On 30 September 2026 Creative Europe opened the MEDIA call “Video games and immersive content development” (CREA-MEDIA-2027-DEVVGIM). It funds the development of narrative video games and of interactive narrative immersive experiences, from the first idea to the first prototype.
The deadline is 2 February 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time. Applications are submitted online only, on the Commission’s Funding & Tenders Portal.
The key figures
- Call budget: 13.5 million euros, if the 2027 EU budget is adopted as planned.
- Maximum grant: 200,000 euros per project.
- Form: a lump sum, set on the estimated budget with a 60% funding rate.
- Duration: normally up to 36 months; production must start at least 10 months after the deadline.
Who can apply
European video game production companies, XR studios and audiovisual production companies can apply, if established in a country that fully participates in MEDIA. Publishers are not eligible.
The coordinator must show recent experience. It must have produced or developed a video game or an immersive experience, interactive or not, commercially distributed between 1 January 2024 and the deadline, with a sales report. Work-for-hire and Early Access titles do not count.
Only one application as coordinator is allowed across this call and the MEDIA development calls for films and series (co-development, slate and mini-slate). You can still be a partner in other applications.
What it does not fund
The call explicitly excludes some projects close to the world of immersive experiences:
- multimedia art projects and installations;
- immersive tours, events, music videos and immersive experiences used in retail;
- promotional works for a tourist destination, a product, a brand or an institution;
- projects whose main aim is professional education, training or therapy;
- many game genres, including puzzle, quiz, sports and music games, even with a narrative element.
The story must run through the whole experience, not only the beginning or the end. The work must be intended for commercial exploitation, and the applicant must hold most of the rights.
How to prepare
- Register the company in the Participant Register and get its PIC, with an EU Login account.
- Prepare the documents on the previous work: commercial distribution and sales report.
- Check the rights contracts for the work to develop, signed and dated by the deadline.
- Write the development plan up to the prototype, with budget, distribution and market strategy.
The Creative Europe Desk of your country gives free information on the call. Switzerland does not take part in Creative Europe: Swiss producers have replacement measures from the Federal Office of Culture.
More calls and help
In the Grants for film and TV producers section you find open and upcoming measures; EU measures are on the EU grants page. For a free check of your project, we help you with the application.
Sources
- Call document CREA-MEDIA-2027-DEVVGIM, version 1.0 of 30 September 2026
- European Commission Funding & Tenders Portal
Guide written with artificial intelligence from the official texts cited and checked against the sources on 20 October 2026. Rules and dates can change: the official call always prevails.