Draknek & Friends has announced that the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant will be returning in 2026. The new grant opportunity seeks to support a cohort of developers from traditionally underrepresented groups and backgrounds who are interested in developing thinky puzzle games.
Lasting from January – December 2027, the grant program will offer five recipients a grant of $15,000 USD each and a year’s one-on-one mentorship with some of the industry’s leading thinky puzzle game designers, developers and publishers. This year’s Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant builds on the success of its previous years, which saw 6 selected projects in 2025, 6 selected projects in 2024, and 12 selected projects in 2022.
Successfully funded projects from 2025 include:
- Wyrmspace Tactics – Wali Studios (Australia)
- Dreamhealer – Niebla Games (Chile)
- Aether 07 – Prabhav Bhatnagar (India)
- Chess Tales – IRG Studios (India)
- LogiGolf – Moon Tile (Italy)
- Proof of all Concepts – Seren✩ (Poland)
These grants are intended to support developers typically unsupported by the global games industry, including but not limited to:
- Groups where English is not a first language
- People of colour
- LGBTQIA
- Disabled or neurodiverse
A full list of eligibility requirements is listed on on the grant homepage, with applications closing on September 27th, 2026.
For more information and updates, visit grants.draknek.org.
