NI Screen's £60,000 game development accelerator opens for applications

  • Northern Ireland Screen has re-opened the next round of its £60,000 Platform game development accelerator programme. Applications are due by January 29th.

    The Northern Ireland games industry has grown considerably thanks to some recent contract wins by local studios and the support of organisations such as Northern Ireland Screen. While NI Screen's Pixel Mill game development hub set in Ormeau Baths has been disrupted by Covid-19, the first round of its Platform accelerator was successfully completed remotely this year.

    Applications have now opened for the second round of the Platform programme, which offers small and emerging game development studios up to £60,000 in funding, 12 months of free office and meeting space, and tailored support and mentorship to develop new games and bring them to market.

    RELATED: NI Screen opens £60,000 game development accelerator programme

    The programme is structured into three phases:

     - Rapid Prototyping: Studios will be given £10,000 each to develop five small prototype game concepts and perform market research on their commercial viability and technical feasibility.

     - Pre-Production: Studios will be given £15,000 to take their two most promising prototypes and develop them further, producing a rough playable build of each. They'll also put together pitch decks and budgetsfor both projects and will have the opportunity to attend global games industry event Gamescom, where they'll pitch the game to publishers.

     - Production: Studios will then be given £35,000 to take the most well-received prototype into full production and through to release. The release could be a full commercial release or a soft launch or demo release, which studios will then have the opportunity to show off at trade show EGX.

    The programme is open only to registered limited companies of two or more people, with a clear assignation of the programming, art, and business development roles. The company (or at least 2 of the team members) must also have released or published a video game or product in the last three years.

    Applications for the programme close on January 29th 2021, with the programme officially kicking off in April 1st 2021. Head over to the NI Screen website for more information or to apply.

    Source: NI Screen

    About the author

    Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.

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