Game - the German Games Industry Association is calling for the continuation of the Press Start: Games Founding Grant. In a letter to the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the necessity of the programme and proposed changes are outlined.
In a position statement addressed to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR), the game association referred to the 100% success rate of the first iteration of the Press Start: Games Founding Grant, and expressed a commitment to continuing the Games Start-up Booster. After all, all 132 of the individuals who received funding under 'Press Start 1.0' had set up a company by the end of 2025, particularly given that the number of applications received was 'huge', at over 1,300.
Press Start 2.0 could begin at the end of the current programme in June 2026. This proposal is explicitly designed to fill a funding gap, setting it apart from existing technology-focused programmes such as EXIST, ZIM, German Accelerator, START-interaktiv and Enabling Start-up. It specifically addresses the artistic, innovative and economic nature of game production, as well as the particular requirements for pitching, production and publishing, and the specific risks for young studios. The focus should shift from actual game development to developing a 'strong entrepreneurial personality' and creating a realistic, marketable studio concept. This also involves screening applicants more thoroughly, with those selected having to prove their suitability in a multi-stage process, including a newly introduced assessment month.
The current 'Press Start' programme supports teams at various stages of development. The continuation of the programme will focus even more clearly on preparing participants for starting a business professionally. This means that the project status and maturity level of the teams will be more standardised, the cohort will be more homogeneous, the selection process will be stricter and the goal will be more precisely defined. The continuation aims to create the conditions for sustainable, strategically sound start-ups in the German games industry. To achieve this goal, it seems sensible to focus on a smaller group of scholarships (e.g., 30 or 60 participants per year). For those receiving support, the monthly basic income of €2,750 will remain the same for a total duration of 16 months. Depending on the number of grants - the paper mentions 30 or 60 - the costs will be between €2,075,000 and €3,490,000, including Administration (game - the German Games Industry Association / Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur). However, the association has not specified where the funds could come from.
Regarding the success of Press Start: Games Founding Grant, game Managing Director Felix Falk said: "The incredible founding rate of 100 per cent underscores the unique success of 'Press Start' and shows how effective such a targeted programme for promoting start-ups in the games industry is. The programme's approach of providing ambitious game developers with the resources and know-how they need to advance their businesses and dare to start their own companies is proving highly successful. This is where the next generation of the German games industry is being created. It also sends an important signal to the federal government that this first-of-its-kind programme is paying off and should definitely be continued in order to promote Germany as a games location in the long term."
