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A new call for bids was launched today by Bologna Game Farm, for the first time open to studios from all over Italy thanks to the collaboration with the Casa delle tecnologie Emergenti (CTE COBO) in Bologna, a project of the Municipality of Bologna and the Metropolitan City realised thanks to the contribution of MIMIT with a dense network of partners, which makes available contributions in the form of expense reimbursements of up to EUR 25,000 each for the development of business-to-consumer (B2C) video games with an overall budget of almost two hundred thousand euros.

The call for applications is aimed at companies and freelancers whose main activity is in the video game sector, which are already established and have their registered office or operational headquarters in Italy on 31/05/2024.

Applications can only be submitted via the online form at this link until 15 September.

Bologna Game Farm grows again thanks to the collaboration with CTE COBO,’ says Rosa Grimaldi, delegate for Cultural and Creative Industries for the Municipality of Bologna and the Metropolitan City. After three years of experience at regional level, for 2024 Bologna becomes a national reference point for the development of video games, a fast-growing sector that intertwines art, culture, innovation and economic development.

The call for proposals selects a maximum number of 10 beneficiaries, among companies and freelancers active in the field of video games throughout the country. Expenses will be reimbursed at a rate of 60% of eligible expenditure.

In addition to the contribution, a support and acceleration path built in collaboration with IIDEA, the trade association of the video game industry in Italy, will be provided. The headquarters of the BGF accelerator is still at the ART-ER Greenhouses at the Giardini Margherita in Bologna, an evocative and functional space dedicated to innovative start-ups and hubs of the regional ecosystem supporting business creation.

The BGF@CTE COBO call for proposals is a pilot project on a national scale born from the experience of three editions of the regional public accelerator Bologna Game Farm, a project for the development of videogame prototypes and product marketing plans promoted by the Emilia–Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna and coordinated by the Municipality of Bologna and implemented with ART–ER in the framework of the actions supporting cultural and creative industries, with the collaboration of IncrediBOL! and the technical support of IIDEA – Italian Interactive & Digital Entertainment Association.

The objectives of BolognaGameFarm@CTE COBO are the growth of new professional skills and the development of video game products in the Emilia-Romagna region and in the national context, as well as the confirmation of the relevance of this sector as a cultural factor and an element of economic growth of the regional and national production system. Through Bologna Game Farm@CTE COBO also intends to promote the relationship between the video game sector, the other productive sectors of the national territory and the other actors of the innovation ecosystem.

To access the call for proposals, consult the relevant section of this site.

Bologna Game Farm presented the new call for entries in the context of First Playable, the main business event of reference for the video game sector in Italy scheduled in Florence from 3 July to 5 July 2024, organised by IIDEA and Toscana Film Commission – Fondazione Sistema
Toscana, in collaboration with the ICE Agency and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The event is also an opportunity for the 4 winning teams of the third edition of Bologna Game Farm to present their videogame prototypes for the first time to the more than 45 international publishers and investors from all over the world, who will be present at the days of meetings held in the spaces of Nana Bianca inside the Innovation Centre of Fondazione CR Firenze and at Cinema La Compagnia, the Casa del Cinema of the Region of Tuscany.

The vertical slices realised by the four winning projects during the acceleration process that ended in May are: Block Number 5, developed by Mad Squares; KAI, developed by Dandelion; Sliding Hero, developed by Silent Chicken; tERRORbane Viral, developed by BitNine Studio. The participation of the BGF3 winning teams in First Playable is, as always, a source of great pride for all those involved in the project: Bologna Game Farm continues to follow the teams on their path of growth even once the acceleration programme is over, supporting them and creating interesting opportunities to meet at trade fairs with gaming industry professionals.

Another important deadline is the pre-acceleration dedicated to BGF@Mobile, Bologna Game Farm’s line of orientation activities dedicated to mobile video games, for which you can apply by 15 July 2024. All the information on when and how to participate is available at this LINK