Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Announces First Recipient of the ‘Made in NY’ Marketing Credit Program for Digital Games Made in NYC

NYC’s Everyrealm Inc. to Receive City-Funded Advertising Opportunities for New Game, RU1, To Be Released in Fall 2023

Announcement Made at Games For Change Festival in NYC, Photos and Video Assets HERE

NEW YORK, July 18, 2023 – The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) announced today that NYC based video gaming production company Everyrealm Inc. is the first recipient of the ‘Made in NY’ Marketing Credit Program for Digital Games. The Program provides advertising opportunities for digital games made in NYC – the #1 media market in the country. The advertising will be in the form of free advertising in NYC subway cars to support the launch of Everyrealm new game, RU1, set to be released in Fall 2023. This announcement was made at the Games for Change Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary as the largest gathering of the gaming community in NYC.

“We are thrilled to announce NYC based video gaming production company Everyrealm Inc. as the first recipient of the ‘Made in NY’ Marketing Credit Program for Digital Games,” said Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Swinney Kaufman. “This announcement reaffirms this administration's commitment to support digital games being made right here in the five boroughs, and generates awareness for NYC’s game developer community.”

“New York City is one of the world's great cultural and artistic capitals, and we're creating culture–using a new medium. Every project we undertake is an opportunity to contribute to the ever-evolving tapestry of ideas, innovation, and talent that define this amazing city,” said Janine Yorio, the CEO of Everyrealm. “We are so honored to be among the first companies to receive the city’s support and are impressed by Mayor Adam’s foresight in attracting this fast-growing industry to New York City.”

To qualify for the Program, an applicant must comply with the Program rules, which are online here. At least 75% of a game’s production costs must be spent in NYC, with total production costs totaling at least $100,000. Additionally, as a key stipulation of the Program, a recipient must make a donation to a non-profit cultural institution or community organization based on a percentage of its production costs. Everyrealm Inc. announced today that it selected the non-profit Games for Change to receive its donation. For more information, and to apply for the ‘Made in NY’ Marketing Credit Program for Digital Games, please visit nyc.gov/digitalgames.

“The support we receive from the games community in our home base in New York City has enabled Games for Change to build a global community dedicated to the idea that games can be used for social good,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “We’re grateful to Everyrealm for their support of Games for Change’s mission, and to MOME for finding new ways to recognize the impact and innovation of the games industry in NYC.”

RU1 is an innovative, family-friendly technology product for children who love social video games, built in collaboration between experienced game developers and a group of New York City schoolchildren who have informed the product’s design from inception. RU1 is being developed by New York City-based Everyrealm, a technology company that creates innovative solutions for the social gaming generation, with offerings across a variety of categories including identity, ranking, relationships, and events. Everyrealm has contributed to and is a supporter of Games for Change, a New York City-based non-profit focused on using games to drive real-world change.

MOME’s 2021 Economic Impact Study of the Digital Games Industry revealed the gaming industry generates $2 billion in economic activity and supports 7,600 jobs in New York City. The creation of the first-of-its-kind marketing credit program is one component of the Adams’s administration’s steps to transform NYC into a global hub for the digital games industry. The City’s efforts include the following milestones:

• As announced last spring, MOME is funding the first ever Bachelor’s degree program in digital games in partnership with CUNY.
• As announced in May, MOME is currently supporting the inaugural NYC Summer of Games initiative, a celebration of all the digital games events taking place around the city this summer - including workshops, classes, festivals like Games for Change, esports events, game arcades, expos and more.
• A part of NYC Summer of Games, MOME recently hosted the inaugural Minecraft Battle of the Borough’s Mayor’s Cup on the Intrepid. The students were challenged to build a more sustainable NYC, and Mayor Adams was on hand to crown both a junior and a senior team.

MOME, whose portfolio was expanded to include digital games in 2018, has offered the ‘Made in NY’ marketing credit for the film/tv industry since 2013. All advertising that MOME provides under its marketing credit programs features the ‘Made in NY’ logo, signifying a mark of distinction for work created in New York City. New York City is home to the most innovative creators in the world. The "Made in NY" logo celebrates and supports New York City's growing media and entertainment, technology, and fashion industries and their creators. Through "Made in NY" programs, the City highlights the importance of these industries to the local economy through promotional campaigns, offers a mark of distinction for work created in New York City, and advances workforce and industry development. Since 2017, 118 projects have participated in the ‘Made in NY’ Marketing Credit Program for Film/TV, and have donated over $669,000 to local non-profit cultural and community organizations.