Launch of Game Drive, mobile game accelerator

The collective imagination loves the beautiful little stories behind the great successes. We often praise the modern-day geniuses who have thrown themselves into a project, starting from nothing and ending up with a breathtaking result. But no matter how talented or clever you are, a helping hand is always welcome. With this in mind, Google and video game publisher My.Games have decided to launch Game Drive, an accelerator to support small, but possibly huge, mobile game development studios.

The call for applications is currently open. So it's now or never to try your luck and seize this exciting development opportunity. The Game Drive accelerator will select ten or so projects that will benefit from personalised support and specific feedback. In addition to the material support, being selected by the committee would also be a great publicity coup.

The Game Drive accelerator selection process

Not all studios can apply to theGame Drive accelerator. Google and My.Games only accept projects from Western Europe, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey, Israel, the Middle East and Africa. For the others, you will have to find another programme to get through. The application process is quite tedious and comprehensive. We will spare you all the steps and documents to send for the application. If you are interested, go to the MGVC website to get the whole process.

But don't hesitate too much before taking the plunge. Applications for the accelerator are open, but will close on 8 January 2021. So the deadline is pretty close, especially if you're planning to splurge a little this holiday season. On 28 January 2021, the lucky ones will participate in an online presentation with My.Games representatives. They will then have a first feedback on their project... in the language of Shakespeare. So bring your automatic translator for those who are not fluent in English.

What concrete support is available?

MGVC and Google have the means to help young studios. The Game Drive accelerator will focus its support on several areas:

• evaluation and analysis of the project by in-house experts, which will include mentoring and recommendations for improvement
• network sharing and access to internal training of both giants
• putting an internationallaunch in perspective
• opportunity to find investors in the My.Games development teams

The help is therefore both material and relational. Although the two accelerator organisers will not do everything for the studio, they will still offer useful support. The video game market is very competitive and every piece of advice is good to take.