The Mayor’s Office Wants A More Affordable New York For Game Developers
NYC “gamer” Mayor Zohran Mamdani and newly appointed Commissioner of MOME, Rafael Espinal.
March 13th, 2026
New York City isn't typically thought of as a game development hub, but the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) has been building out support for the local games industry since 2018.
The hope from locals is that the support for the Gaming Pathways initiative would push forward exponentially and foster a grassroots community of locally made creators and game developers under the re-knowned “gamer” Mayor Zohran Mamdani. There are rarely any Triple A game studios here, Rockstar Games has a small office here and the last major studio, Avalanche Studios, closed it’s NYC doors in 2024.
One of the many focuses of MOME is to mentor, invest in, and shepherd the way for indie through program incubators such as the NYU Game Center Incubator and the inaugural NYU Game Design Future Lab business incubator. MOME has also invested in a myriad of gaming related events in partnership with local organizations such as the NY Games Festival, Tribeca Games Gallery, Summer of Games, Game Devs of Color Expo, Games for Change and PlayNYC just to name a few.
The Made in NY marketing program has boosted the presence of indie developers, many being able to take advantage of the tax credits and support of the NY Empire State Development + New York Economic Development Corporation has allowed small business to flourish and reach closer to becoming a self sustaining games industry ecosystem. NYC has invested a total of $3 million into the video game industry thus far.
Additionally, in 2022, under current governor Kathy Hochul, New York state – as opposed to NYC – finally got around to providing a five-year, $25 million game development-specific tax credit program after disgraced ex-governor Andrew Cuomo mystifyingly vetoed a bipartisan version of the idea during his tenure (such credits are common means of attracting talent to states; more than 20 offer them).- Aftermath
"The good news is that we think what we've been working towards in the game industry is very much aligned with what Mayor Mamdani has been addressing publicly for months now,” she told Aftermath. “I don't feel like we're off doing something in a totally different direction. I think we all understand that if we can make New York more affordable, and if we can make designing games in New York more attractive and affordable, that people will design games in New York. So that's what our office is working towards." - Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Workforce Development & Educational Initiatives at MOME.
Full Article Here: https://aftermath.site/nyc-mayors-office-media-entertainment-video-games-affordable/
More on Worker’s Cooperatives by Forbes: https://councils.forbes.com/blog/how-democratic-leadership-can-impact-your-company
Munity Games is a proud MADE IN NY worker’s cooperative game studio and is developed in New York State.
