Video games and immersive content development

The Creative Europe Programme has opened a call for proposals under CREA-MEDIA-2026-DEVVGIM, focusing on the development of video games and immersive content. This initiative aims to enhance the capacity of European video game producers, XR studios, and audiovisual production companies. It seeks to improve the competitiveness of the European video games industry and ensure that developers retain their intellectual property rights while creating innovative and commercially viable content suitable for global audiences.

Eligible applicants include European video game production companies, XR studios, and other relevant legal entities. Applications can be submitted by individual organizations or consortia, although no specific consortium requirement is mandated. The call targets entities based in EU Member States and countries associated with the Creative Europe Programme, allowing for broader geographic participation.

The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, with a total budget of €10 million for this call. The application process is single-stage, with a submission deadline on February 11, 2026. The evaluation will run from February to June 2026, with the aim to communicate results to applicants by August 2026 and finalize grant agreements by November 2026.

Projects eligible for funding should focus on the concept development and pre-production stages, specifically those that demonstrate originality, innovation, and commercial potential through interactive narrative storytelling and quality gameplay. The support is intended for works that have a strong cross-border market reach across various platforms such as PCs, consoles, mobile devices, and more.

Moreover, the call emphasizes sustainability, gender balance, inclusion, diversity, and representativeness, requiring applicants to detail how their projects align with these objectives. The application must address financial viability, co-funding strategies, and the capacity to attract additional partnerships and resources.

Interested applicants are encouraged to review the detailed call document and guidelines available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, ensuring compliance with submission conditions and evaluation criteria. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency is available for inquiries regarding the program and specific submission-related questions.

The Creative Europe Programme (CREA) is offering a call for proposals for Video games and immersive content development (CREA-MEDIA-2026-DEVVGIM). This is a CREA Lump Sum Grant (CREA-LS) with a CREA Lump Sum Grant [CREA-AG-LS] model grant agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was September 30, 2025, and the deadline for applications is February 11, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The scope of this call is to increase the capacity of European video game producers, XR studios, and audiovisual production companies to develop video games and interactive immersive experiences with the potential to reach global audiences. It also aims to improve the competitiveness of the European video games industry and other companies producing interactive immersive content in European and international markets by enabling the retention of intellectual property by European developers.

The expected results include increased quality, appeal, feasibility, and cross-border potential for selected projects, as well as a stronger position on the European and international market for video game developers and companies producing interactive immersive experiences.

The activities to be funded involve support for the development of works and prototypes of interactive narrative storytelling with original content and/or quality gameplay intended for production and global commercial exploitation via PCs, consoles, mobile devices, tablets, smart phones, and other technologies. The aim is to provide funds to video game production companies and other companies producing immersive content to develop works with a high level of originality and innovative and creative value, and that have a high level of commercial ambition and extensive cross-border potential to reach European and international markets. This will allow for further investment in innovative European content and increase the competitiveness of European companies in the digital global market. Applications should present adequate strategies to ensure a more sustainable and more environmentally-respectful industry and to ensure gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness.

Conditions for participation include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in the call document and in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries, described in the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions, described in the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion, described in the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes, described in the call document.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds, described in the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, with the publication of the call on September 30, 2025, a deadline for submitting applications on February 11, 2026, an evaluation period from February to June 2026, information to applicants in August 2026, and signature of the grant agreement in November 2026.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, described in the call document.

The call document and annexes include the call document itself. Application form templates include the Standard application form (CREA MEDIA) available in the Submission System, a detailed budget table (CREA LSII), information on independence and ownership (CREA MEDIA), and information on the language of submission documents (CREA MEDIA). Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include CREA MGA and Lump Sum MGA. Additional documents include CREA Annual Work Programmes, CREA Regulation 2021/818, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget for this topic in 2026 is 10,000,000 EUR.

LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.

To access the Electronic Submission Service, applicants should click on the submission button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to their proposal. To access existing draft proposals for this topic, applicants can log in to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

For general information on the programme and the Call, applicants can contact their local Creative Europe desk or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency: EACEA-MEDIA-DEVVGIM@ec.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ Submission of proposals, the IT Helpdesk for technical questions, and the Online Manual for a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this opportunity is a call for proposals under the Creative Europe Programme aimed at bolstering the European video game and immersive content industry. It seeks to fund the development of innovative and commercially viable video games and XR experiences by European companies. The grant aims to enhance the quality, market reach, and competitiveness of European digital content, while also promoting sustainability, gender balance, and inclusivity within the industry. Eligible companies can apply for lump sum grants to support the development of their projects, with a focus on interactive narrative storytelling and original gameplay. The application process involves submitting a detailed proposal through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, adhering to specific guidelines and deadlines. The evaluation process will consider the originality, innovation, commercial potential, and cross-border impact of the proposed projects.

Eligible Applicant Types: European video game producers, XR studios, and audiovisual production companies are explicitly mentioned as eligible applicant types. The call aims to support companies producing interactive immersive content.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a CREA Lump Sum Grant (CREA-LS).

Consortium Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, the partner search functionality suggests that collaboration is possible and potentially encouraged. Further details would be available in the call document.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call targets European entities, as it aims to increase the capacity of European video game producers and improve the competitiveness of the European video games industry. The term "European" suggests that the geographic eligibility is likely within the EU or countries associated with the Creative Europe Programme. The call also mentions "cross-border potential to reach European and international markets" which indicates a focus on European applicants. The eligible countries are described in the call document.

Target Sector: The target sector is video games and immersive content development. This includes interactive narrative storytelling, XR (extended reality), and audiovisual production. The call specifically mentions PCs, consoles, mobile devices, tablets, and smartphones as target platforms.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on European video game producers, XR studios and audiovisual production companies. Therefore, the relevant region is Europe.

Project Stage: The call supports the development of works and prototypes, indicating that the expected project stage is development and validation. The projects should have the potential for production and global commercial exploitation.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic CREA-MEDIA-2026-DEVVGIM is EUR 10,000,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified in the provided text.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the Creative Europe Programme (CREA) specifically targeting video game and immersive content development. The call, CREA-MEDIA-2026-DEVVGIM, aims to bolster the capacity of European video game producers, XR studios, and audiovisual production companies to create interactive and immersive experiences that can reach global audiences. The primary goal is to enhance the competitiveness of the European video games industry and ensure that European developers retain intellectual property rights.

The call supports the development of works and prototypes with original content and quality gameplay, intended for commercial exploitation across various platforms like PCs, consoles, mobile devices, and more. Projects should exhibit originality, innovation, creative value, commercial ambition, and cross-border potential.

The funding mechanism is a CREA Lump Sum Grant, with a total budget of EUR 10,000,000 allocated for the call. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of February 11, 2026. The call opened on September 30, 2025. The evaluation period is expected to run from February to June 2026, with information to applicants provided in August 2026, and grant agreements signed by November 2026.

Eligible applicants include European video game producers, XR studios, and audiovisual production companies. Applications should also address strategies for sustainability, environmental responsibility, gender balance, inclusion, diversity, and representativeness. Applicants are advised to consult the call document and the Funding & Tenders Portal for detailed information on admissibility conditions, eligible countries, evaluation criteria, and the legal and financial setup of the grants. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is available for contact regarding general information about the program and the call.