLC Poland (€138,070), a "post-apocalyptic survival game" (€200,000) and, most recently, Tourist Bus Simulator - Mallorca (€432,214).
Berlin-based ByteRockers' Games has received €238,922 in funding for Immobilienhai (Real Estate Shark). This direct project funding will run from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2028. This is the studio's third grant, following €406,359 for Bonsai and €392,615 for BeatSlayer.
The Berlin-based studio Stratosphere Games has been awarded €176,999 in funding for an expansion of its medieval strategy game franchise, titled Dawn of Ages: Renaissance. The funding will be provided directly to the project and will run from 15 March to 14 October 2026.
The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) provides grant funding of up to 50% for the production of video games and the development of prototypes. Depending on the size and evaluation of the project, funding typically starts at €300,000 and is provided as a non-refundable grant covering up to 50% of a project's eligible costs, with a cap of up to €8 million per project for companies that have a registered office, permanent establishment or branch office in Germany. The overall annual budget of the programme has recently increased to over €120 million, further strengthening Germany's role as a video game development hub.
