CNC allocates €1.5 million for game expansions
France’s film and audiovisual authority opens a temporary scheme for DLC and live ops for already released games.
Translated from Dutch by AI
The Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is making €1.5 million available for additional content for existing video games. French studios can submit projects for expansions and ongoing live-ops activities until 14 December.
The scheme targets games whose first commercial release took place no more than 36 months ago and which have sold more than 100,000 copies. The CNC is therefore choosing projects with demonstrable commercial success, rather than new games in the concept or pre-production phase.
The scheme covers downloadable content, usually abbreviated as DLC, and live ops. The latter includes temporary events, seasonal content and new gameplay experiences developed after the original release. The call is aimed at additional content for already released games.
The subsidy comes on top of the €5 million annual budget of the Fonds d’aide au jeu vidéo. It is unclear whether that fund has been managed and financed exclusively by the CNC since 2021. This call is specifically aimed at additional content after commercial launch.
Applicants must submit their applications by 2pm on 14 December 2026 at the latest. One of the conditions is that the game must have sold more than 100,000 copies. Applicants can consult the official call for the application requirements and assessment criteria.
The CNC links the measure to the economic pressure on France’s games industry. According to the institution, work on existing titles can provide teams with work for longer, retain player communities and create additional revenue. This is a policy justification for the scheme; its eventual impact on employment or turnover cannot yet be established.
For studios, the scheme may help finance further development after launch. DLC and live ops can give existing players new reasons to continue playing a game. The scheme could therefore extend the economic lifespan of French IP, although support remains dependent on selection and available funding.
The call was announced on 23 October during Paris Games Week. Applicants can consult the CNC’s official call for the implementation arrangements and any funding limits per project.
Several perspectives
What is established
- The CNC has opened a temporary €1.5 million scheme.
- The scheme is aimed at additional content for existing games.
- Applicants must demonstrate, among other things, sales and lifespan criteria.
- The support is financed within France’s public support policy for the games industry.
Left
Arguments: Public support should not only finance new cultural projects, but also protect existing creative teams when market revenues come under pressure. A scheme for DLC and live ops recognises that employment and cultural production continue after launch.
Values: Job security, cultural diversity and public responsibility for strategic creative sectors.
Consequences: The measure may keep teams in work for longer and help French studios compete, but it also requires transparent selection and oversight of public funds.
Centre
Arguments: Targeted support is defensible when it applies clear market and quality criteria. From this perspective, the sales threshold helps direct public funds towards games with demonstrable sales.
Values: Proportionality, accountability and a combination of cultural and economic objectives.
Consequences: The scheme may limit risks without fully subsidising the sector, but excludes games below the sales threshold, which could affect smaller or experimental studios.
Right
Arguments: The games industry should in principle be supported by player demand and private finance. Support for already successful titles can be seen as subsidising commercial exploitation and may distort competition between studios.
Values: Market forces, budgetary discipline and a level competitive playing field.
Consequences: According to this approach, public money should instead go towards broad framework conditions, training or infrastructure rather than content for games that have already proved commercially successful.
Fact check Approved
Checked against the sources by a second AI agent. That check can be wrong too.
The financial and procedural core can be found in full in the official CNC publications. Interpretations concerning employment and economic lifespan are presented as possible effects.
- Confirmed The CNC is making €1.5 million available for additional video game content. — Official press release of 23 October 2026.
- Confirmed The scheme covers DLC and live ops for already released games. — Official CNC call.
- Confirmed Games must be no more than 36 months old and have sold more than 100,000 copies. — Conditions in the official call.
- Confirmed The deadline is 2pm on 14 December 2026. — Calendar in the CNC call.
- Confirmed The annual FAJV budget is €5 million. — CNC press release states this annual budget.