Game Republic Investment Summit panel maps 2026 game funding beyond publisher advances

Published 6 Nov 2026 · Games Atlas Editorial · Funding & Deal Practice · Companies: Spilt Milk Studios, Game Republic

Games Atlas summary: Investors at Game Republic's Investment Summit urged studios to blend funding sources in 2026. Panelists named grants, angels, incubators and VC project finance as alternatives to publishers. Publishers sign roughly 10 games from about 2,000 pitches a year. Each capital source applies a different return test, so pitches must change with the source. "There's just bits everywhere" - Nick Cavander, Senior Portfolio Manager, Creative UK

Mixed capital stacks are replacing single publisher deals

• Lirui Ding of Transcend Fund said money remains available but is harder to access.
• He recommended combining Kickstarter, government grants and other pots of funding.
• Spilt Milk's Nicholas Lovell used this approach to fund Trash Goblin.
• Cavander cited the BFI Global Screen Fund and UK Games Content Fund.
• "People are trying to avoid publishers and move to self-publishing where they can, because the terms aren't so great right now." - Nick Cavander, Senior Portfolio Manager, Creative UK

VCs move to project finance as exits dry up

• Ding said equity VCs need a 10x return within a fund life of seven to 10 years.
• He said a long-dated franchise roadmap deters VCs because the payback period is too long.
• He advised studios to offer a recouping mechanism ahead of any liquidation event.
• Curran cited Griffin Gaming Partners' $100 million project finance fund.
• "More than one VC that I know of that was focusing on equity funding has pivoted or is pivoting to do project finance instead." - Cassia Curran, Founder, Curran Games Agency

Each funding source requires a different pitch

• Curran said equity pitches should sell the team.
• Project finance pitches need detailed go-to-market plans covering marketing, platforms and price.
• Curran said a full marketing section in a publisher pitch would be off-putting.
• Creative UK provides venture debt and checks solvency first, then the team.
• "The kind of return that the investors want is going to vary. In our case, it's repay the loan. For VCs, it's 10x." - Nick Cavander, Senior Portfolio Manager, Creative UK

Traction requirements tighten the market for early-stage studios

• Curran said publishers increasingly invest only after a game shows marketing or player traction.
• She suggested project finance may suit developers who already have an audience.
• Ding said team and idea can be enough at the earliest stage.
• He added that early-stage projects are unlikely to raise large amounts.
• Later-stage projects face scrutiny of wishlists, Discord communities and playtime metrics.

Wishlists still gate access to top publishers

• Curran warned that wishlists can be inflated or fail to convert to purchases.
• Ding said wishlists should be paired with Steam followers and Kickstarter backing.
• One top-ten publisher told Ding it only considers games in the top 100 wishlists.
• Ding said indie publishers apply entirely different criteria.
• "If there are already lots of people who are willing to pay for something that hasn't even been made yet, that could be a very, very good indication." - Lirui Ding, Principal, Transcend Fund

What this means

• For Publishers & Developers: Scope debut titles to recoup standalone so later franchise entries stay fundable.
• For Investors & VC: Underwrite indie deals on title-level cash payback and drop exit-multiple assumptions.
• For Service Vendors: Pitch grant-writing and multi-investor pitch-deck services to indies assembling mixed funding stacks.

Sources

• How to get investment for your video game in 2026 | GamesIndustry.biz (gamesindustry.biz)