Eight Irish game studios are set to launch new prototypes through IndieDev 2025, a cross-border funding and mentorship programme aimed at helping small teams turn early concepts into playable games. The initiative supports indie developers across Dublin, Galway, Laois, Clare, Tipperary and Kilkenny, as well as Antrim, Armagh, Tyrone and Down in Northern Ireland. Each selected studio received £15,000 or €15,000 in funding alongside 12 weeks of structured mentorship.
The 2025 recipients are Sharp Glass Games, Universe or Nothing, Reliable Plumbing Services, Space Lion Studios, Table Topple, Rúcach, Silly Goose Games and Round Robin Interactive. The programme is managed by Galway-based Ardán and Dublin-based Imirt on behalf of Northern Ireland Screen and Fís Éireann, also known as Screen Ireland.
Participating teams worked with industry mentors Dave McCabe of Spooky Doorway, Sam Redfern of Psychic Software and Paul Froggatt of Outlier Games, all of whom released games internationally last year.
The resulting prototypes reflect a wide range of genres and creative approaches. Universe or Nothing’s Persevere blends roguelike strategy with survival management and tower defence, developed by a team based in Galway, Dublin and Clare.
Rúcach’s Valley of the Lost Abbey is a woodland themed game about rebuilding an abbey with the help of animal companions, created by a Galway and Laois based team. Table Topple’s Above Quarry Crater is a 3D action adventure platformer developed by team members spread across Galway, Clare, Tipperary and Dublin.
Space Lion Studios, based in Dublin and led by Mark Robinson and Jonathan Aykroyd, developed Balloons of Paradise, a hot air balloon simulator where players navigate by reading the wind. Selkie from Silly Goose Games is a stealth puzzle game inspired by Irish folklore, created by a team working across Antrim, Armagh and Tyrone.
Sharp Glass Games, based in County Down, produced Deathwish Bloom, a post-apocalyptic romance visual novel. Reliable Plumbing Services’ Pinfall is a minimalist platformer inspired by pinball mechanics that explores philosophical ideas through movement and repetition, developed by a Kilkenny and Dublin based team.
Isle of Éan by Round Robin Interactive is a first-person stealth exploration game focused on Irish bird conservation, developed by a team in Mayo and Dublin.
Participants highlighted the value of the programme in providing time, structure and access to experienced developers.
According to several teams, the combination of funding deadlines and mentorship helped them test ideas, refine designs and move more quickly towards a finished prototype.
Industry figures have also pointed to IndieDev as a sign of growing momentum for game development in Ireland, particularly at an early studio level.
Building on IndieDev, organisers are also running Sparks: Game Changers, a pilot career development course aimed at people of underrepresented genders in the games industry.
Led by Ardán in collaboration with Code Coven and supported by Screen Ireland, the programme focuses on skills such as communication, self-advocacy and job readiness, areas that often shape long-term career progression in the sector.
