Finnish Game Incubator 2026 - Tampere Game Hub

The Finnish Game Incubator returns for its NINTH batch!

LEARN GAME BUSINESS PRACTICES DIRECTLY FROM INDUSTRY-LEADING MENTORS AND SPEAKERS. FREE FOR ALL SELECTED PARTICIPANTS!

Do you run a game studio or belong to a team eager to find the right market, connect with publishers, or secure investors?

Are you part of a Finland-based game team or company seeking guidance from top leaders in Finland’s and the Nordics’ game development scene?

Starting in November 2026, the Finnish Game Incubator offers expert mentoring to help your team succeed. From production pipelines to fundraising to marketing, we’ll provide the tools and insights you need to take your game and, your studio, to the next level.

Breaking into the games industry is competitive and daunting. People often don’t know where to start.

At Finnish Game Incubator, we break it down into simple steps, offer high class coaching, and give you access to people with proven successes.

Learn from the best and give yourself the greatest chance of making an impact in the games industry.

Mission statement from Alistair Hatch during FGI 2023.

In collaboration with AhlmanEdu and the City of Tampere, Joni Lappalainen (Dreamloop Games) has crafted a business coaching program designed to equip you with all the knowledge needed to grow your budding game studio into a thriving business. Our visiting mentors include CEOs, marketing professionals, producers and other seasoned veterans of the game industry, carefully selected to meet your specific needs. This coaching is completely free for all selected participants, but spaces are limited!

Fully remote on Discord, the 10-week coaching part features veteran mentors and speakers to improve your opportunities in the industry that is more competitive than ever before!

Receive valuable advice through hands-on sessions.
A weekly crash course covering all aspects of running a game studio.
Learn the art of pitching and selling your games on any platform.
The program culminates in an online Demo Day event, where you’ll pitch to investors, mentors, and the entire industry.
Entirely remote via Discord, allowing you and your team to participate from anywhere.
During the coaching, you’ll gain the knowledge needed to earn a Further Vocational Qualification for Entrepreneurs from AhlmanEdu.

Following the coaching part, the game teams will work on a business plan to showcase their knowledge through a skills demonstration, that is held during the spring 2027.

The format is straightforward: experienced mentors from the game industry share their knowledge in weekly keynotes with the selected teams. After the keynotes, you’ll receive tailored guidance for your specific business case in scheduled 1-on-1 mentoring sessions.

The Finnish Game Incubator has successfully completed seven batches, with 49 game studios participating. An impressive 98% of previous teams recommend the course to others. While we strive to select the teams with the highest potential during our application process, both the topics and mentor lineup are customized to meet the specific needs of the accepted teams.

Finnish Game Incubator begins November 2026. Applications are accepted from 01.09.2026 to 18.10.2026. Sign up today!

The Finnish Game Incubator Team

The Tampere Game Hub and Ahlman team run the coaching program with weekly hands-on lessons and mentoring sessions.

Joni Lappalainen

Chairman of Finnish Game Developers

CEO of Dreamloop Games, a networking and game production expert with experience across the entire industry— from shipping games to B2B operations.

Mentors & Speakers

The mentors and speakers are experts in game business, marketing, and collaborating with investors and publishers.

Meg Clarke

Team17

Meg brings a wealth of experience from one of the most established and respected publishers in the games industry. At Team17, she works closely with developers around the world to evaluate new projects, build publishing partnerships, and guide studios toward sustainable success.

Bory Trienin

rcp studios

Borys specializes in analyzing the business side of game development, bringing clarity to how creative vision connects with market realities. Known for his clear, data-driven perspective, Borys helps developers see their projects not only as artistic works but also as viable businesses ready to compete globally.

ALI FARHA

Behold VC

Ali Farha is a senior producer and tech leader with 10+ years of experience. He played a key role in porting Star Stable Online to multiple platforms and is an active voice in the games industry ecosystem. Currently working as a VC associate at Behold.

Hind Toufga

Northify

With a diverse background in game localization, QA, UI/UX design, and in-game marketing, Hind represent the EMEA region while serving as an Ambassador for Women in Games, advocating for corporate responsibility and greater diversity in gaming, aligning with my expertise in communication and community building.

Steve Stewart

Dreamloop

Steve is a 10-year games industry veteran, formerly from Ubisoft and co-founder of Dreamloop Games. Steve has built his career on helping games find their voice in a crowded market. At Dreamloop, he drives marketing strategies and PR campaigns that bring games to the attention of players, publishers, and press alike.

APPLICATION PERIOD IS OPEN!

The coaching runs once a week from November 2026 to March 2027.

Further vocational qualification for Entrepreneurs degree period is 11.11.2026 – 31.04.2027.

Application period: 01.09.2026 – 18.10.2027.

Finnish Game Incubator 2026 begins in early November online on Discord. Please read the selection criteria below carefully.

Selection Criteria

– This coaching is intended for game teams or companies that are already working on a game project.

– You (the applicant) are in a decision-making, founding role in the team or company

– You are ready to attend the ten weeks curriculum (once a week) in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 online on Discord. You and your team members participate in the included Further vocational qualification for Entrepreneurs degree (“Yrittäjyyden ammattitutkinto”)

– Your team or company will submit a skills assessment – game business plan (“ammattitaidon näyttö – pelialan liiketoimintasuunnitelma”) at the end of the course. The skills assessment must be done in the Finnish language.

– At least one member of the team needs to be able to speak Finnish; all other content of the program is in English.

– None of the participants is a student in a high school or vocational school.

Application Process

We look through each submission and rank them on values like potential investor interest, business potential and how the game project looks and feels like. After processing the application, we will select the best teams and/or companies to attend the program. Once your application has been processed, we will let you know whether your application was successful.

Apply Now

Curriculum

Note that dates and times are subject to change!

11.11.2026 12:00 – 14:00	Starting info / degree information
During wk 46 or 47	HOKS & Team mentoring
18.11.2026 12:00 – 17:00	Market Positioning and Target Audience
25.11.2026 12:00 – 16:00	User Experience
02.12.2026 12:00 – 16:00	Investment and Networking
09.12.2026 12:00 – 16:00	Pitching and Closing Deals
06.01.2027 12:00 – 16:00	Marketing, PR & Press Releases
13.01.2027 12:00 – 16:00	Game Conferences and Publishers
20.01.2027 12:00 – 17:00	Public Funding & Legal
27.01.2027 12:00 – 17:00	Project Sales and Revenue Forecasting
03.02.2027 12:00 – 17:00	Pitch training & feedback
24.02.2027 18:00 – 19:00	Demo Day 2027

From February to April 2026, we will provide team-based mentoring for the Further Vocational Qualification for Entrepreneurs from AhlmanEdu, guiding teams as they develop and submit their game studio business plans. In April 2027, we will grade the submissions according to each team’s schedule.