Support for Development of European Video Games 2019 -Call EACEA/24/2018

Deadline: Feb 27, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

1. OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION

This notice is based on the Regulation No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11/12/2013 on establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014-2020) and its corrigendum of 27/06/2014 1.

Within the specific objective of reinforcing the audiovisual sector's capacity to operate transnationally and internationally, one of the priorities of the MEDIA sub-Programme is to:

 increase the capacity of audiovisual operators to develop European audiovisual works with a potential to circulate in the Union and beyond and to facilitate European and international co-production.

The MEDIA Sub-programme shall provide support for:

 the development of European audiovisual works in particular films and television works such as fiction, documentaries, children’s and animated films, as well as interactive works such as video games and multimedia with enhanced cross-border circulation potential.

Under this support scheme, applicants may submit a proposal to develop a concept and project (activities to the point that the concept leads to a playable prototype or trial version) of highly innovative and creative narrative storytelling video games designed for commercial exploitation for PCs, consoles, mobile devices, tablets, smart phones and other technologies.

2. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

This notice of a call for proposals is aimed at European companies whose activities contribute to the attainment of the above objectives, and in particular to European video game production companies which have been legally constituted for at least 12 months prior to the submission date and that can demonstrate a recent success. The applicant must also own the majority of the rights related to the submitted project.

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible as long as all conditions referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation establishing the Creative Europe Programme are met:

• - EU Member States and overseas countries and territories which are eligible to participate in the Programme pursuant to Article 58 of Council Decision 2001/822/EC;

• -  Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates benefiting from a pre- accession strategy, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council Decisions or similar agreements;

• -  EFTA countries which are members of the EEA, in accordance with the provisions of the EEA Agreement;

• -  The Swiss Confederation, on the basis of a bilateral agreement to be concluded with that country;

• -  Countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy in accordance with the procedures established with those countries following the framework agreements providing for their participation in European Union programmes;

The Programme shall also be open for bilateral or multilateral cooperation actions targeted at selected countries or regions on the basis of additional appropriations paid by, and specific arrangements to be agreed upon with, those countries or regions.

The Programme shall permit cooperation and joint actions with countries not participating in the Programme and with international organisations which are active in the cultural and creative sectors such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the basis of joint contributions for the realisation of the Programme's objectives.

Proposals from applicants in non EU countries may be selected, provided that, on the date of the award decision, agreements have been signed setting out the arrangements for the participation of those countries in the programme established by the Regulation referred to above.

3. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

Only the activities relating to the development phase for the following projects are eligible: Narrative storytelling video games regardless of platform or expected distribution method. The story must be told or shown throughout the whole game (in-game storytelling) and not only as an introduction or an ending to the game. In all cases the video game must be intended for commercial exploitation.

The production phase (see definition) of the submitted project must not be scheduled to start before 8 months after the date of submission of the application.

4. ELIGIBLE APPLICATIONS

Applicants may submit only one application in the frame of this call for proposals. Applications requesting a financial contribution of less than EUR 10.000 are ineligible. The duration of the project is until 36 months from the start date of the action.
5. AWARD CRITERIA
Points will be allocated out of a total of 100 on the basis of the following weighting:

Quality of the content and activities (30 points)
 Quality of the content, the storytelling of the project and originality of the concept against existing works

Innovative character of the project (20 points)
 Innovation i.e. the extent to which the project pushes the boundaries of the existing offer proposing "cutting edge" techniques and content

Relevance and European added-value (20 points)
 The development strategy and potential for European/international exploitation (including management of IP rights)

Dissemination of project results (20 points)
 The distribution, communication and marketing strategy and suitability for the target audience including accessibility features Impact and sustainability (10 points)

 The financing strategy for the development and production and the feasibility potential of the project 2

An additional 5 points can be awarded for projects specifically targeted at children up to the age of 12 years old as evidenced by the content being suitable for and the strategies being specifically targeted at this age group.

6. BUDGET

The total budget available is 3.78 M €. The financial contribution awarded is a subsidy.

The financial contribution is between EUR 10.000 and EUR 150.000 provided the amount does not exceed 50% of the total eligible costs of the action.

7. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The call for proposals has one deadline. The application for support must be submitted and received between the date of the publication of the call for proposals and 27/02/2019, 12.00 noon (midday Brussels time), the date of closure of the call for proposals.

Proposals must be received not later than 12.00 noon (midday Brussels time) on the relevant deadline, using the online application form (eForm).

No other method of submission of an application will be accepted.

Applicants shall ensure that all the documents requested and mentioned in the eForms are provided.

8. FULL DETAILS

The full text of the guidelines together with the application forms, can be found at the following Internet address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/funding/support-for-development-european-video-games-2019_en

Applications must comply with all the terms of the guidelines and be submitted on the eForms provided.