Galway as a central hub for innovation in Ireland’s games industry has taken a major step forward, with the launch of the new Digital Games Portfolio funding strategy. Find out more here...
Funding of €500,000 in support of the Irish game development industry was announced at the FÍS Games Summit 2025, hosted by Ardán, which took place at the Radisson RED Galway.
The new funding scheme, launched by Screen Ireland, will go towards initiatives to develop and strengthen both talent and the industry. It will be managed by Ardán, the organisation supporting creatives in film, TV, games, and animation, and Imirt, the national organisation for game developers and creators in Ireland.
Ardán CEO Alan Duggan said the Digital Games Portfolio was a recognition by Government of the importance of the Irish games industry. "It is amazing to see this level of support,” he said. “What this means is that the Government is investing directly in our industry and our creative talent."
Colm Larkin, CEO of Imirt, said; "At a State level, Ireland is looking at games and game developers as a culturally relevant art form and is saying, ‘We need to support this. We need to show it is worthwhile supporting.’ This is just going to be the first step towards really growing our sector."
The Minister for Arts, Culture, Media, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, TD said; "The international games industry represents a huge contestable market, one in which Ireland can excel based on our technical, design and storytelling competencies. This funding combined with the recently introduced tax credit for games are key steps along the government's path to developing a national strategy for games."
Through the Digital Games Portfolio, Galway, along with Dublin, will become the chief locations in the State for incubators for individuals at the early stages of their careers. The incubators will offer tailored training and mentorship in business and game development skills across 12 weeks. A pilot development fund is also being launched, targeting established Irish game studios, to allow them to develop IP within their work spaces.
Galway as a focus point for the development of new ideas and directions in the nation’s game industry was further bolstered by the success of this year’s FÍS Games Summit. As well as national and international guest speakers, the Summit had close to 300 people in attendance from Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and across Ireland. The Summit has doubled in size since 2024, with this year’s event featuring the addition of roundtables, pitch sessions, and a demo room.
Alan Duggan noted that previously, Irish games developers had to travel to conferences abroad to meet, but now come to Galway to exchange ideas and insights. "Ardán is very proud to bring some of the leading voices of the international industry to a national audience at such a pivotal point in our development,” he said. “It very much feels like we're at an inflection point in the Irish games industry. There's tremendous enthusiasm and vigour. We're swelling into a wave and that's really running contrary to a lot of what's happening internationally."
The energy and innovation of the Irish games were recognised by Xalavier Nelson Jr., the BAFTA-nominated and Forbes 30 under 30 Studio Head of game developer and publisher Strange Scaffold. "I knew the Irish game development community was filled with incredibly passionate and skilled, amazing people," he told the Summit, "but what I've seen in person has been beyond anything I already knew or could have imagined."
Further underlining the health of the Irish games industry were the Imirt Awards which were presented at the FÍS Games Summit 2025.
"Irish games are worth supporting,” said Colm Larkin. “I consider games to be art and this is our creative art form."
Find out more about FÍS Games Summit and Ardán HERE.
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