The European Parliament gaming resolution – a harbinger of the increase in the public funding for video game production in Poland and the EU?

The European Parliament’s resolution on esports and video games, adopted with the support of a majority, calls on certain institutions to take steps to develop the EU’s gaming sector. From the point of view of starting or conducting business activities in this area (or investing in game studios), the specific proposals made in the Resolution on Public Financing for Video Game Production are of particular interest.

Among other things, the resolution calls for a general block exemption rule in which funds provided by member states for the video game production sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are exempt from the state aid limit. If enacted, this legislative proposal would make it considerably easier for Member States to establish funding programs for video game producers, as the program would not require the consent of the EC.

The resolution also calls for increased funding for video game production under EU-level programs. To date, funding programs in this regard have been carried out under the EC initiatives Creative Europe (video games and immersive content development) and Horizon Europe. Co-financing for the gaming sector under these programs in 2022 was only around €50 million. Intensified Fight Against Extremist Exploitation of Online Gaming CultureA European Parliament resolution calls for greater engagement in this issue, particularly on the part of the European Commission.

For ease of comparison, so far four funding programs (GameInn) for the video game sector in Poland have provided co-financing of over 500 million PLN. Development (NCBiR). Additionally, under his other NCBiR programs, video game producers are also funded.

Considering the proposals made in the resolution of the European Parliament and the fact that the directors of NCBiR are from the gaming industry, it is expected that the number of programs that can finance video game production in Poland will increase in the future. years to come. Acquiring funding means monitoring the current offerings of funding programs, and TKP can help with this.