WINGS ELEVATE Games Accelerator Programme
WINGS ELEVATE is uplifting diverse teams through an accelerator program designed to help developers refine projects to a pitch-ready state & develop connections to advance in the industry.
The WINGS ELEVATE programme is a global online accelerator organised by WINGS, that provides selected teams of gender marginalised game developers with the opportunity to progress a prototype to a pitch-ready state. Launched in 2020 as part of support efforts around the GDC Relief Fund, the ELEVATE 2023 edition was delivered by our friends at Code Coven, with a special focus on mobile with the support of Netflix Games.
“WINGS and Code Coven are two organisations that we admire for helping to change the way we think about game creators and provide ways to amplify creators. We are proud to partner with WINGS and Code Coven on the ELEVATE game accelerator program to ensure diverse game creators are given the opportunity to thrive and be set up for success.” says Leanne Loombe, VP of External Game Development at Netflix.
WINGS ELEVATE provides a 4-month programme featuring development guidance, mentorship, business fundamentals and coaching for pitching to investors/publishers as well as valuable industry connections and community support. The participating teams also receive milestone-based financial stipends during the programme, which is a vital part of the programme’s impact on diverse studios.
ELEVATE 2023 was an especially great success in our efforts to reach women and gender diverse applicants from across the globe. In particular, we saw an incredible 55.7% of applications coming from ‘Non-big 3’ countries which are typically underserved when it comes to game development opportunities. Additionally, 77% of applicants identified as female and 93% identified as part of another marginalised group.
From this amazing pool of applicants, the WINGS ELEVATE 2023 welcomed a selected cohort of 29 developers across 10 teams to the accelerator program. While 70% of the projects were narrative-driven, the mobile games also featured a wonderful diversity of genres from puzzle games, management sims and platformers, to deck builders and even fishing games.
Some Team highlights from WINGS ELEVATE 2023:
Glowfrog Games — Pieced Together
Team Glowfrog was incredibly engaged and their development was great to see over the course of the programme. Their game, Pieced Together has Unpacking elements: incredibly simple but elegantly presented, with a highly stylized aesthetic and heartfelt narrative design which brings the substance. This talented team at Glowfrog Games has since been recognized with an Innovate UK Award, with financial support to help establish their studio.
Niku Games — The Palace on the Hill
It was a pleasure seeing the progress on Niku Games’ The Palace on the Hill. The team came into ELEVATE having released a Prologue on Google Play and Steam with over 30k downloads. Their project radiates with soul and beauty and we loved the concept: a cozy-adventure management game set in the heart of rural India. It has a gorgeous art style, and Niku Games has showcased their authentic experiences in an engaging, beautiful game. The Palace on the Hill has since been featured on the Wholesome Games Direct and IGN.
Sky Reach Studio — Critter Crops: Cards of Fate
Critter Crops is a crowdfunded farming simulator that Sky Reach is working to release across multiple platforms. Following the reception to Critter Crops, they decided to use their IP to make an additional spin-off: a new deck building game for mobile platforms! We were really impressed with the team’s achievements, and feel that this IP has a lot of potential to grow. Critter Crops was also recently featured in the Women-led Games Showcase.
Team Gramps — A Week at Belissamas Lake
Team Gramps started out as a Code Coven prototype team, and then went on to gain further funding from Unity and now ELEVATE. We loved the concept of A Week at Belissamas Lake and it was also one of the demos we enjoyed playing the most — the tilt controls were really neat! But the underlying message behind this game is what gives it so much depth and soul; the theme of climate change is delivered in an engaging and authentic way, showing how brilliantly games can be used for good. Team Gramps was also featured in the September Unity Showcase — we can’t wait to see what they do with this game.
Alongside their fellow cohort participants, these ELEVATE 2023 teams wrapped up the 4-month programme by presenting their refined pitches to Netflix Games and a team of industry experts. This experience in not only valuable in building confidence and practising their pitch, but also provides a rare opportunity to get real feedback from industry experts before taking their game to publishers, platforms and other providers.
“Our mission at WINGS is to fund games from diverse creators, but we often meet teams with great potential that are not ready to pitch their games. This is why we created this program, to provide them with incubation and mentoring. We believe the most inspiring and successful games of tomorrow will come from teams with great diversity, and by creating opportunities like ELEVATE we can help bring their voices to the market.” says Eliana Oikawa, CEO of WINGS.
The next edition of WINGS ELEVATE is being planned now; and we are looking for partners!
If you are interested in helping to uplift marginalised developers and their games as a partner, sponsor or otherwise, please contact elevate@wingsfund.me as we are excited to launch this next opportunity.
If you are a developer and would like to know when the next WINGS ELEVATE applications are open, sign up for the WINGS Newsletter.
