Stugan Opens Applications for Third Annual Games Accelerator Program in Sweden
Call for new applicants joined by updates, successes and upcoming launches from Stugan alumni
Stockholm, Sweden – 8 February 2017 – Stugan, the nonprofit games accelerator launched by Sweden’s most influential video game developers and entrepreneurs, today opened its application process for its third-annual program. Some 20 aspiring game developers will be selected to spend two months with expenses paid in a traditional Swedish cabin, or “Stugan” in the countryside of Sweden, where they will be supported and mentored while building their games.
“The first two years of Stugan have been amazing. We are constantly shocked by the growing support from the global games community, along with all of the progress we continue to see from Stugan participants on their projects,” said Stugan manager Jana Palm. “We had always intended for Stugan to become an effective community of support for talented global games developers, but we had no idea how effective a place of inspiration this would become for the mentors and sponsors who have dedicated resources and energy towards to program, too.”
In addition to opening their third year call for applications, Stugan is announcing several game launches, updates, and successes coming out of their 2015 and 2016 teams:
- João from the Stugan 2015 team Rosvita has moved to Sweden to launch Really Interactive with members from another Stugan 2015 team, That Brain. They are working on Toran, a holographic puzzle game in VR coming to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
GoNNER, a game made by 2015 Stuganeer Ditto, was released on Steam in October 2016 and is coming to Nintendo Switch soon. GoNNER is being published by Raw Fury, a mentor team Ditto met with during his stay at Stugan. GoNNER is currently nominated for Audio Design in the Independent Games Festival awards. (http://www.gonnergame.com)
2015 participants from Data Realms launched a version of their game Planetoid Pioneers on Steam Early Access, and have already won several awards, including Best in Show at Quo Vadis in Berlin. They are planning additional version launches for the game in the coming months, and have also released a significant update to their earlier title, Cortex Command.
2015 participant Clint Siu launched his mobile game “_PRISM,” that was part of Humble Mobile Bundle 21, nominated for Gamer's Voice Award SXSW and for Best Upcoming Game IMGA, and featured on the App Store and Google Play.
Vignettes will be the first game from Stugan 2016 when it launches on the App Store in March. The iOS game is made by the French duo Armel Gibson and Pol Clarissou. (http://vignettesga.me/)
Induction, a game from 2015 Stuganeer Bryan Gale, launched on Steam February 7 (http://www.inductiongame.com).
“Stugan was such an inspiring event and important component of our team’s overall development,” said Dan Tabar, CEO and co-founder of Data Realms. “It had such an impact on us that we now do our own ‘mini Stugan’ twice a year internally. We highly recommend it for any game developer, whether just starting out or looking for a jolt of inspiration.”
Like years past, this year’s program is steered by Sweden’s leading individuals in the games industry and developers from the likes of Mojang, Paradox, King, DICE, Resolution Games, Fast Travel Games, Snowprint Studios, Goodbye Kansas and others. Top Swedish and international games industry thought leaders will visit the cabin and hold lectures and workshops around their respective areas of focus.
Applications will be accepted today through March 31, 2017. The application process is simple and includes a 90 second video, where applicants present themselves and their game idea, along with a short written description of themselves, the game, and the goal they want to reach. Applicants can be for games developers across any platform and from anywhere in the world. Unlike traditional accelerator programs, all participants will keep the rights to the games they work on.
To submit an application and see additional program details go to www.stugan.com.
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About Stugan:
Stugan is a non-profit organization that organizes the annual accelerator program for aspiring game developers. The word Stugan means “the cabin” in Swedish and is also a throwback to the name of the first Swedish commercial computer game made in 1978. Stugan leverages the expertise of the established Swedish game industry and aims to provide opportunities for shepherding up-and-coming game designers and developers through development, publishing, marketing and more for ensuring a successful games launch. Stugan is supported by individuals including Oskar Burman, CEO and co-founder of Fast Travel Games and Tommy Palm, CEO and co-founder of Resolution Games. For more information visit www.stugan.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stugancamp/ and Twitter www.twitter.com/stugan_
Contact:
Paul Brady
Carve Communications for Stugan
Tel. 646-491-2777
