A budget of €2 million has been allocated by Wallimage, the Walloon public investment fund dedicated to the audiovisual sector, and the Walloon Region for video game projects in 2026.
The information was confirmed to Belga by Wallimage Gaming.
Six calls for projects of this type had already been launched between 2022 and 2024, providing support for 33 different games, with a total budget of around €3.6 million.
However, the budget, which came from the Wallonia Recovery Plan, had not been renewed since the first half of 2024, leaving many studios in limbo.
An agreement was finally reached for a new amount of €2 million to be allocated to the launch of two calls for projects in 2026.
"The aim is to support between 8 and 15 projects and to ensure the long-term viability of established Walloon studios, as well as those recently created under the impetus of Wallimage's Gaming line," explained Sophie Augurelle, who is in charge of video games at the Walloon investment fund.
Support can be up to €400,000 per project in production and up to €75,000 per project in pre-production. A budget of €100,000 is also earmarked to "maximise the chances of commercialising the supported projects."
A specific communication campaign will be carried out among Walloon and foreign studios to remind them of the terms and conditions of the mechanism planned for next year.
According to the organisation, one euro invested by Wallimage Gaming generates around 4.64 euros for projects in production.
This rate is lower for games in pre-production, "but the aim is for these to go into production, which in particular ensures a flow of projects for the future," explains Sophie Augurelle.
These calls for projects also enable co-productions to be set up, particularly with foreign partners. The Wallimage Gaming fund has supported seven co-productions since its inception. This support ‘acts as a seed cluster for the industry,’ says Sophie Augurelle.
In the Walloon video game sector, there is a palpable sense of relief, a few months after concerns were raised at the European video game trade fair, Gamescom, about a lack of public support.
This budget "is already a major achievement and very encouraging for support for the sector, as provided for in the regional policy statement,"says Jean Gréban, coordinator of the Walloon video game federation, Walga.
However, the strengthening of Wallimage Gaming is not currently accompanied by reaffirmed support for Walga, whose new budget for 2026 is under discussion with the Walloon Region.
This public aid is seen as beneficial at a time when studios are facing continuing financial difficulties in a highly competitive sector.
"Many Walloon studios have released their games in recent weeks, but unfortunately, sales will rarely be enough to cover the budget. Some studios will therefore have to close by the end of the year,"says Jean Gréban. "This is normal in a creative industry, but we must preserve people's experience and allow them to bounce back with other projects."
Wallimage Gaming hopes to continue this type of support in the long term, "but the funding of the line depends on several parameters, in particular the support of the European Investment Fund, for which we currently have no guarantee beyond 2026," concludes Sophie Augurelle.
