Search Grants & Funding

Targeted at emerging and small-medium enterprise digital game creators, the fund will provide a grant of up to $30,000 for early-stage game development.

The funds could also be used to cover scoping technical requirements of a games project, exploring commercial, creative and market potential, as well as pitch materials.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Support NSW game creators to advance early concept original digital games IPs to reach the next stage of development
• Assist successful applicants to prepare their project to raise additional finance for full-scale development
• Encourage sustainable growth for the NSW games sector and a diverse pipeline of game talent in NSW.

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.

The Pathways Development Program is a competitive Screen NSW initiative that supports emerging writers with disability to develop original long-form screen projects to a pitch-ready stage.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Increase the participation of creatives with disability in the NSW screen sector.
• Support the development of up to three long-form projects to a pitch-ready stage per round.
• Create clear industry pathways for alumni of the Screenability Film Fund and other emerging practitioners from under-represented groups.
• Strengthen the cultural and economic value of the NSW screen industry by fostering authentic, distinctive voices and stories.

The Strategic Opportunities Program supports innovative projects designed to strengthen the NSW screen and digital games industries.

The objectives of the program are to fund projects that:

• Build capacity within the NSW screen and digital games industries
• Support the growth and capability of NSW screen and digital games practitioners, organisations and businesses
• Are aligned with one or more strategic priorities in the NSW Screen & Digital Games Strategy (2025-2027):
  • Priority 1 – Creating Stories
  • Priority 2 – Building Sustainable Growth
  • Priority 3 – Improving Capacity and Capability
  • Priority 4 – Developing Audiences to Increase Demand
• Increase industry participation for audiences and/or screen and digital games practitioners from one or more NSW Government key priority areas:
  • Regional NSW
  • Western Sydney
  • First Nations people
  • People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • People living with disability
  • LGBTQIA+ people.

To be eligible for funding under the Strategic Opportunities Program, applicants must:

• Discuss their proposed project with Screen NSW staff before submitting an application
• Be an Australian organisation, including:
• Companies and not-for-profit incorporated bodies
• Co-operatives, trusts or local government authorities
• A consortium or a group of organisations working collaboratively*
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Be legally constituted and able to provide proof of legal status
• Adhere to general eligibility requirements under the Screen NSW Terms of Trade.

*In the case of a consortium or group of organisations working collaboratively, one eligible organisation must be nominated as the lead organisation. If successful, the funding grant agreement will be between Screen NSW and the lead organisation.

Established under the NSW Screen and Digital Games Strategy 2025-2027, Screen NSW, through this program, will wholly or partly reimburse, up to $5,000, a screen and digital games producers’ cost to option original intellectual property (IP) from NSW-based creators.

The primary aim of the program is to encourage screen content for audiences that has originated in IP created by people who are included in the Screen NSW Priority Areas: First Nations people, people living in Western Sydney and regional NSW, people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) backgrounds, people living with a disability, and LGBTQIA+ people.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Improve sustainability of the NSW screen and digital games industries
• Improve sustainability of related NSW-based creative sectors, particularly literary fiction, non-fiction and short-form web-based and podcast content creation
• Promote collaboration between the NSW screen and digital games industries and NSW-based practitioners from other creative industries
• Provide opportunity for early and mid-career creatives from Screen NSW Priority Areas to enhance their careers by having their work reach a wider audience through screen adaptation
• Increase visibility within screen and digital games content of people from under-represented groups as set out in the Screen NSW Diversity Commitment
• Increase the level of participation of practitioners from under-represented groups as set out in the Screen NSW Diversity Commitment
• Support connections that will shape the future of the NSW creative community and strengthen its position in the global market. 

The NSW Government is offering a 10 per cent rebate for eligible digital games. Games must have a Qualifying NSW Expenditure of at least $500,000 to be eligible.

An eligible project must commit at the time of application to qualifying expenditure of at least AU$500,000 on the project in NSW. The spend may occur over several years. Multiple projects cannot be bundled to achieve the AU$500,000 threshold. A major update of an existing game is eligible if it meets the $500,000 threshold.

Qualifying NSW games expenditure must be on activities carried out in NSW related to production of the launch version of the game. The pre-development stage, being activities that are usually undertaken with the aim of determining whether a digital game is commercially feasible, is excluded.

Eligible games for the Rebate include:

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

Games must generally be intended for public release.

An applicant must submit an application with Screen NSW prior to the commencement of any eligible work for which the Rebate is sought. If production has already commenced on the project, only work carried out on or after the date of application will be eligible for the Rebate.