Game On: Discord Is Backing the Next Generation of Dutch Gaming Founders

Today, together with Techleap, we’re launching the Gaming Founders Circle, a hands-on program for a group of the most ambitious gaming companies in the Netherlands. The new program will provide participants with a direct line into the people, investors, and networks that help great games scale.

Discord is the communications platform where players gather around the games they love and where developers connect directly to their players. More than 90% of the people on Discord play games, and over 80 million of them gather across more than 10,000 game communities on the platform. Game makers don’t just reach players here, they get a real-time feedback loop on what’s landing, what isn’t, and what players want next.

We’re proud to partner with Techleap, the growth engine supporting hundreds of Dutch scaleups. The Netherlands is home to Discord’s European headquarters, making our investment in the local games community even more meaningful for us. We are also grateful for the support of the Dutch Games Association, bringing deep roots across the local games community.

Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy for Techleap, on the program:

"Discord built its European home here. Now it's backing the founders building our games industry, directly. That matters. Dutch gaming is already serious and it runs on the same frontier tech as our deeptech sector: AI and real-time compute but no founder scales alone. Connect them to the right peers, the right capital, and the right markets, and you don't just grow five companies, you strengthen the whole sector."

Meet the cohort

The first five companies joining the program demonstrate how much range the Dutch games industry has — from distribution infrastructure to AI to the engines games are built on:

• VaultN: digital distribution infrastructure trusted by major publishers including Bethesda, 2K, and Take-Two.
• Poki: a web games platform reaching 90 million monthly players, grown profitably and entirely self-funded.
• MAXYMUM: AI-driven game design tools, fresh off validation at GDC this year.
• YOM: decentralised cloud gaming infrastructure where blockchain meets streaming.
• Immens: a brand-new European game engine built from the ground up with AI at its core, led by one of the most experienced figures in the European games industry.

Each company was chosen jointly by Discord, Techleap, and the Dutch Games Association.

What founders get

The Gaming Founders Circle is built for real, practical conversations between people building companies — what’s working, what isn’t, and what it takes to reach the next level. Running through the end of 2026, the cohort will receive:

• Peer learning with a small group of Dutch founders and leaders challenged with the same hard questions: hiring, funding, distribution, community, and going global.
• Investor access through Techleap’s network in the Netherlands and beyond — exactly when later-stage funding for studios is hardest to land.
• Connections to the gaming ecosystem through Discord.

The program builds to a trip to San Francisco in October, including a session with Discord’s leadership and an investors dinner hosted by Techleap and Prince Constantijn, and will conclude with the Dutch Games Awards in November.

Gaming has always grown through connections – players sharing with other players, and developers learning from one another.  Discord is proud to be working with TechLeap and the Dutch Games Association in the Netherlands to empower this type of connection and learning through the launch of the Gaming Founders Circle.