The International Game Developers Association’s Incubation Special Interest Group (SIG) is set to unveil a landmark study at this year’s Gamescom, offering the first comprehensive global snapshot of game incubation and accelerator programmes. Scheduled for the week of Gamescom 2026, the presentation will provide industry stakeholders with an unprecedented overview of the organisations that nurture fledgling studios and help them scale. The research underpinning this census was compiled from the responses of 84 senior leaders and managers who oversee incubation and acceleration initiatives in a variety of regions, ranging from North America and Europe to Asia‑Pacific and emerging markets in Africa and Latin America.
By gathering data directly from those who run these programmes, the study paints a detailed picture of the scale, structure, funding models, mentorship approaches, and success metrics that define the ecosystem today. "Incubators and accelerators have become vital engines of growth for the games sector, yet we have lacked a clear, data‑driven map of the ecosystem itself," explained Dr. Pedro Santoro Zambon, a leading researcher on the project. "Our census aims to identify who is providing these services, the methods they employ, and the obstacles they encounter, so that the broader community can learn from best practices and address gaps where support is lacking." During the Gamescom meetup, the SIG’s chairperson, Sho Sato, will kick off the session with a summary of the group’s recent activities, including outreach efforts, policy advocacy, and collaborative projects that have helped shape the incubator landscape over the past two years.
Following Sato’s overview, Linn Søvig, who heads the European chapter of the SIG, will discuss the importance of cross‑border cooperation among developer‑support organisations. Søvig will highlight case studies where European incubators have partnered with counterparts in Asia and the Americas to co‑fund joint cohorts, share curriculum resources, and facilitate talent exchanges that benefit studios on both sides of the Atlantic.
A key portion of the programme will be devoted to diversity and inclusion. Vee Pendergrast, the industry development manager at New Zealand’s Centre of Digital Excellence, will present on strategies for uplifting Indigenous creators and other under‑represented groups.
Pendergrast will detail initiatives such as CODE’s mentorship tracks for Māori and Pasifika developers, scholarship schemes that reduce financial barriers, and culturally‑sensitive curriculum design that respects traditional storytelling methods while teaching modern game‑development pipelines. The final speaker, veteran games‑industry advocate Jason Della Rocca, will explore the concept of "inception publishing." This emerging model proposes that publishers work with studios from the earliest stages of a project, providing not only capital but also strategic guidance on business planning, market positioning, and IP protection. Della Rocca argues that such early‑stage collaboration can help studios build sustainable enterprises, retain creative control, and avoid the pitfalls that often arise when publishing deals are struck later in development.
Beyond the formal presentations, the SIG will host a series of breakout sessions where participants can dive deeper into specific topics uncovered by the census. These include: * Funding structures: comparing equity‑based models, grant‑driven schemes, and hybrid approaches.
* Mentorship frameworks: evaluating the impact of one‑on‑one coaching versus cohort‑wide workshops. * Success measurement: defining key performance indicators such as studio survival rate, revenue growth, and IP ownership. * Regional challenges: addressing infrastructure gaps, talent shortages, and regulatory hurdles that differ across continents. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage with a live interactive dashboard that visualises the census data in real time, allowing them to filter results by geography, programme size, focus area (e.g., VR, mobile, indie), and other criteria.
This tool is intended to serve as a resource for policymakers, investors, and aspiring developers seeking to locate the most suitable incubator for their needs. The IGDA Incubation SIG hopes that the findings will spark a broader conversation about how to standardise best practices, encourage data sharing among programmes, and ultimately create a more transparent, equitable support network for game creators worldwide. By shedding light on the current state of incubation and acceleration, the census aims to guide future investments, inform curriculum development, and inspire new collaborations that can accelerate the growth of the global games industry.
The full report will be made publicly available after the conference, with an executive summary released on the IGDA website within weeks. Stakeholders interested in contributing additional data or participating in follow‑up research are encouraged to contact the SIG through its official channels.
In summary, the upcoming Gamescom presentation marks a pivotal moment for the games development community: a data‑rich, globally‑sourced census that not only documents the present landscape of incubators and accelerators but also charts a path forward for more inclusive, effective, and sustainable support mechanisms for emerging studios.