The Dutch Game Garden was a video game studio incubator in Utrecht, The Netherlands. It was launched in 2008 using funding from the
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
, with the goal of investing in new Dutch studios. The organisation was the largest such program in the Netherlands, it incubated around 130 studios and housed around 150 over its lifetime.
Changes to regional funding rules closed down the program in January 2025.
History
The universities in Utrecht-
Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht and
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...
had been offering courses in game development since 2002. The Utrecht city council and Dutch government recognised the potential for the rapidly growing video game sector in 2008, which at the time suffered from a lack of visibility in the Netherlands. The only major studio in the country at that time was
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla B.V. (trade name: Guerrilla Games) is a Dutch First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Amsterdam and part of PlayStation Studios. The company was founded as Lost Boys Games in January 2000 through the merger of ...
, and so the Dutch Game Garden was conceived as a means to invest in new studios. Many studios at the Dutch Game Garden were formed by former students from games programs at the local universities.
in 2010, the program was relocated to the former
ABN AMRO building on Neude square, which offered much more space than the initial venue. Some of the companies then working at the garden were considering moving out of the city in search of larger offices, so the move was intended to keep them present in Utrecht. By 2014 the program had resulted in the creation of 200 jobs and 6 million euros in revenue. The organisation relocated again in 2020, to Europalaan 400, in order to be close to technology start-ups in the Dotslash community.
In September 2024, it was announced that the Dutch Game Garden would close at the end of the year, as the province of Utrecht changed conditions associated with the subsidies that had funded it.
Events
In 2010, the Dutch Game Garden introduced the INDIGO showcase, an interactive exhibition of the Dutch video games. It has become an annual event in the Netherlands,
[Dutch Game Garden krijgt miljoenensubsidie](_blank)
/ref> and showcases Dutch video games at the international events.
Notable studios incubated
*Vlambeer
Vlambeer is a Dutch independent video game developer based in Utrecht. Founded in 2010, the studio was composed of Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. The studio is known for the games ''Super Crate Box'' (2010), ''Serious Sam: The Random Encount ...
- ''Ridiculous Fishing
''Ridiculous Fishing'' is a fishing video game developed and published by Vlambeer. In the game, players use motion and touch controls to catch fish and subsequently shoot them out of the sky for cash. The game was released for iOS on March 13, ...
'' (2012)
* - ''Reus
Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...
'' (2013)
*Ronimo Games
Ronimo Games was a Dutch video game developer founded in 2007 by former students of the Utrecht School of the Arts.
History
The team that formed Ronimo Games initially came together under the name of Banana Games,[Awesomenauts
''Awesomenauts'' is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by Dutch video game development company Ronimo Games. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in May 2012, and for Microsoft Windows systems ...]
'' (2013)
*Digital Dreams - '' Metrico'' (2014)
*Excamedia - European distributor for AntVR (2014)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Business incubators of the Netherlands
Video game companies of the Netherlands