Young video game studios just can't get enough of
Montpellier Game Lab! That’s what they said during
the closing day of the program organized on October 6 in Montpellier.
Created by
Montpellier Métropole and
Push Start, the regional association for video game professionals, Montpellier Game Lab seeks to help young studios accelerate their development by focusing on the entrepreneurial skills of their founders.
During the six-month program,
Montpellier BIC – an incubator recognized worldwide – offers its expertise in creating innovative companies, while Push Start shares its in-depth knowledge of the video game ecosystem with those companies. High-level guests also came to speak during the program, sharing their experience and offering their advice.
Montpellier Game Lab fits in perfectly with Montpellier Métropole’s proactive policy to support creative and cultural industries to strengthen its position as a stronghold for the video game industry.
“We want to work with the Cultural and Creative Industries ecosystem and help provide structure,” explains Hind Emad, Montpellier Métropole vice president in charge of economic development and digital technologies. “As the video game sector is one of the most mature branches of that ecosystem, we would like to consolidate it and transform it into one of our territory’s excellence clusters.”
Five studios were selected for this first edition of Montpellier Game Lab. Participants included
BBlack Studio,
Build the Light,
Play Curious,
Exalted Studio, and
Fireplace Game. During the closing day event, representatives from these studios took turns presenting their current projects and explaining their reasons for joining the program. More than just a success... true enthusiasm!
Thanks to Montpellier Game Lab, all participants were able to refine their business plans, assess their marketing strategy, and consolidate their studio on a stronger foundation. That was precisely the goal, to help them take off.
“We were looking for assistance specialized in video games so that the creative talents in our territory could pursue entrepreneurship with minimum risk,” says Frédéric Lopez, CEO of Altshift and vice president of Push Start. In that respect, he feels that the first edition of Montpellier Game Lab fulfilled its mission.
Montpellier Métropole now wants to go further. In fact, local authorities launched a startup assistance fund at the last Metropolitan council meeting. A call for candidacy for funding will be published within the next few months. And one last announcement: the Montpellier Game Lab concept could well be applied to other ICC areas so that they can take advantage of it too! A cultural and creative metropolis!
