GamesBeat’s Rachel Kaser covers a notable bright spot for gaming startups in the midst of the turbulence of the games industry in 2024. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) recently announced the launch of a new Incubation Special Interest Group (SIG), founded by over 80 accelerators and incubators across 50 countries.
Sho Sato of Indie Game Incubator chairs the SIG, which will have an international board with seven regional leaders. The SIG plans to hold major events as well as participate in others, to offer a platform for promising gaming startups. According to the IDGA, the SIG plans to make partnerships with government agencies, the private sector, and academia.
The IDGA has opened membership of the SIG, so accelerators and incubators can join. It also invites others to engage with its mission to “promote policy enablement, secure funding support, forge publishing partnerships, advance research, and nurture gaming talent on a global scale.”
Also according to the IGDA, the SIG is intended to “promote policy enablement, secure funding support, forge publishing partnerships, advance research, and nurture gaming talent on a global scale.”
In general, new startups have a roughly 80% failure rate in the US, per SPD Load, though the gaming industry’s seen more success with a contrasting average of a 50% success rate. Despite the greater odds, investment firms have recently pulled back on funding, slowing down their rate of engagement by over 79% over the course of 2023, per CrunchBase, reflecting the uncertainties brought about by high-profile layoffs seen across the industry.
With the IGDA’s new SIG, a more formalized network and lines of communication between developers, publishers, and policy-makers brings more certainty and clarity between all parties during a period of instability.
To read GamesBeat’s full article, check out the link here. To learn more about the IGDA, visit the official website and follow IGDA on X.
