No, it is completely free, there is no cost for participants on the programme. Thanks to the support of our partners, Payload Studios, Tonic Games, Green Man Gaming and Creative England’s Creative Enterprise, we are pleased to announce that there are 8 sponsored places available. 

Our first iteration of this incubator is focused on early stage founders from underrepresented groups – those that are working on their first game and need focused support and networks to help take their business/game to the next stage. You must be based in the UK or within the GMT +-2 timezone.

The Ukie Games Industry Census 2020 highlighted key underrepresented groups within the UK games industry. We are interested in applications from founders who identify with one or more underrepresented groups such as POC, lower socioeconomic backgrounds, underrepresented genders (cis women, trans women, trans men, non-binary and other non-cisgender identities), LGBTQ+, disabilities and neurodiversities. 

This list is not exhaustive and we will not always get it right, if there is a group missing, please contact us at nisha@tentacle.zone. 

Absolutely! We already have an existing community of Tentacle Zone residents who benefit from a weekly programme of support and who will also have access to the incubator when it is launched. We believe that the peer-to-peer learning within the cohort and regular contact with more established companies will enable more knowledge sharing to benefit participants. Please contact us on hello@tentacle.zone.

You can find out more in the mentors and tutors section, but we are lucky enough to have likeminded industry partners who will contribute to elements of the programme. These include our partners: Tonic Games (creators of Fall Guys) and Green Man Gaming. Individuals from Payload Studios (Creators of TerraTech), as well as contribution from our existing Tentacle Zone residents (Marvelous Europe, Spilt Milk Studios and Netspeak Games). We also have a number of industry professionals who are passionate about diversity and inclusion and who have, themselves, faced challenges (being part of underrepresented groups) either running businesses or working in the games industry.

Applications are open from Wednesday 13th January, 2021 and will close on 24th February at 5.00pm.

We will inform all applicants of the outcome in the first week of March (the decision is final and will be conducted by a panel).

The programme itself will run from March 2021 – June 2021 and will be delivered 100% virtually.

With the support of our industry partners, we are able to ensure there is no cost for participants in the programme. However, we aren’t able to offer any further financial support and we do not take equity in any of the businesses. We are not a publisher or an investor, we are just trying to help you on your indie journey.

We expect founders to be available, and participate in 2 hour live sessions (delivered virtually) each week with an additional 2 hours for time with 1-2-1 experts/follow-up work or time with mentors.

If you have to miss a session, we will be recording as much of the content as possible, and will make these available to all participants.

Please see ‘what you’ll get out of the programme’ for more information. Aside from a practical toolkit and  industry connections, we want to strap a rocket to your business and help you make progress with your game and business growth. You will also receive CPD certification via the University of Greenwich.

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and is the term used to describe the learning activities professionals & students engage in to develop and enhance their abilities. It enables learning to become conscious and proactive, rather than passive and reactive.

Engaging in Continuing Professional Development ensures that both academic and practical qualifications do not become out-dated or obsolete; allowing individuals to continually ‘up skill’ or ‘re-skill’ themselves, regardless of occupation, age or educational level.

You can find the application form here! For any accessibility issues with the application, please contact nisha@tentacle.zone.

Please email Nisha at nisha@tentacle.zone for any further queries!

We have up to 8 places available for eligible participants, thanks to the support of our partners.