MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Spil Games, the Dutch social and online gaming firm, is committing $5 million for developers to create HTML5 games in 2014.
The earmarked funds will provide developers with financial support to port existing titles to HTML5, as well as to create new games and game elements.
The money will also go towards game monetisation, as well as marketing these games to Spil Games’ 180 million monthly active users.
“Mobile developers face increasing obstacles in developing native apps – it’s expensive, app stores are crowded marketplaces, and they have to make multiple versions of their games for different devices,” said Dan Prigg, senior director of games at Spil Games.
“We believe HTML5 development can offer the best solution to most of these obstacles. With our massive investment next year, we are demonstrating our confidence in the future of HMTL5. Our goal is to help remove the risks for developers with financial, technical and marketing support.”
Wanda Meloni, president of M2 research added: “Like any new technology, HTML5 for game development had a slow start and many small developers were reluctant to do early development and take the plunge.
“Now HTML5 is finally gaining momentum as more developers view mobile web browsing clearly as a viable development strategy, and we believe 2014 will be the year of HTML5 starts to shine. The timing of Spil Games’ $5m investment is perfect and a great opportunity for any indie developer interested in showcasing their games through HTML5 and multi-device gaming.”
Developers interested in learning more about how Spil Games can support HTML5 game development should contact: licensing@spilgames.com.
You can hear more from Spil on its new announcement in our interview with CEO Erik Goossens.
