Norwegian-headquartered developer Funcom has announced that the company has been awarded a grant from the Norwegian Film Fund, which officials note will “partially finance” Funcom’s research and initial development efforts towards Dreamfall Chapters, an episodic sequel to the Dreamfall adventure game series.

In addition, Funcom note that the money will also assist in pulling together a technology team for the project, the aim of which will be to research digital delivery methods for the game’s episodic content, as well as lay the foundation for a later pre-production phase of Dreamfall Chapters. Each new installment of Dreamfall Chapters will initially be delivered as online-only content, but there may be retail releases with combined chapters, both for console and PC, at a later stage. For now, the company is keeping a tight lid on the project.

The grant is part of the Norwegian government’s active endorsement of the Norwegian game development industry. Since the inception of the program in 2004 the government has supported a wide range of games, including Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

Research is also planned to discover new ways to expand the brand value of The Longest Journey, while reducing the chance of piracy. Finally, the company also hints at a possible The Longest Journey MMO in the future, though it remains unclear how far off such a project would be.

“We will be researching an online-only continuation of the epic Longest Journey saga, and we very much look forward to develop new chapters to the Dreamfall gaming community,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “To see the Norwegian government take such an active role in nurturing the local game development industry is impressive. In return for their trust we aim to deliver a modern adventure game with unique qualities.”