What Is the UK Games Fund's Prototype Fund?

Once your studio has some track record behind it, the costs of taking a game from concept to a playable prototype can be significant. The UK Games Fund's Prototype Fund helps bridge that gap, offering grants of up to £100,000 to established UK studios developing a video game project at an early stage.

Expressions of Interest for Round 21 are open now. As with any UK Games Fund award, it's worth thinking about how a Prototype Fund grant sits alongside other support you might be entitled to, including Video Games Expenditure Credit, before you apply.

Who is the Prototype Fund for?

The Prototype Fund is aimed at studios a step on from the Starter Fund, companies that have moved past the very earliest stage and have something to show for it. You're likely a good fit if:

• Your studio has at least one active PAYE employee and is registered for PAYE.
• Your team has professional game development experience, ideally including commercially released games.
• You've done some early concept work and have a proof-of-concept demo or other visual pre-production material to show.
• You're building a community around your game, with some traction on social media or early marketing success.
• You have a clear plan for what happens after the grant, including how you'll fund the rest of development and approach publishing and a team in place or ready to come on board.
• You’re focusing on UK talent and looking to grow commercially and in project size.

The UK Games Fund is primarily focused on commercial games for entertainment, so projects with gambling elements or content it considers reputationally damaging won't be considered.

What are the eligibility criteria?

Alongside the points above, there are some hard requirements to check before you apply:

• Your company must be UK-based, registered with Companies House for at least 10 weeks before applying.
• You must have existing PAYE registration in place.
• Your company should have between 1 and 49 employees. One-person studios cannot apply, but solo developers can apply if they have a genuine plan to grow.
• Your business is not reliant on grant funding and is financially sustainable.
• You’re applying with your own IP.
• You can't be awarded more than one UK Games Fund grant in the same financial year (6 April to 5 April). If you've been funded by the UK Games Fund before, your application will be closely scrutinised for evidence of what that previous support achieved.
• Your project can already be in development, but the fund won't support games that have already fully launched, and it won't pay for work carried out before the grant is offered.

For grants over £50,000, the UK Games Fund also wants to see a strong founder group covering creative, technical and business skills, access to industry expertise, and a credible plan for growing your PAYE headcount.

How much can you get, and what can it be spent on?

The maximum grant is £100,000, and it can't make up more than 50% of the remaining budget for your prototype creation project from the point you're funded (not the budget for the whole game).

Funded work can begin from 1 October 2026 and must be completed by 31 March 2027. Claims are made monthly in arrears, generally capped at £20,000 per month, with a minimum of three claims over the project.

Eligible costs are limited to UK-based employee and contractor costs for hands-on project development or content creation work, things like programming, art, production and game writing. The fund won't cover marketing, social marketing, legal, accounting, business development or testing roles, though you're free to pay for these yourself. You can only fund roles that you declare on your application.

How do you apply for the Prototype Fund?

As well as a written application, you'll need to submit a short pitch video, no longer than two minutes, covering your team, your game, your route to market and your audience. The UK Games Fund is explicit that this shouldn't be a game trailer or a "talking head" piece to camera; it's there to add to your written application with visual aids, not replace it.

Beyond the basics, reviewers are looking for evidence that your business is on a genuine growth trajectory rather than dependent on grant funding to survive. That might include early publisher interest, positive feedback from playtesting or expos, or a track record of team members shipping commercial games.

If you receive a grant, it doesn't need to be repaid, but you'll be asked to make a community contribution: senior staff time given back as a mentor, judge, reviewer or speaker for other studios.

Key takeaways

• The Prototype Fund offers grants of up to £100,000 for established UK studios developing an early-stage game project.
• Your grant can't cover more than 50% of the remaining prototype budget, and is paid out monthly against claimed costs.
• Eligible costs are limited to UK-based employee and contractor costs for hands-on development and content creation.
• Round 21 Expressions of Interest are open now, with funded work expected to start from 1 October 2026.

Myriad's team has nearly two decades of experience helping UK games studios secure funding and get the most from the tax reliefs available to them. If you're putting together a Prototype Fund application or want to understand how grant income affects your tax position, contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.