CODE opens EOI submissions for new Funding Round 12

Expressions of Interest for CODE’s 2026 KickStart and StartUp round are now open!

Round 12 is open to applicants nationally, with expressions of interest open from Wednesday 25 February through 5pm Monday 16th March only. Eligible applicants invited to proceed will have a further nine weeks to submit a Full Application.

Please visit our Funding page for your options. This is a much anticipated round and we are excited to see all of your submissions.

However, before we begin, there are some changes.

Firstly, the Dunedin and National KickStart and StartUp grant rounds have been merged - this already happened two years ago for Travel Grant funding. Dunedin teams will continue to be funded from a different pot until 2027, but will be assessed alongside all other applications. The bar has been set at the same level since 2023, but this should be much easier for everyone to understand when they are assessed in a single pool. Dunedin teams will no longer be expected to spend 80% of their funding within the city, just within NZ, like all other teams. Secondly, due to the change in our funding and after a huge amount of feedback and work from our staff, we have raised the total you can apply for on both grants! KickStart is now available up to a total of $60,000 and StartUp has been raised to $250,000. We are sure this is good news for everyone concerned.

Thirdly, we have added a formal criterion for assessment based on Market Validation. We have been talking about this repeatedly since 2023 - but we have now broken it out into its own section. At a KickStart level, we want to see your planning and at StartUp, we expect to see this planning and validation in action. We also have new marketing process support measures incoming - more to be announced soon on this topic.

The final new addition for prospective StartUp applicants to be aware of is a new breakpoint in the grant. If successful, you will complete milestones to 60% of the total funding, before pulling up at a midpoint gate based on market validation agreed during the grant contracting process. An independent assessment will be undertaken and if approved, the final 40% of milestone payments will become accessible. As with all assessment decisions, this will be final.

This is part of our risk management strategy, and we will support you through this process.

The new criteria and midpoint market validation audit are reflected in an update to our Terms & Conditions.

From here, feel free to submit your EOI as soon as you feel comfortable. We are sure everyone will have a lot of questions and possibly concerns particularly around the new criteria. With that in mind, please hold off your questions as we will be inviting everyone to an AMA about the new grant structures - details on that will follow shortly, but we are aiming to set a time for next week via a Zoom call, so please await further details.

At this time, we are also asking developers of Serious Games to hold off from placing an EOI in this current round. We have a new programme specifically for you opening shortly.

Ngā mihi

The CODE Team

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About CODE

CODE is the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence – a Dunedin-based hub designed to progress the sustainable growth of New Zealand’s video game development industry. CODE’s regional programme in Dunedin is funded by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit – and its national expansion by Hīkina Whakatutuki, Ministry of Innovation, Business and Employment (MBIE).

Further details about CODE funding can be found here.