🤷‍♀️ What

The success of our community and industry doesn’t just happen by itself, it’s something we have to work on. Constantly.

IGDA Finland Grant is our way of directly supporting indie devs who are working on their first game. Because, as game developers ourselves, we know how tough starting out is.
That’s what we’re here for: helping you get that game out! ✌️

And now we’re on the lookout for a new team for 2025 that we can take into the middle of the industry!

⌛ Last year

The team chosen in 2024 was End-All Entertainment and their game Paradigm Island is coming out this summer. 

What End-All Entertainment got 

• To showcase their game across Finland in many different events

• Mentors giving detailed feedback on art, narrative, how to work as a team, business and design. The whole shebang! 

• The Grant funds to polish and market their game
  
  “Being chosen as the recipients of the first IGDA Finland grant, we've received support and mentoring that have helped us push Paradigm Island even further and refine our vision. Huge thanks to IGDA Finland for believing in our project—the grant has definitely made an impact! Go wishlist the game!” - End-all Entertainment

👤 Who ✅

Devs who are fresh to the industry and making their first game!

• First timers

• New indie teams

• Beginner devs

• Student teams

• Starting devs close to finishing their game but need that final oomph! 💪 to get it out

👤 Who ❌

Teams with:

• IGDA Finland Board members

  This includes partners or family members of IGDA Finland Board members.

• A publishing contract

  You've already made it if you've a publisher to support you, so no need for the Grant.

• You already have a portfolio of published games

  You're not cooking, you’re already serving in this case, so this Grant is not aimed at you.

🤔 Requirements

A company with a Business ID (y-tunnus)

Giving money to a private person is difficult and it sets a small barrier so that only those who are serious about it will apply.

A vertical slice/demo

This is for games that are closer to finishing than not, thus a vertical slice/demo is mandatory to show that the game is far enough.

A solid Pitch Deck

This alongside the vertical slice/demo will be our initial consideration if the game goes forward.

A credible Game Design Document

This will be reviewed after we’ve seen the Pitch Deck and the demo, to see that the team has a clear vision and really knows what they're doing.

A realistic schedule

We want games that have a believable timeframe for completion, with the release an absolute maximum of 12 months from being chosen.

A strong team

We want to know about each team member: expertise, experience, role in the team & their portfolio/github/artstation.

IGDA Finland membership

At least 50% of the team has to be members of IGDA Finland.

• For example, if the team consists of 5 people, at least 3 of them have to be members.

🙏 Benefits

What you get

The idea of the Grant is to be more than just money,it is to embed the studio and the devs within the community. From visibility to support, from expert feedback to launch marketing. The whole package is aimed to help the chosen devs/teams to get a strong foothold in the industry by providing:

• Showcase at any/all IGDA Finland hubs, all 15 of them!

• Mentor evenings = industry veteran feedback & connections

• Marketing boost when selected & when releasing the game

• Present your game at game industry events in Finland

And of course, the Grant fund / 10 000€

🧡 Support from IGDA Finland

Fast lane to present your game at each hub

The dev/team gets priority to go and speak about/present their game at our Meetups across our 15 hubs. This is not only great visibility for the game and the dev/team but also a wonderful way of getting feedback and to grow your network.

Feedback from industry veterans

Halfway through the project there will be a day of feedback by industry experts from the studios that we collaborate with to give the team honest and constructive feedback.

A marketing push from IGDA Finland

We will market the game in our social media/our website/our Meetups across Finland. We're rooting for them and want to see them succeed after all!

👐 Giving back

Add IGDA Finland logo to the splash screen

We lift you up and forward, you fly our colours.
Pretty sweet win-win!

Once a certain threshold of profit is reached, become studio affiliates

We want the dev/team to join our family of great studios!
The threshold: 3 x the grant sum in profit

That’s it! 👏

📆 When

MARCH 11th

Going public with IGDA Finland Grant 2025

APRIL 8th

The application period has started, the online form is open and you can now apply!

JULY 1st

End of the application period.
We close the form and start going through the applicants.

AUGUST 12th

​​Go public with the chosen studio at the IGDA Helsinki Summerparty as well as online.

Sponsors

We are in an incredibly fortunate position that we have such a fantastic community in Finland, that wants to support new talent! We are collaborating with Supercell & Metropolia to make IGDA Finland Grant happen again this year. Just like us, they believe in investing in the future of this community and our industry.

A massive thank you for helping us make this possible! 👏

Does the company need to be registered already when the application is submitted, or can it wait until a possible positive decision has been received?

Yes, there has to be a company with an active Business ID (y-tunnus) when applying.

Who chooses the recipient of the Grant?

The jury: Which consists of IGDA Finland’s Board and Advisors.

What if there is a conflict of interest, for example, one of the jury members has been or currently is a teacher of a team or some of the people in the team?

In this case that member of the jury will abstain from voting for that particular team.

Can I apply if I am a private trader (toiminimi)?

Yes, as long as the applying entity has a valid Business ID, it’s all good.

What if our game doesn’t reach the required amount of revenue?

Don’t worry! You will not be liable to pay back anything if revenue thresholds are not met.

Does this count towards my company’s de minimis?

This is not a governmental grant, so no, it will not count towards your de minimis.

If a team acquires a publishing contract after applying but before the selection process is completed, does this disqualify them?

If you are in the middle of publishing deal discussions, we assume you will inform us of this in your Pitch Deck/GDD.

Do I have to produce receipts of how we spend the money?

Absolutely not.

I have a great idea for a game, can I use the Grant to get started?

Hey, that’s great to hear but unfortunately, the Grant is meant for games that are already well underway, not for those that are at the idea stage. No demo, no Grant.

What if we have team members who are members of other IGDA Chapters than IGDA Finland, does that count towards the 50% membership rule?

This is a Grant for the Finnish game industry and community by the Finnish game industry and community, therefor the rule applies only to IGDA Finland memberships.

Will the grant be given to only one team/dev?

Yes, only one team/dev will be chosen and the Grant will go to a legal entity (with a valid Business ID/y-tunnus), not to an individual person.

Does the application require on-location participation? If so, where and when?

No.
The only on-location that is requested (by at least part of the team) is once a game project is chosen:
- When we make a public announcement of it
- When we organise the feedback mentorship evening
- When the game is released

Wasn’t there something about paying back the grant money?

Yes, but we removed it!

Project Lead
JJ Häll

Design / Graphics
Hanna Saksa

Communications/Website
Emma Vantaa, Emmi Hattunen

Communication / Producers
Eirik Manne, Viktor Asprot