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Originate Games Grant

  • Applications Open: until 9 February, 2023
  • Grants: $10,000 – $50,000

VicScreen’s Originate Games Grant provides support to the development of original early-stage concepts from game developers, with a focus on new projects and new voices in Victoria.

By providing support to projects in their critical early stages, the grant Originate Games helps build new Victorian original IP by providing developers with the space to iterate on new ideas through creative experimentation, prototyping, industry mentoring, and early audience feedback.

Key Requirements

What documents do you need to apply?

For Pre-Production

  • Creative Materials that demonstrate the creative vision of the project.
    Examples include:

    • Pitch deck
    • Concept Art
    • Narrative outline
    • Paper prototypes
    • Digital prototypes showing early-stage key mechanics
    • Gameplay or concept videos
  • Development Roadmap showing clear tasks and milestones for the pre-production stage
  • Completion Plan showing outcomes from the stage and next steps to take the game to release / completion
  • Finance Plan and Budget
  • Team Details
  • Online Details, including website links, social media, and storefronts
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan
  • Accessibility Plan
  • Any additional support materials, including Letters of Intent or Support, confirmed funding, licensing or rights documentation.

For Production

  • Pre-production materials that demonstrate the creative, technical, and commercial elements of the project appropriate to the project’s scale and budget. Examples include:
    • Pitch deck
    • Digital prototype showing key mechanics
    • Vertical slice showing elements of the game at target quality
    • Gameplay and concept videos
    • Market analysis including audience segments, positioning, comparative analysis, etc.
  • Development Roadmap showing clear tasks and milestones for production to project release
  • Marketing and Audience Engagement Plan
  • Finance Plan and Budget
  • Team Details
  • Online Details, including website links, social media, and storefronts
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan
  • Accessibility Plan
  • Any additional support materials, including Letters of Intent or Support, confirmed funding, licensing or rights documentation.

For Post-Production

  • A release version of the game and additional relevant Creative Materials that demonstrate post-production content.
  • Snapshot of release outcomes, including sales figures, audience engagement, revenue
  • Development roadmap for new content showing clear tasks and milestones for production to next stage release
  • Marketing and Audience Engagement Plan
  • Finance Plan and Budget
  • Team Details
  • Online Details, including website links, social media, and storefronts
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan
  • Accessibility Plan
  • Any additional support materials, including Letters of Intent or Support, confirmed funding, licensing or rights documentation.

What is eligible for funding?

Projects which are:

  • original digital game projects
  • at concept or early-stage
  • creatively driven by the applicant

What companies are eligible for funding?

Who is eligible?

You must be either a Victorian Company or Victorian Resident based in and operating out of Victoria for at least six months prior to the funding application.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.