Nordic Game Fund Sees Record Applications, Reduced Grants

The Nordic Game Program says it's received more applications than ever for its annual development grants -- but the total amount of funding applied for exceeds the available resources 14 times over. "General interest in the support program and the quality of the submitted applications has yet again exceeded our wildest expectations," says program manager Erik Robertson. "We are of course very happy with this, but there are also reasons for concern." 86 projects were submitted to the Nordic Game Program -- four times more than what the program was designed to handle. "This has led the Nordic games community to ask if it’s reasonable to cut so deeply into what is commonly agreed to be one of the most important future industries in the Nordic region, and we don’t know what to tell them," Robertson adds. The submitted projects will be evaluated and award three million Danish crowns ($535,000) in the first of two support rounds. Last year, 16 projects received grants. Launched in 2006, it's financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers for a six-year project period now in year three. It aims to increase Nordic young people's access to games and game technology.