Games developers, take note: Creative England has opened up its Gameslab fund to startups in the South West for the second time and is offering grants of up to £10k to encourage the creation of new gaming IP in the region.
In order to apply, startups must: (i) be based in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset or Devon, (ii) have a game at concept stage or already in development, and (iii) must be able to guarantee that by December 2014 the game being funded by the grant will be either at Beta/MVP stage, available as ‘early access’ for general download or commercially released. The funding round closes on 1 June 2014.
According to the criteria set out on the Creative England site, “The end product must be new IP and the rights remaining with the applicant company once the game is completed.” So that means you can’t build a game for a third party using this fund.
Funding will be provided on the basis that the company will match £0.50 for evert £1 requested; meaning that if the company requests a grant of £5,000, then they would have to match it with a further £2,500 making the total project budget £7,500. The fund is supported by the Regional Growth Fund and the European Union.
Further information and the link to apply can be found on the Gamesslab South West website.
While you are in the mood for digesting information about games development and financing – you may want to read about how the UK tax breaks may have an effect on gaming companies in the south west.
