NRW Increases Games Funding Budget for 2025 to Over 6m Euros

At the fourth games summit in North Rhine-Westphalia, Media Minister Nathanael Liminski did not hold back with his criticism of games policy in Berlin. At the same time, he made it clear that NRW is not only maintaining its games funding of over 5 million euros, but that it will be increased by 1 million euros in 2025 for games to prevent extremism.

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) wants to remain the leading games location in Germany in the future. Nathanael Liminiski, Minister for Federal, European, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Head of the State Chancellery, left no doubt about this when he met with over 35 representatives of the games industry. The meeting, which was now dubbed the fourth games summit in NRW, took place at the Xperion in Cologne and is intended to promote dialogue between political decision-makers and the games industry in NRW.

For Liminski, however, it was also a stage to once again criticize the weak support for the industry at the federal level. “The traffic light coalition in Berlin also stands for three lost years for Germany as a games location.” And Liminski also had no good words for the most recent project, the “Press Start: Games Foundation Scholarship”. “In North Rhine-Westphalia, we would like to counter the poorly designed games scholarship with a games funding program that enables the games industry to continue to grow and establish itself on the market with a contemporary and industry-appropriate program,” says Liminski.

In close cooperation with the industry, the state government wants to create a package of measures that is adapted to current market conditions, reflects the influences of AI on the overall process of game production, supports the development of young media talent and strengthens innovation as well as culturally or educationally significant digital games and immersive content.

Liminski also promised that the state government would continue to provide the industry with over 5 million euros in support. And next year even one million more. This will be provided as part of the package of measures for security, migration and prevention in 2025 for the development of video games. The aim is to use the additional funds to specifically promote the development of games that are used for prevention and education against disinformation and Islamist propaganda.