News

Berlin / Potsdam – At its fourth funding session of the year, the New Media Funding Committee awarded approximately €2 million to 22 games, XR projects and serial formats.

In the games sector, the focus is on emerging studios and newly founded companies, with many of the funded titles representing first or second projects. Jarring Pickles (Indigo Hour) places players behind the counter of a pickle shop in 1920s Berlin. What initially appears to be an innocent business develops into a quirky adventure involving eldritch vegetables and a secret resistance movement. In Glider (Mosaik Studio), players supply an entire valley with energy through daring aerial maneuvers where the riskier the flight, the greater the reward. Saloon Tycoon (Schleuder Games) combines business simulation with an absurd Western setting and a multiverse twist. The VR game Strange Times (Howl Studio) translates the classic “spot-the-difference” mechanic into a spatial horror puzzle.

In the area of XR and Other Innovative Audiovisual Content, MBB is specifically supporting projects dedicated to remembrance culture. The animated XR experience A Hotovo – (Der Krieg kam, er endete) Und Das War’s (Anna Benner) immersively conveys the experiences of women during the Second World War in Czechia. With Kitchen of Memories and Roussel’s Music Box, the funding also strengthens international partnerships. The Babelsberg–New York co-production Kitchen of Memories (Arkanum Pictures in collaboration with Flavour Five Studios, USA) combines mixed reality and culinary storytelling to explore the connections between food, collective identity and personal memories across different eras and cultures. Roussel’s Music Box (monströös in cooperation with Studio Geppetto, IRCAM and 6x2, France and Italy) is an immersive VR project investigating the still-unsolved death of French writer Raymond Roussel, who was found in a hotel room in Palermo in 1933 beside a mysterious music box.

The funded series projects reflect the broad diversity of formats and themes that characterizes the programme. Unfollow (MadeFor Film) explores the world of influencers and features Theo Carow, a creator with a large online following who is known for his elaborately produced short-form social media videos, bringing an authentic voice from the scene to the project. Wing It Like Lilly (Wolkenlenker) is a humorous animated series about Lilly, a single-parent hen. The project highlights a family reality that remains underrepresented in children’s media while showcasing the creative strength of the region’s animation sector. Springerstiefel (Wood Water Films) is a coming-of-age series inspired by the award-winning ACB Stories podcast of the same name. It follows young people searching for identity, stability and belonging in a changing Germany. MYTHOS (Rising Gaze) is a micro drama that brings figures from ancient mythology into contemporary Berlin, telling a feminist fantasy story designed for vertical-screen viewing.

A total of 52 applications were submitted, requesting approximately €3.7 million in funding.

Overview of all funding decisions

++ Under the first year of the committee-based funding model, demand for New Media funding remained exceptionally strong. In 2026, a total of 200 games, IAI projects and serial formats were submitted, with requested funding amounting to €17.8 million. Overall, 82 projects were funded with a total of €7.4 million. ++

GAMES

Glider
Mosaik Studio
€ 166,000 Production funding
 

Saloon Tycoon
Schleuder Games
€ 130,000 Production funding
Darya Studios
 

Axiom Dissonance
Ougi Soft
€ 92,000 Development funding
 

Jarring Pickles
Indigo Hour
€ 90,000 Development funding
 

Moon Drop
Valentine Ledour
€ 70,000 Production funding
 

Darya
Darya Studios
€ 64,000 Development funding
 

The Little Mole
Feierabend Produktion
€ 60,000 Development funding
 

Desktop Fishing Together
Ostend Games
€ 60,000 Production funding
 

PlanetO
ARIANO Games
€ 45,000 Development funding
 

Goth Merge
Tim Sheperd
€ 25,000 Development funding
 

Orebital Dynamics
Bora Genel
€ 22,000 Production funding
 

Up The Sewer: Lowlife Logic
Chuwen Wang
€ 18,000 Development funding
 

Strange Times (XR game)
Howl Studio
€ 84,000 Development funding
 

XR AND OTHER INNOVATIVE AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT

Kitchen of Memories
Arkanum Pictures
€ 200,000 Production funding
 

Roussel's Music Box
monströös 
€ 69,000 Production funding
 

A Hotovo - (Der Krieg kam, er endete) Und Das War's
Anna Benner
€ 42,000 Development funding
 

Das Wuthörnchen
Studio Schmitzi
€ 16,500 Development funding
 

SERIAL FORMATS

Unfollow
MadeFor Film
€ 350,000 Production funding
 

Wing It Like Lilly
Wolkenlenker
€ 237,000 Production funding
 

FUCK MY LIFE
TB easy media
€ 34,000 Development funding
 

Springerstiefel
Wood Water Films
€ 30,000 Development funding
 

MYTHOS
Rising Gaze
€ 25,000 Development funding