About the Fall 2023 Climate Games Launchpad accelerator program
Arsht-Rock and Unity Technologies have welcomed five indie teams to the inaugural Fall 2023 Climate Games Launchpad accelerator program!
The six-week program offers funding, mentorship, and expert support to the developers who are already tackling climate change in their games.
Through Arsht-Rock’s innovative workshop series, the teams will learn how to build community resilience to the impacts of climate change through gameplay. During the cohort experience, the five winning teams will have the opportunity to workshop ideas, receive expert feedback and technical support, design impact campaigns, and refine funding pitches.
What are the benefits?
- Access to and feedback from technical, impact, and scientific experts
- 1-year IGDA membership
- Free Unity Pro licenses for the duration of the cohort experience
- Arsht-Rock’s signature Climate Crisis workshop, broken into two 4-hour sessions
- Curated learning, networking, and professional development sessions
Eligibility requirements
Who should apply?
We are looking for teams that are ready and eager to learn, iterate, and engage! Cohort participants must be registered as companies; this opportunity is not open to individuals. Teams must select a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 members to participate in the cohort experience. There are no formal titles, affiliations, or years of experience requirements.
We encourage applications from teams that include: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian individuals; individuals who are part of racial, ethnic, or religious minority groups; women; gender non-conforming individuals; LGBTQI+ individuals; individuals living with a disability; and other individuals whose authorship has historically been undersupported or underrepresented within the field.
How will teams be selected?
A panel of judges with expertise in climate change, game design, and game development will select finalists based on several criteria, including:
- Amount: The amount of climate material in the game, with an emphasis on resilience material
- Visibility: How pronounced climate material is in the game
- Reach: The projected reach of the game
- Record: The team’s track record of success in the games industry
Game Content
In order to be eligible, a participating team must actively be working on a game with climate change-related content. This could be a game where climate change is the main component or a game where climate change is one piece of a broader experience. Preference will be given to games that communicate a holistic view of the climate crisis, with an emphasis on community resilience.
What is the ideal stage of game development for this program?
The ideal application would center around a game currently in production, or a live title with upcoming DLC content. Games that are in pre-production are welcome to apply but will be evaluated differently, with further emphasis placed on the team’s track record of success in the games industry.
Time Requirements
Participants are expected to be available for 2-3 hours in September of 2023 for onboarding calls and 4 hours per week for 6 weeks in October and November 2023 to participate in cohort workshops (24 hours total). A final workshop schedule will be sent to cohort participants on September 1st, based on participants’ reported availability. Teams must be able to attend each workshop with at least one team member in order to be eligible for grant funding. We anticipate that these workshops will take place during U.S. East Coast working hours (EST).
