Who is deciding what project and teams are selected?
The Incubator Advisory Board will invite a shortlist of projects to present their game during the Pitch Night on Tuesday June 30th starting at 5:30pm Eastern Time.
The Incubator Advisory Board will make the final decision of the selected projects.
Who is in the Advisory Board?
The Advisory Board changes every year so it’s hard to share an updated list. Mainly we have 4 groups of advisors: Incubator Alumni, Executive Producers, Industry experts and Indie creators and Publishers both from the digital and non-digital world.
Are the pitches during the Pitch Night private?
The Pitch Night materials will only be shared with the Incubator admin team and advisory board , the team will initially share a virtual waiting room with other teams but then the pitch is only teams in front of the Advisory Board in a virtual breakout room.
If any team has any special request we will be happy to consider accommodation. Pitch Night is remote.
How many teams applied last year? How many were selected?
Usually the Incubator receives between 40 to 50 complete application, 5 projects were selected for the Incubator program in 2025.
Are Board games, TTRPG, card games welcome? What unique challenges do they face in applying?
Every game is accepted, from card games to VR, from social deduction to experimental, following the vision of the NYU Game Center, the Incubator welcomes games of all sort.
Non-digital games are facing a challenge since they will not be able to upload a build of their game, but a link to Tabletop Simulator, or a video of a play session are also accepted and welcomed. In previous cohorts of the Incubator, TTRPG games, board games, and interactive mysteries (escape room style games with a clear business plan) have also been selected.
How complete should the game be to enter in the Incubator?
One of the question that the Advisory Board will evaluate is “Do this team and project really needs the Incubator?”
If you have a game that is pitch ready, or it’s at a very early stage (prototype) maybe the Incubator is not for you, but if you’re in doubt, always apply, you will never know what can get the interest of the Advisory Board. For sure your pitch and materials should be able to show that enough work has be done (world building, development, etc) for your project to reach a debut stage and start reaching your audience.
What do you mean by launch or debut?
For every project this can take a different shape and part of the Incubator time will be dedicated to understand what “launch” means for every team.
We are talking about things like an early access Steam build, a published-ready pitch deck + vertical slice, artist statement for a gallery release, a kickstarter campaign and so on.
We are NOT talking about 10 more levels, or an advanced combat system. The “launch” is about getting your game out into the world and in front of people, preparing for commercial viability.
When will a team know if they are selected for the Pitch Night?
The Incubator call will close on June 5th at 11:59pm Eastern Time, shortlisted teams will receive communication around a week before the pitch night. Pitch Night is June 30th.
What would you say is the time commitment that people spent working on their game during the Incubator?
A lot! Usually -for at least the core members- the expectation is committed part time to the project. The co-working period will require two on-site working days a week for the core team members, and your ability to detail your commitment and availability to the project is key for the application and pitch evaluation. Once the Incubator shifts to remote in the winter, your availability and working time can become flexible, so long as your team is completing milestone progress. Teams can get written permission based on individual exceptions for necessary absences, with a maximum of any individual missing 5 weeks (10 workdays) of co-working sessions. If all members are working 9-5 M-F jobs, and only available during nights and weekends to work on the game, this schedule will not be feasible / healthy for the necessary commitment to the program. Terms may be subject to change in the next agreement iteration or during contract review.
Is Advisory Board checking how much time selected teams are putting in the game?
Nobody is going to check how much time you will put in your game. There are events, workshops and meetings that are part of the Incubator calendar that you have to attend.
Can one person work on multiple projects that apply to the Incubator?
Yes, in the past there have been people that were part of multiple projects that applied, however multiple commitments raises questions to the Advisory Board and usually only one of the project is selected.
Can someone apply to participate in the Incubator again after already having worked on a previous selected Incubator project?
Developers are still eligible to apply again in subsequent years with different projects after participation in the incubator, or work as additional support on other projects. Previous participation, use of resources, and overall incubator experience would be a part of consideration in the evaluation for subsequent years. However, developers cannot be the primary team lead or a core on-contract team member for multiple pre-launch incubator teams simultaneously. This is in the interest of teams being able to focus their limited time and resources on the success of each project. We can consider exceptions to this rule but they would be rare and only warranted if they absolutely made sense given the goals described above.
Can people join a team after the project has been selected for the Incubator?
Yes.
Should a team submit a budget?
Not required in the initial application. One of the goals of the program is to support budget planning for the expanded development of the game.
Can current students apply?
Only if they are part of a larger team and they are not the leader of the team. The program is intensive and students that have to juggle school are able to participate usually only in limited capacity.
Should the entire team live in New York State to apply?
The Incubator is funded in part thanks to an Empire State Development Grant, this opens up for teams from all over the State to apply. So yes, you, or the majority of the team, should live in NY state in order to be eligible. After the pandemic we understand that work has changed and shifted online so as a rule of thumb you should be able to demonstrate that the majority of the development is going to happen in NY state. The program is in person during Autumn (Sept – Dec) and remote from January to August, attending the Autumn co-working demonstrates that the majority of the development is happening in NY State.
What is the sustainability model of the Incubator?
Currently, the Incubator operates on a revenue share model, to help support the overall success of the program and in recognition of the support provided to the teams. Revenue share amount scales with projects’ commercial success. The terms may be subject to change in iterations of the contract before program start.
Each participant agrees that a portion of revenue earned by their team’s game project (the “Game Revenue”) shall be paid to NYU to support future Incubator programs and teams. Game Revenue shall be considered the amount received by the team members after the revenue split with a publisher (if any) or software distributors such as Steam or Apple (if any). For avoidance of doubt, Game Revenue includes all and any direct revenue received from sales, royalties, store or exclusivity deals related to the Game. Game Revenue does not include any sequel, licensing, or derivative work revenue. Such payment shall be made to the NYU between 12 and 36 months after the commercial release of the game project. A demo release, early access or free launch on itch.io does not constitute a commercial release. If there is a disagreement regarding the first commercial release date of the Game, NYU on behalf of the Incubator shall make the determination in its reasonable discretion. The amount of the payment shall be calculated based on Game Revenue during the first 12 months after commercial release (the “Release Period Game Revenue”):1. For game projects with Release Period Game Revenue of $30,000 or less, the requirement for a monetary payment shall be waived;2. For game projects with Release Period Game Revenue greater than $30,000 but less than $50,000, the minimum payment shall be 5% of Release Period Game Revenue;3. For game projects with Release Period Game Revenue greater than $50,000 but less than $100,000, the minimum payment shall be 7% of Release Period Game Revenue;4. For game projects with Release Period Game Revenue greater than $100,000 but less than $250,000, the minimum payment shall be 9% of Release Period Game Revenue;5. For game projects with Release Period Game Revenue greater than $250,000, the minimum payment shall be 11% of Release Period Game Revenue.
Are there any restrictions or requirements in the case a team gets funded later for development purposes, maybe they were able to secure a grant?
That’s one of the outcomes that we wish for our teams, development funds are not revenue and the revenue share model is not applied in this case.
Is the revenue share contract the same for each team or everyone negotiate different terms?
The Contract is the same for all selected projects.
What do team use the 15k for?
Every team uses the funds in different ways depending on their goals and production milestones. Some use the majority to fund for travels to convention and exhibition, others for new marketing materials, others for pay their time. The program does not check how the money is spent.
Does the program help with marketing, go to market, and social media?
No. We usually post about the events on NYU Game Center’s LinkedIn, Bluesky and Instagram pages but it’s on the team to create a plan and pursue their marketing goals.
Where can I see what are the questions in the application form?
Here is the current 2026 Application!
If you have more questions please reach out to gamecenter@nyu.edu