Open Call Games Sector Professionalisation and Practice Development – 15 projects selected

27 November 2025

In response to signals from and discussions with the field, the Fund has used this extra impetus from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to strengthen the games sector. With this open call, the Fund offers games professionals the opportunity to professionalise, strengthen and future-proof their practice. The proposals were assessed by an external selection committee consisting of Alessandra van Otterlo, Ard Bonewald and Martine Spaans.

general impression

The volume of applications submitted was modest. The committee missed many applicants that it had expected to respond to this call. This could be because this target group does not yet know how to find their way to the Fund, because this is a first and one-off call from the Fund to this group, or because many games professionals focus their attention on specific projects and find it difficult to fit their work into a call like this.

With regard to the positively assessed applications, the committee says that they mostly seem to have a good understanding of the field and have found a unique angle to strengthen their practice. The committee appreciates that applicants dare to be vulnerable and that they are willing to address their own areas of difficulty. The committee was also enthusiastic about applications that identify problems while still keeping the solution open. According to the committee members, the external experts are used appropriately in the process, for input, not as validation.

On the negatively assessed applications, the committee says that the objectives of the open call were often not well understood. Despite the explicit statement that the grant is not intended for the development or production of new games or prototypes, several applications appeared to be aiming for that. Several applications were perceived as incomplete, lacking, for example, the context about the external experts. The committee is also critical of the hourly rates being applied, especially the hourly rates of these experts. The committee is concerned that in such cases, a disproportionate share of the budget goes to the experts, at the expense of the applicants themselves.

The call was aimed at individuals and collectives (including temporary collectives). From the dossiers taken into consideration, it was noticeable that the vast majority of applications being considered were from individual practices. Four of the 23 dossiers were submitted by collectives, two of which received support.

Under the positively assessed applications, we see some recurring objectives:

Scaling up business processes

Many proposals focus on scaling up business processes. Studios struggle with the transition from intuitive working to structured business operations. These applicants are focusing their attention on the implementation of management frameworks, multi-year plans, efficient workflows and the transition to sustainable business models.

Independence and alternative revenue models

Many applications actively seek ways to become less dependent on traditional publishers, grants or one-off projects. They are working on building their own audiences, white-label models, community building and their own publishing activities.

Technological deepening

Makers clearly want to invest in expanding their technical knowledge. Applicants are diving into the possibilities of artificial intelligence, VR platforms, modern as well as vintage game software and experimental tools.

selection

Ladybug Parade – Hoe overleef ik mijn game? (How do I survive my game?)
Figures from the Dutch Games Monitor 2024 showed that few people still see the future of the Dutch games industry as rosy. Mental exhaustion has become the norm. That is what Esmée van ‘t Hoff, the maker behind Ladybug Parade, experienced after suffering her own burnout and those of other colleagues. Her research project Hoe overleef ik mijn game? is a design-based investigation into mental resilience and creative survival in the Dutch games industry. In this way, Van ‘t Hoff not only wants to generate new insights concerning the emotional impact of game development, but also to give games professionals room to future-proof their work processes and strengthen their position as research-based makers. Confirmed coaches are Joni van der Leeuw and Irene Preuss.

Changefied – Optimalisatie Changefied B.V.
Changefied develops innovative VR learning solutions for neurodivergent people. Heading towards 2030, the company expects to achieve international growth and also significant growth of the team. With this prospect, the innovation company plans to focus on professionalisation of internal processes, impact measurement and international sales of its VR learning platforms during Optimalisatie Changefield B.V.. Changefied’s process consists of coaching (Martijn van Zwieten, Karin Kleingeld and Sjoerd Wennekes), the implementation of measurement tools and market expansion so that the studio becomes future-proof and can position itself further.

Guillaume Roux – Acts of Play
By means of a research project, maker Guillaime Roux, who explores video games as artistic and performative spaces, aims to deepen his practice. The question he is exploring in the process Acts of Play: can playing together produce new forms of collective experiences? Roux’s objective is to strengthen conceptual reflection and technological developments in his practice through a combination of artistic research, guided mentorship and professional development. The coaches he is involving in this process are Lawrence Lek and Mathieu Bissonnette.

Wildcard – Wild Card en Wonder Realms
Dylan Hagel, the maker behind Wild Card, observed that since the Covid pandemic, the demand for freelancers in the international games industry has changed. Now Hagel wants to scrutinise and hone his own services, under the guidance of coaches Martijn van Zwieten, Eline Muijres, Maurice van der Boor and Eric Diepeveen. In addition, Hagel plans to start building a business case for in-house development and publishing activities, under a new practice: Wonder Realms. During the process of Wild Card en Wonder Realms, he will develop a plan for his own game productions and explore new forms of collaboration.

Take a look at all the selected proposals in the awarded grants archive (in Dutch).

numbers

Of the 29 applications submitted in total, 23 were taken into consideration by the advisory committee. The total budget for this open call was € 250,000. The total amount being awarded to the 15 selected proposals is € 180,548. This means an underspend of € 69,452. As this is a one-off open call and the amount cannot therefore be added to a subsequent round, we are now considering how to give this amount a sustainable purpose within the games sector.

Header image: Guillaume Roux – Acts of Play