Some of the IndieDev 2025 participants at the Irish Games Talent Incubator 2025 Closing Event in the Portershed, Galway. Image: IndieDev 2025

It is a highly competitive international games industry, but the cross-border IndieDev 2025 initiative resulted in eight game prototype launches.

A cross-border fund programme supporting independent video game developers in Dublin, Galway, Antrim, Armagh, Tyrone, Laois, Clare, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Down, IndieDev 2025 saw each studio, receive £15,000 or €15,000 and 12 weeks of intensive mentorship “to bring their visions to life”.

The recipient studios were Sharp Glass Games, Universe or Nothing, Reliable Plumbing Services, Space Lion Studios, Table Topple, Rúcach, Silly Goose Games, and Round Robin Interactive, as part of the ambitious programme managed by Galway-based Ardán and Dublin-based Imirt on behalf of Northern Ireland Screen and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.

Emerging game developers were paired with experienced industry mentors Dave McCabe (Spooky Doorway), Sam Redfern (Psychic Software), and Paul Froggatt (Outlier Games), all of whom have shipped games to international markets in the last year.

“IndieDev is a great programme,” said Colm Larkin, Imirt CEO and founder of game studio Gambrinous. “If something like this had been around when I started my studio 12 years ago, I would have jumped at the chance to take part. There’s a real sense of things coming together in Ireland for games right now.”

A hot air balloon simulator, a stealth-puzzle game, a meditative, cozy game, a roguelike strategy game, a 3D action-adventure platformer, a minimalist pinball-inspired perseverance platformer, a soft post-apocalyptic romance adventure visual novel, and a first-person, stealth exploration game – these were the prototypes that emerged from Indie2025.

“IndieDev is the best thing that could have happened to us as a newcomer game studio,” said Sharp Glass Games Irina Kuksova. “Being on the programme was key for connecting with professionals who helped us to test assumptions, try new approaches and get a better understanding of the industry.

“The funds gave us time to work on the project, while the commitment to deliver sped up our work. We are publishing the Deathwish Bloom prototype next month and are looking forward to growing further.”

“IndieDev gave us the space and structure to turn Persevere from an ambitious concept into a working, playable game,” said Universe Or Nothing’s Mark Aherne. “The mentorship, workshops, and focused development time helped us validate our ideas, sharpen our design, and build a prototype we’re extremely excited about. It’s been a huge step forward for the project and for us as a studio.”

Next up is Sparks: Game Changers, a pilot career development course for people of underrepresented genders in the games industry, which will be run by Ardán in collaboration with Code Coven and supported by Screen Ireland.

The new programme will tackle the soft skills that directly affect career progression – confident communication, self-advocacy, and job-hunting readiness in an industry the organisers say is still still “shaped by bias and power imbalances”.

Ardán, based in the CREW Enterprise and Innovation Hub in Galway, was previously Galway Film Centre but rebranded in 2022 to reflect the newer industries like animation and games. Imirt represents game developers in Ireland and covers analog and digital games. It promotes, mentors, and aims to improve the game making environment for those developing games here.

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