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U sklopu ovogodišnjeg Animafesta u Zagrebu je 12. i 13. lipnja 2026. održano prvo izdanje Animation x Gamedev Laba — dvodnevnog događanja posvećenog otkrivanju dodirnih točaka i mogućnosti suradnje između profesionalaca iz industrije animacije i industrije videoigara. Lab su organizirali CEE Animation Workshop i Animafest Zagreb u partnerstvu s Games Croatia, uz potporu Kreativne Europe MEDIA, Hrvatskog audiovizualnog centra (HAVC) i Grada Zagreba.
Prvog dana Laba, u petak 12. lipnja, u Studio-galeriji Klet održan je panel „Strateške sinergije javnog financiranja animacije i razvoja videoigara“ (Strategic Synergies Between Animation and Game Development Public Funding), na kojem je sudjelovala i voditeljica DKE – Ureda MEDIA Hrvatske Martina Petrović, zajedno s Benjaminom Noahom Maričakom (Hrvatski audiovizualni centar / Games Croatia), Vjerom Matković (Ministarstvo kulture i medija RH) i Michaelom Freiom (Playables). Panel je moderirao Maroš Brojo (Slovak Game Developers Association).
Predstavljajući potporu programa Kreativne Europe MEDIA - razvoj videoigara i imerzivnih sadržaja, Martina Petrović istaknula je rezultate Hrvatske koji uvjerljivo razbijaju mit o „maloj zemlji“ koja ne može konkurirati na europskoj razini: od 2021. do 2024. hrvatske su organizacije kroz program ostvarile ukupno 7,88 milijuna eura potpore, a upravo su videoigre najuspješnija kategorija s 1.108.000 eura, odnosno 15,4 % ukupnog iznosa. Od 2019. do 2024. potporu za razvoj primilo je 15 hrvatskih videoigara.
Petrović je pritom podsjetila da je riječ o izrazito kompetitivnom pozivu - u 2024. godini pristiglo je 253 prijava na proračun od 7 milijuna eura — te izdvojila što razlikuje uspješne projekte: uz ispunjenje uvjeta prihvatljivosti (dokazana komercijalna distribucija prethodne igre), presudni su originalnost, jasna komercijalna ambicija i međunarodni potencijal, kao i uvjerljiv plan sufinanciranja, budući da se potpora do 200.000 eura dodjeljuje uz stopu financiranja od 60 %.
Razgovaralo se i o budućnosti međusektorskog financiranja. Petrović je ukazala na Creative Innovation Lab kao trenutno jedini europski instrument koji videoigru i audiovizualno djelo tretira kao jedinstveni transmedijski projekt, uz iskrenu napomenu da je međusektorska omotnica programa još uvijek razmjerno mala. Na pitanje o povezivanju filmskog i gaming financiranja oko zajedničkog IP-a, istaknula je da je Hrvatska u tome dobro pozicionirana: HAVC pod istim krovom pokriva i audiovizualni sektor i videoigre, što je u europskim okvirima rjeđe nego što se misli i što Hrvatsku čini pogodnom za povezivanje transmedijskih modela potpore.
Autor fotografija: © Valerio Baranović
The first edition of the Animation x Gamedev Lab Zagreb took place on 12–13 June 2026 during Animafest Zagreb — a two-day event dedicated to discovering intersections and opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration between animation and game industry professionals. The Lab was organised by CEE Animation Workshop and Animafest Zagreb in partnership with Games Croatia, with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) and the City of Zagreb.
On the Lab’s opening day, Friday 12 June, Studio-galerija Klet hosted the panel “Strategic Synergies Between Animation and Game Development Public Funding”, featuring Martina Petrović, Head of Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Croatia alongside Benjamin Noah Maričak (Croatian Audiovisual Centre / Games Croatia), Vjera Matković (Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia) and Michael Frei (Playables). The panel was moderated by Maroš Brojo (Slovak Game Developers Association).
Presenting Creative Europe MEDIA’s support for the development of video games and immersive content, Martina Petrović highlighted Croatian results that convincingly dispel the myth of a “small country” unable to compete at the European level: between 2021 and 2024, Croatian organisations secured a total of EUR 7.88 million in MEDIA support — with video games as the single most successful category, at EUR 1,108,000 or 15.4 % of the total. Between 2019 and 2024, 15 Croatian video games received development support.
She also reminded the audience just how competitive the call is — the 2024 round attracted 253 proposals against a EUR 7 million budget — and outlined what separates the winning projects: beyond meeting the eligibility requirement of a commercially distributed previous title, the decisive factors are originality, clear commercial ambition and cross-border potential, together with a credible co-financing plan, as the grant of up to EUR 200,000 is awarded at a 60 % funding rate.
The discussion also turned to the future of cross-sectoral funding. Petrović pointed to the Creative Innovation Lab as currently the only European instrument that treats a game and an audiovisual work as a single cross-media project, while honestly noting that the programme’s cross-sectoral envelope remains comparatively small. Asked about interconnecting film and game funding around shared IP, she stressed that Croatia is well positioned to lead: HAVC covers both the audiovisual sector and video games under one roof — rarer in Europe than one might think — making Croatia a natural candidate to pilot cross-media support models.
Photo Credit: © Valerio Baranović
