17 German Game Companies Visit Japan With Up To 50 Percent Development Subsidies
The delegation's pitch came with a hard number attached: German subsidy money is open to Japanese studios that open offices in Germany, which makes public funding part of the pitch when a Japanese publisher weighs where to expand in Europe.
Key Facts
- Seventeen German game companies visited Japan around Tokyo Game Show 2026 under a project supported by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
- Germany's game development subsidy covers up to 50 percent of development costs, with a cap of 8 million euros per project, and more than 700 projects have been supported since 2019.
- Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry set a target of 20 trillion yen in overseas content sales by 2033, with the game industry accounting for about 60 percent of overseas content sales.
- ROCKFISH Games has received an 8 million euro German government subsidy for its next project after EVERSPACE 2 won Best German Game at the 2024 German Computer Game Awards.
- Gamescom will be held in Cologne, Germany in 2027.
Reporting from 2 sources: Game Spark, GameBusiness.jp.
Seventeen German game companies visited Japan around Tokyo Game Show 2026 as part of a Japan market development project backed by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. At a pitch and networking reception at Akihabara UDX, a representative from Germany's Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space described a system that subsidizes up to 50 percent of game development costs, capped at 8 million euros per project, with more than 700 projects supported since 2019. A Canadian studio received 3.2 million euros toward an office in Munich. From Japan's side, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Cultural Creation Industry Division said the content industry is one of 17 government strategic fields, targeting 20 trillion yen in overseas sales by 2033, with games accounting for roughly 60 percent of overseas content sales. The delegates span development, publishing, marketing, XR, and consulting, and include Kalypso Media Group and ROCKFISH Games.
The delegation roster covers more ground than development and publishing. Anderie Management, BBG Entertainment, Bigpoint, Blue Backpack, Crexpro, Gameinfluencer, Headup, HighPassionStudios, Benjamin Lochmann New Media, Studio Merkas, Soulven and Second Stage joined Kalypso and ROCKFISH on the trip.
Kalypso pitches itself as a publisher and developer with more than 200 staff across 10 offices in Germany, the UK, Japan, the US and France, with more than 60 titles released between 2006 and 2026. Its upcoming slate includes "Tropico 7" and "Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2." It has a Japan base and a Japan country manager, and it wants distribution partners for digital and retail sales.
BBG Entertainment traces its roots to Living Mobile, a Munich mobile publisher founded in 2002 that worked with Japanese companies including Hudson, and was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 2005 to become Disney Mobile. The current company formed in 2008 and works on classic IP such as "Boulder Dash," "ASTROSMASH" and "SHARK! SHARK!" Its pitch covered Sega-related IP and a new "Wonder Boy."
ROCKFISH Games, from Hamburg, has about 30 developers and community staff. The "EVERSPACE" series has sold more than 2.4 million copies on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch, and "EVERSPACE 2" won Best German Game at the 2024 German Computer Game Awards. Its next project carries an 8 million euro federal subsidy.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.