The Google Play Indie Games Contest

Google Play is a place to find, enjoy and share your favourite entertainment, whether it’s apps, movies, music or books. As Google Play continues to grow, more game developers than ever contribute fun, beautiful and exciting gaming content that is accessible to more than 1 billion people around the world. The second edition of the Google Play Indie Games Contest set out again to find and celebrate the new wave of indie games coming from Europe.

The winner

Game name: Bury me, my Love Developer name: Playdius Country: France Game description: A reality-inspired interactive fiction designed for mobile phones. It tells the story of Nour, a Syrian woman trying to reach Europe in hope of a better life. 1st prize: Premium placement on the Google Play Store in 42 countries in EMEA, 100K EUR Digital marketing campaign, 50K EUR YouTube influencer campaign

 

The runners-up

	Game name: Old Man’s Journey                                   Developer name: Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH   Country: Austria Game description: A story game about life’s precious moments, broken dreams, and changed plans. Prize: Premium placement on the Google Play Store in 42 countries in EMEA, 50K EUR Digital marketing campaign, 25K EUR YouTube influencer campaign
	Game name: Yellow Developer name: Bart Bonte Country: Belgium Game description: A puzzle game for you! A love letter to a marvellous colour and to the little wonder called touchscreens. Warning: very yellow! Prize: Premium placement on the Google Play Store in 42 countries in EMEA, 50K EUR Digital marketing campaign, 25K EUR YouTube influencer campaign

 

The Top 10

Twenty finalists showcased their games at an open event at the Saatchi Gallery in London. At the event, the top 10 were selected by the event attendees and the Google Play team. The top 10 the got the opportunity to pitch to a jury of industry experts, from which the final winner and runners were selected.

• Game name: Bury me, my Love

Developer name: Playdius (France)

• Game name: Captain Tom Galactic Traveler

Developer name: Picodongames (France)

• Game name: I Love Hue

Developer name: Zut! (UK)

• Game name: Jodeo

Developer name: Gamebra.in (Turkey)

• Game name: Kami 2

Developer name: State of Play (UK)

• Game name: Kenshō

Developer name: FIFTYTWO (Russia)

• Game name: No More Buttons

Developer name: Tommy Søreide Kjær (Norway)

• Game name: Old Man’s Journey

Developer name: Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH (Austria)

Game name: The Big Journey

Developer name: Catfishbox (Ukraine)

• Game name: Yellow

Developer name: Bart Bonte (Belgium)

The Facts

• Mobile gaming is as popular as ever: 3 in every 4 Android users are playing mobile games.
• European developers are building successful businesses on Play. The burgeoning mobile economy drives ~13M jobs globally, contributing $1.1tr to GDP (~1.4% of global GDP).
• Specifically, in the EU the mobile app economy generates 1.6M jobs. By 2018, the apps sector alone could employ 4.8 million people and contribute €63bn to the EU economy.
• And EU app developers lead the field, with 40 of the top 100 grossing apps in the EU and US being created by EU companies*.
• In fact, the EU is a hotbed of innovation and success for developers. Many of the world’s leading game developers are European players including Rovio (Angry Birds) or King (Candy Crush Saga).
• We launched the Indie Corner at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2016, a collection on Google Play, that highlights amazing games built by indie developers. Indie Corner has featured over 350 games so far and has been visited 2.5 billion times

* Gigaom/NUI study for EUC – Feb. 2014