Netflix has mobile games on its mind.
The company is announcing today that they will partner with Code Coven and Wings Interactive for The Wings Elevate 2023 Game Accelerator to administer a four-month global online accelerator program to help 10 teams of marginalized gender developers with the opportunity to produce a game from prototype to a pitch-ready state over the duration.
As said before, the program covers every step from prototype to pitch, participants will receive milestone-based financial stipends while they receive and act upon development guidance, mentorship, business fundamentals and coaching for pitching to investors/publishers as well as valuable industry connections and community support.
Netflix appears to want to tap into the talent of diverse creators to create games that elevate their streaming content. “At Netflix, our goal is to build a diverse portfolio of games, ensuring we have a game on Netflix that appeals to every one of our millions of members across the world. To achieve this we must partner with organizations that share the same mission and provide us with opportunities to partner with diverse creators. Wings and Code Coven are two organizations we admire for helping to change how we think about game creators and providing 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, vice president of external games at Netflix.
It’s a goal that Wings Interactive thinks they can help match and are proud of. “We are proud to announce the 2023 edition of the Wings Elevateprogram, supported by Netflix and Code Coven. 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. By creating opportunities like Elevate we can help bring their voices to the market.” says Eliana Oikawa, chief operating officer of WINGS.
Code Coven is happy to have a big-name entertainment company look to them for help and guidance in the return of this program. “We are excited to be once again partnering with WINGS, and to start a new partnership with Netflix, whose support to tell marginalized peoples’ stories has been felt throughout the industry and beyond. We’re looking forward to enabling the Elevate cohorts to have their voices heard and giving them the confidence needed to thrive in the games industry. We’re absolutely elated to work on this with partners whose mission we are so aligned on, and cannot wait to see the output that will come out of the programs!” Says Cinzia Musio, interim CEO of Code Coven.
Wings Elevate 2023 will run from Monday August 28 to Friday, December 15, 2023. Women and other marginalized gender developers working on a mobile game can find complete details & apply by Friday, April 28th to be considered for the program.
