Bavaria Provided Over €6 Million in Funding for Games and XR in 2024

Bavaria's Digital Minister is using the Advent season to reflect on his ministry's achievements during the "Year of Games" – an initiative that has proven remarkably impactful. By 2024, Bavaria will have invested over 6 million Euros in the games and XR sectors, with more than half of that amount allocated to funding specific projects.

In detail, Bavaria approved 3.6 million Euro in funding for game development projects at Bavarian studios through FFF Bayern’s project funding initiatives. Over €3 million of this amount was specifically designated for game projects, while the remainder supported XR projects, many of which are either games or game-like in nature. The total funding for games was approved at three funding meetings in March, July and November, and the XR funding in two meetings in June and December.

The Free State of Bavaria’s total investment in games and XR surpasses €6 million, largely due to a range of special initiatives undertaken by Digital Minister Mehring and his team this year. These include the GG Bavaria game event in Munich, a dedicated budget for the European Football Championship’s “Bayern zockt!” initiative (which hosted an EA FC 2024 tournament), and Bavaria’s role in hosting the German Computer Games Award – an event that may have been held in Munich for the last time in the foreseeable future. Additionally, Munich hosted the 2024 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Season Finals at the end of August.

"Our goal is clear: we want to establish Bavaria as Europe’s leading hub for the games industry. There are already nearly 350 games companies in the state, employing around 3,500 people. Against this backdrop, our funding is not an end in itself, but a targeted investment in a future-proof industry with enormous growth potential," said Minister Mehring.

Mehring, who took office last year, had declared his intention early on to provide more support for the Bavarian games industry, promptly declaring 2024 the “Year of Games” in Bavaria and then following up his words with action. For Bavaria as a games location, which competes with North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Hamburg for the top spot among German games regions, this is an overdue development, as the other federal states have seen massive increases in funding in some cases.