Games Funding: Still no Planning for Culture Fund Possible

After an enquiry to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, opposition politician Fabian Gramling critisises that the additional 33 million euros in culture funding for the games industry are still not available and apparently won't be for the foreseeable future.

Apart from discussing esports, German Federal politics are highly scrutinised in another field of the games industry currently: The funding of games production in Germany. Last we heard, a further 33 million euros were dedicated by the Federal Gouvernment for games funding, but not through the usual fund at the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Action (BMWK), but through the office of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), Claudia Roth.

While the announcement was made last year for 2023 and 2024, so far, none of the funding is available for the games industry.

This seems to not only bug the industry itself, but also politicians from within the opposition. Fabian Gramling, parliament member for the oppositional Christ Democrats, has now released statement to GamesMarkt. He comments on an enquiry he made to Claudia Roth’s office regarding the time and implementation of the 33 million euros per year for the games industry. While the content of the enquiry remains confidential, Gramling makes clear that the answers of the BKM office does not spell hope for the foreseeable future.

Gramling states: "Aimless, haphazard, thoughtless - the games funding from the traffic light government cannot be described in any other way. In the games industry, hope was fuelled after the repeated funding freeze with funds from Ms Roth's culture budget. However, the implementation and utilisation of the funds is not foreseeable. This lack of planning weakens Germany as a business location, inhibits development and innovation, leads to postponed projects and pushes German games companies to the limits of their existence. The future of games companies does not seem to play a role in the Federal Chancellery and the Ministry of Economics."