| Dutch Game Garden | |
| Type: | Private foundation |
| Foundation: | June 19, 2008 |
| Location: | Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Industry: | Video games |
The Dutch Game Garden is a video game studio incubator which was launched in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 2008 using funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The organisation is the largest such program in the Netherlands.[1] [2]
The universities in Utrecht- Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht and Utrecht University 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, 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.[3]
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.[4] By 2014 the program had resulted in the creation of 200 jobs and 6 million euros in revenue.[5] The organisation relocated again in 2020, to Europalaan 400, in order to be close to technology start-ups in the Dotslash community.[6]
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,[7] and showcases Dutch video games at the international events.[8] [9]