Games Lift 2025 Incubator Supports Five Developer Teams
– 2 min read
Five teams convinced the Games Lift Award Committee of the potential of their game projects. A total of 43 teams and individual developers applied to take part in the Games Lift Incubator, which is more than twice the number of applicants in previous years.
On 8 September, the Games Lift incubator will launch its next round, supporting teams with a one-year workshop and mentoring programme featuring input from international industry experts, as well as €15,000 of financial support. The Games Lift Incubator is organised and run by Gamecity Hamburg on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Now in its sixth year, a total of 43 teams and solo developers applied to participate in the Games Lift Incubator, which is more than twice the number of applicants in previous years. The award committee - consisting of Kristin von der Wense (Publishing Producer at Daedalic Entertainment), Ole Schaper (Managing Director at The Sandbox Hamburg (Sviper GmbH)), Heiko Gogolin (Managing Director at Rocket Beans Entertainment) and Tobias Graff (Co-Founder at Mooneye Studios) — made the decision on the five participating teams.
Margarete Schneider, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg and also part of the selection committee, said: "We are delighted about the rising awareness and popularity of Games Lift – this year we received applications from seven countries and three continents. However, we also see the growing demand as a sign that, in the current industry situation, low-threshold support programs such as the Games Lift Incubator are becoming even more important. We are therefore very pleased to accompany five Hamburg teams on their way to the successful release of their first title."
The five games and teams for the Games Lift Incubator 2025 are: - The Wrong Horse (murder mystery adventure) by Sharon Sacks & Vincent Will - Encaged and Ungraded (mixture of anomaly horror and job simulation) by Leif Gutowski - Fading Skies (3D platforming with action RPG elements) by Distant Blue - Phasmopass (turn-based roguelite) by Curio Compass - Project: Slimepot (working title; dungeon crawling meets cooking and tavern management) by Calluna Games
The incubator programme supports developers by offering workshops, mentoring and coaching. After completing the three-month programme, the teams will present their results to a large audience in December 2025 as part of a public pitch. This will be followed by the second phase of the incubator programme, running until the end of August 2026. Since 2025, the Games Lift Incubator has also included a joint visit by participating teams and Gamecity Hamburg to an international industry event.
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