Late last year Ubisoft Toronto announced their new initiative, Indie Series. Presented by National Bank, Ubisoft Toronto’s Indie Series is a competition that gives one lucky Canadian independent studio the chance at funding, mentorship and other tools to help develop their projects. The competition opened up to applicants in November 2016 and after rigorous vetting of all the applicants; Ubisoft chose the top six submissions to invite to their studio for the final step in the competition.
Last week Tendril, Caged Element (GRIP), Little Guy Games, Rocket 5 Studios, Lightning Rod Games and Reptoid Games visited Ubisoft Toronto to pitch to National Bank and Ubisoft judges. The pitching process included a detail outline of the studio’s projected growth, showcasing their projects and much more. Despite the tough competition there was only one studio that walked away with the grand prize that includes:
- $50,000 in funding
- Mentorship provided by Ubisoft experts to help with development (art direction, creative direction, programming counsel, etc.)
- Financial diagnosis and counsel provided by National Bank
- Marketing support for the game
- Internal and external communications activities to promote the collaboration between Ubisoft and the studio, locally and internationally
- Distribution on the Uplay PC Store
- 1 ticket to the BN Camp
- 1 ticket to an entrepreneurship event in Toronto, courtesy of National Bank
The grand prize went to Reptoid Games and their game Fossil Hunters. When their team was accepting their award it was quite an emotional moment for their team as they expressed that they hope to use their funds to help grow their studio. Small but mighty the team at Reptoid includes four members; Ryan Miller, Simon Paquette, Jayme Last and Emma Burkeitt. Together their studio sets out to create games for all ages that gets players excited and want to share with friends! Luckily for them with the $50,000 in funding and mentorship from Ubisoft Toronto and National Bank it seems that they will have a leg up and be able to quickly put their projects in full swing.
