On the continued initiative of European Games Developer Federation, the Nordic Game conference and Nordic Game Ventures, supported by the European Commission, some 50 game developers, researchers, eco-system builders and policy makers gathered again to provide input and suggest priorities for European policy on our computer games industry. These are their recommendations:

Strengthen Technological, Artistic, and Operational Sovereignty in the European Games Industry
Secure access to talent, funding and intellectual property rights for European game developers' creative control and resilience. Modernise digital taxation frameworks and reform tax incentive schemes to lower barriers for smaller developers, to reduce abuse and to prevent offshore intellectual property transfers. Regulate foreign investment by robust shareholder agreements to protect operational and creative sovereignty aligned with European values.

Enhance Discoverability, Audience Development, and Market Integration for European Games
Shift public funding towards marketing, community-building and platform readiness, helping studios reach and cultivate audiences across Europe and for effective global market entry.

Recognise and Fund Games as Innovative, Cultural, and Civic Technologies, fostering partnerships between academia, industry clusters, and developers to encourage artistic risk-taking and innovation. Support games as tools for education, inclusion, and democratic participation, especially for vulnerable groups including children.

Build and Support Pan-European Creative Ecosystems and Collaborative Networks - that support new business models, incubation, and skills development tailored to the industry's diverse needs.

Streamline Public Funding, Defence Procurement and Policy Frameworks for Inclusive Growth - to open up public procurement pathways in defence, healthcare and emergency response, enabling innovative game developers, particularly SMEs, to contribute to public service innovation. Reform statistical classification systems to improve data accuracy and policy relevance. Ensure that public funding models encourage market viability as well as cultural and artistic innovation.

Invest in Early-Stage Innovation, Evidence-Based Learning, and Ethical Deployment - such as in tools and services for early audience testing and iterative game design, improving creative outputs and market fit prior to full release, as well as in serious games and simulation technologies for public service training sectors such as defence, healthcare, and emergency preparedness.

Foster Child-Centric, Rights-Based Digital Participation Policies, shifting from risk-focused to rights-based digital participation policies, thus promoting safe, meaningful access to digital culture and gaming for young people.


To download the full report, please click here.
To download the full report from the first Games Policy Summit in 2024, please click here.