Digital Games Seed Development Program

All applicants need to fulfil the following criteria:

• If an individual, the applicant must be a NSW resident (i.e., lived and operated in NSW for at least six months immediately before the application).
• If a company, the applicant must be incorporated in Australia and taken to be registered in NSW, have their central management and control in Australia and carry out business in Australia.
• Applicants must have an ABN.
• Applicants must not be full-time secondary or tertiary students; or employing students who are currently studying games, or a field related to games. Part-time students are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• Applicants who are an employee of a Federal or state or territory government screen agency are not eligible to apply.
• An applicant cannot be a licensee of a service under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) or a related body corporate of such a licensee (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
• Applicants must have the right to carry out the project, for example, own or have the licenses of any relevant copyright. If the application is based on a third-party underlying work, applicants must have an appropriate option agreement.  Applicants must be able to demonstrate they have the necessary rights if required by providing chain of title documents.
• Applicants must have a project team member with a key creative credit on at least one game that has been released to the general public e.g. Steam, itch.io.
• There can be only one application for a particular game. If more than one NSW developer is working on the project, a joint application for the game will need to be made.

Eligible games must be:

• Intended for public release
• At concept or early-stage development
• Completely digital.

Eligible games for funding include:

• Games for entertainment and serious games
• Games for any platform including console, desktop, tablet, mobile, VR/AR
• Multi-player and single-player games.

Ineligible games include but are not limited to:  

• Games involving gambling, for example games falling within the definition of ‘gambling service’ as defined in Section 4 of the Interactive Gambling Act, 2001 (Cth) 
• Games involving ‘gambling’ and ‘unlawful game’ as defined in the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW) 
• Games developed for research, advertising or corporate marketing, or other business-to-business audiences or purposes
• Games primarily designed for educational or training purposes
• Games consisting of curriculum or other educational or training material
• Games that are likely to be refused classification under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995
• Games that are not completely digital (board games or hybrid digital/physical games).

Screen NSW is dedicated to promoting fairness and equality in its programs and interactions with the community. Our main priorities include supporting increased participation in the industry of people from underrepresented groups, including:

• First Nations people 
• Regional NSW 
• Western Sydney
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds 
• People living with disability 
• LGBTQIA+ people.

If your project contains First Nations Content it will be ineligible if it cannot demonstrate appropriate First Nations consultation and/or participation. Screen NSW does not currently support projects with significant First Nations' content without a member of the key creative team coming from an appropriate background.

Please refer to Screen Australia’s guidelines Pathways & Protocols: a filmmaker’s guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concepts.

Available Funding

Up to $30,000 as a grant.

What you can get funding for

Funding is for direct, early development costs of a project and/or to secure investment for further game production. The funds can be used by successful applicants to invest in experimenting and developing an original IP with the goal to gain investment to transition the idea to full execution and release, including a prototype or the completion of a micro-scale game.

Screen NSW will not fund 100% of the stage of development that the applicant is seeking funding for. Applicants are expected to supplement funding with their own (this can be in-kind) or third-party contributions and submit a finance plan which demonstrates how the project will be funded including any applicant and third-party contributions.  

Screen NSW expects at least 90% of the funding requested to be used directly for development costs. If an applicant requests funding for other costs, the applicant will need to substantiate how the other costs will contribute to development outcomes. 

Screen NSW will only fund NSW elements – i.e., all expenditure must be in NSW and spent on NSW based funding recipients, contractors or other suppliers. 

Applicants should include appropriate budget for Public Liability Insurance and legal costs for a Solicitor’s Opinion letter certifying Chain of Title. 

Funding can be used for: 

• Staffing costs and other costs associated with the game’s development including reasonable hardware, software licenses and capital costs that clearly contribute to outcomes outlined in the project’s development plan. 
• Licensing costs and legal fees. This includes assistance with licensing and publishing agreements, and intellectual property protection.
• Business development activity including engagement of an experienced mentor to support key project personnel with creative, technical or business elements of the project. 
• Scoping technical requirements of a games project, exploring commercial, creative and market potential, as well as pitch materials.   

The expenditure must be incurred by the applicant. Transactions with interested or related third-parties must be on an arms-length basis. 

The following expenditure is specifically excluded:   

• Payments for activities or services undertaken outside NSW 
• Expenditure on international or interstate travel or freight 
• Deferred fees which are payable from future revenue or profits 
• Payments to service providers which are offset by a reinvestment or any other financial or other contribution to the project 
• Any expenditure that precedes the date a successful applicant signs a Screen NSW funding contract. 

• The strength and distinctiveness of the game concept or idea
• Level of ambition with innovative approaches to game design and development
• The overall quality of the project, considering artistry, gameplay, originality, technology and any commercial potential
• Applicant’s ability to communicate the game idea and its potential as a finished game.

• The applicant’s demonstration of pathway to audience appropriate to the project’s budget size and financing strategy
• Potential of the project to reach and resonate with its target audience.

• The track record and demonstrated potential of the individual applicant or creative team to deliver the project
• The feasibility of the development plan and strength of the finance plan, including the appropriateness of the budget and schedule
• Screen NSW prioritises teams who are all NSW-residents.

• The diversity of the team including skills, background, experiences, and perspectives
• How robustly the project advances diversity across one or more of the following:
  • Industry access and opportunities for training/career progression/mentoring
  • Underserved audiences
  • Underrepresented groups
  • First Nations' content and/or participation.

Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.

Eligibility   

Applications will be initially reviewed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable.

Shortlisting 

After eligibility is confirmed, applications will be reviewed for shortlisting by Screen NSW. A shortlisting meeting will consider all eligible applications and prepare a shortlist of applications for further consideration by the assessment panel. 

Assessment  

Shortlisted applicants will be reviewed at an assessment meeting which will include a quorum of 3 assessors (including at least one Screen NSW digital game expert and external industry specialists) along with a department probity representative. 

Evaluations will consider the assessment criteria, the availability of funds at Screen NSW, the variety and representation of the original IP and the applicant's need for Screen NSW funds.  Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. 

Recommendation and Decision  

Successful applications will be approved by the designated decision-maker, Executive Director Screen NSW based on the recommendations from the assessment panel. 

Screen NSW aims to turnaround applications approximately 8-10 weeks from the application close date. Applicants will be advised of the application outcome by email.

The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the funding agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide).    

This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.  

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the funding awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the funding agreement is executed.  

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).  

Any conflicts of interest will be managed in accordance with NSW Government Grants Administration Guide. 

A conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, may be identified if staff, any member of a committee or advisor and/or you or any of your personnel: 

• Has a professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process, or 
• Has a relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently, or 
• Has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the organisation received funding under the program. 

If you identify an actual, apparent, or perceived conflict of interest at any time, you must inform Screen NSW immediately. Screen staff can be contacted by email: [email protected]. 

NSW Government staff, committee members and other officials including the decision maker must declare any conflicts of interest and ensure they are managed according to the Code of Ethics and Conduct for NSW Government Sector Employees and the Grants Administration Guide.  

Details on how Screen NSW handles complaints, access to information and your private information are available here.