GameCity – Gaming Ecosystems for Innovative and Inclusive Small Cities

Small and medium-sized cities across Europe are facing common challenges: young people leaving, limited economic opportunities, and the need to keep up with the digital transition while maintaining social cohesion. At the same time, the gaming industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, creating new opportunities in skills, innovation, and creative economies. Yet, this potential is still rarely explored as part of local public policies.

GameCity responds to this gap by positioning gaming ecosystems as a practical and innovative entry point for urban development. The project does not focus only on gaming as an industry, but on its wider potential to connect key policy areas such as economic development, youth, education and skills, digital transition, and urban regeneration.

The network will support cities in developing concrete approaches such as:

• Strengthening local digital and creative ecosystems, including support for gaming-related entrepreneurship;
• Creating new opportunities to attract and retain young talent;
• Developing skills aligned with emerging sectors through education and hands-on experimentation;
• Reusing underutilised spaces as hubs for creativity, innovation, and community life;
• Using gamification to improve citizen participation and access to public services.

A central ambition of the project is to ensure that these opportunities are inclusive and accessible, benefiting different groups, including young people, migrants, and vulnerable communities.

Through URBACT, partner cities will work together to co-design integrated and place-based solutions, exchange experiences, and build the capacity to embed gaming ecosystems into their local policies.

GameCity ultimately aims to position small and medium-sized cities as agile and experimental environments, capable of testing innovative solutions at the intersection of technology, creativity, and governance, and contributing to a more inclusive digital transition across Europe.

The Municipality of Fundão brings strong experience in digital innovation and European cooperation, having led URBACT networks such as IoTXchange (URBACT III) and MetaCity (URBACT IV), focused on smart technologies and data-driven governance.

Due to its current role as Lead Partner of an ongoing URBACT network (SHIFT-R), Fundão is not able to lead a new proposal under this call but is highly motivated to participate as an active partner.

We are therefore looking for a committed Lead Partner and a diverse group of cities interested in shaping and testing new approaches to gaming ecosystems as a tool for local transformation.