WASHINGTON INTERACTIVE NETWORK TO PROMOTE LOCAL INDEPENDENT GAME STUDIOS AT GAMESCOM
Washington State Companies to Demo Games to European Audience
COLOGNE, Germany – Washington State’s thriving interactive media industry is taking the international stage at gamescom to showcase the latest games. Washington Interactive Network (WIN) announced today that they will be leading a delegation of 6 independent game studios based in the Seattle-Redmond-Bellevue region, to the international trade fair August 5-9 in Cologne. Each company will offer game demonstrations at the Washington Interactive Network booth, B042 in the Entertainment Area Hall 10.1.
Washington State and the Seattle/Redmond/Bellevue area is home to industry giants like Microsoft XBox, Valve, Nintendo, and Bungie, and it also hosts a vibrant community of game developers that are integral to this industry. “Indie game developers are now the source of so many great new ideas that are taking the game business forward” said Ed Fries, Industry Advisor to WIN and former Vice-President of Microsoft Game Studios. “This is where the creative talent is coming from; they are the ones that are taking risks and discovering what can be done in video games.”
Through their mission of promoting, nurturing and growing the Interactive Media industry in the region, WIN provides supports to developers, entrepreneurs and startups with educational programs, mentorships, and showcase opportunities at events like gamescom. “As one of the largest events in the world, with over 335,000 visitors last year, gamescom presents an amazing platform for independent game studios to showcase their products to the European and International computer and video game industries.” said Kristen Larsen, with the Washington Interactive Network. “In addition to introducing audiences to our companies’ games and technologies, we assist them in establishing relationships with players that would be otherwise out of reach, making the potential impact for their future growth considerable.”
Partnered with WIN is OneRedmond, a public private partnership dedicated to ensuring that employers based in Redmond, WA have access to a skilled, technology savvy workforce while encouraging smaller businesses to grow and recruiting new firms to the region. The City of Bellevue, WA is also joining the WIN delegation. Like Redmond, Bellevue also stands at the heart of the region’s interactive and gaming community with companies that have produced some of the industry’s most popular and well-known games.
In addition to WIN, OneRedmond and the City of Bellevue, independent game studios to be featured are:
- Camouflaj: Founded in 2011 by industry veterans from projects including E.A.R., Uncharted, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Halo 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4. Camouflaj is a Seattle/Bellevue-based boutique game studio committed to developing games that are deep and broadening, sophisticated and entertaining, while remaining imaginative and becoming international. Camouflaj is the studio behind the critically acclaimed, stealth-action game, République. Available on iOS, Android, Fire, and PC/MAC.
- Cascade Game Foundry: an independent Seattle-based development studio composed of simulation experts with a passion for helping people learn about and explore the world from home. Their first independent release is the award-winning Infinite Scuba. Partners include Dr. Sylvia Earle, PADI, DEMA, and 20+ dive equipment manufacturers.
- Good Mood Creators: An independent game studio based in Seattle, WA dedicated to bringing the nostalgic joy of cartridge-era gaming into modern times. Their first project, Mekazoo, will be released on all consoles and PC in early 2016.
- PlayEveryWare: An independent game studio working on original titles and collaborating with other developers on their titles. They help to publish or develop console, handheld, mobile, or PC games. Their current project is bringing Elliot Quest to the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U.
- Refract: An independent game developer formed from the creators of award-winning games like Solace, Nitronic Rush, and Sowlar. Now developing a survival racing spiritual successor to Nitronic Rush called Distance, coming to PC and PS4.
- tinyBuild: An independent developer and publisher. They work with many developers around the world to bring their games to market. Known for such games as No Time To Explain and SpeedRunners.
Washington Interactive Network will be hosting a special reception in their booth on August 5th, the Trade Visitor and Media Day of the show, from 5pm to 7pm, located at B-042 in Hall 10.1 (the public entertainment area).
About Washington Interactive Network
Washington Interactive Network is a 501c3 housed under the umbrella of OneRedmond. WIN is a proven cluster-focused economic development organization with the purpose to grow the interactive media industry cluster in Washington State. WIN is also one of the original 10 organizations funded by the JPMorgan Chase Small Business Forward Initiative.
Established in 2004, the purpose of WIN is to promote, nurture, and grow the Interactive Media industry in Washington State, and in the last five years the program has created and retained over 3,000 jobs and over $400 million in economic impact in the Puget Sound region. For more information, please visit www.WashingtonInteractiveNetwork.org.