A new initiative to equip Irish game developers with the tools to break through in the +$200 billion global games market has just completed its first year.
The Irish Games Talent Incubator 2025 is an important new facility in ensuring the next generation of Irish developers achieve their creative visions and have the skills to present it in ways publishers and investors want, with clear business models, defined audience targets, and market-ready pitches.
Incubator is part of Screen Ireland’s €500,000 Digital Games Portfolio and is managed by Ardán in Galway and Imirt in Dublin. Running from September to December, the Incubator brought together 23 early-stage video game developers - 12 from Galway and 11 from Dublin - and closed with an event in the Portershed, Market Street, Galway on Friday December 5.
“Screen Ireland’s Digital Games Portfolio funding was a landmark moment in Ireland for games, and a big part of the success of that fund is the Incubator programmes,” said Eoin Butler-Thornton, Games Coordinator at Ardán.
Across 12 weeks, participants learned how creative ideas can achieve actualisation through business industry structures, such as development goals and plans, audience targeting and marketing, and accessing funding, as well as mentorship with industry figures and dedicated working spaces in the Guinness Enterprise Centre, Dublin, and CREW, Galway.
“The business areas of the Incubator were essential,” said Incubator participant Jamie Clarke. “It gave really good learning points, such as, this is how I find my target players, this is how I market towards them. Everything was specialised for games.”
Describing the Incubator as “transformational”, game developer Katie Canning said participants “moved from ‘I’m a starving artist, creative’ to ‘I can make something I can sell to people’.”
Other participants, such as Alejandra Vargas and Hazel Blackwood, emphasised the wide-ranging educational benefits of the Incubator. “It helped give my idea structure and think more about the business side,” said Alejandra. “It was a fantastic experience. Every day, I walked away with something. There was always something to learn,” said Hazel.
As well as the Incubators, Ardán and Imirt’s co-managing of the Digital Games Portfolio also allowed them to expand the help, assistance, and support for the Irish gaming industry, at a time when the industry internationally is enduring a period of uncertainty, saturated markets, declining funding, and layoffs.
Projects Ardán and Imirt have taken the lead on including IndieDev, a prototype fund impacting 26 people across eight teams and the Irish Games Incubator, impacting 23 participants in Galway and Dublin. Further planned activities include the Underrepresented Genders Workshop Series.
“With the Incubator, we’re seeing the beginning of something important,” said Eoin Butler Thornton, “that is laying the ground for a sustainable future for developers to get their creative ideas out there, while also assisting in knowing how to navigate a business landscape. In the process, this is creating a bright future for indigenous Irish game developers, developing Irish content for the world market.”
