Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control we had to cancel this year's Pärnu Games Incubator program.
Finnish Game Incubator goes Pärnu - 95% of teams recommend
Do you have a team working on a videogame? Already got something to show from it, but unsure about shipping the game to platforms like Steam, consoles, Play Store or the App Store?
We are here to help you ship your game and answer all your questions about the business of selling videogames. We've made an 8 week course in sunny Pärnu, Estonia that will teach you everything you'd want to know - with mentors including game company CEOs and experts from all across the industry. Completely free.
We've had one batch of Pärnu Games Incubator and three batches of Finnish Game Incubator so far, and we're bringing our popular formula of connecting game business mentors to teams again into Pärnu Games Incubator 2022, the summer of learning all about game development and game business. Brought to you by Gamedev Estonia, Gamecan and Tampere Game Hub in association with Peter Vesterbacka.
The format is this: you focus on working on your game, and once a week you join the weekly lesson on game business. Then you can schedule an 1-on-1 time with the weekly mentor to really get focused feedback on your game and help with your game studio.
In addition, the entire game studio Gamecan with over 30 people is there to help you with anything you need for your game and team.
Check out 2021's Pärnu Games Incubator Demo Day video.
Our Finnish Game Incubator 2020 Demo Day video is online - check it out here to get a feel for the format of the course.
Pärnu Games Incubator was just what we needed to start believing that we really have a game that people could enjoy playing. Great mentors from different areas of expertise and the beautiful city of Pärnu gave an experience, which highlighted my summer.
>Marko Haaja, Founder and CEO of Kuura Playworks and developer of PuckOFF, now on Steam
We wouldn’t have a publisher without Tampere Game Hub. It’s been a great jump start for our career. Finnish Game Incubator provided an environment of pure game business that shared honest, concrete feedback for us. Thanks to Tampere Game Hub and the Finnish Game Incubator, we learned how to pitch and talk to publishers and investors – culminating in concrete help with our publisher negotiations.
>Antti Hietikko, Founder of Nighthouse Games and developer of Sockventure, published by Versus Evil
The sunny beaches of Pärnu, Estonia
Bring your team to Pärnu, Estonia for the onsite week and weekend; we've got excellent incubation spaces with all you need to work on your dream game. We'll give you all the mentoring to get your game in the hands of investors, publishers and to the global market - the rest of the time you can work on your game and enjoy the beach.
Book a hotel for your team members for the week and weekend - or just attend the weekly meetings, your choice. How you get here and how you choose to attend is all up to you, the course is free for all teams who get picked.
The Pärnu Business Incubator Spaces
Welcome to the Pärnu Business Incubator. Kitted with comfortable spaces to fit your team. You will have full access to the space during the week (even after hours, for those longer development sprints).
Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control we had to cancel this year's Pärnu Games Incubator program.
Course Date
27.6.2022 - 21.8.2022
Attendance requirements:
- You must already have an ongoing game project that is in need of help in production, or help finding funding, a publisher, an investor or similar. There is something already to showcase from your game project and your team has at least 2 people.
- This course is completely free for all teams that get picked. Note: for the on-site week and weekend; getting to Pärnu and booking accomodation is up to you.
- The course is mostly remote, but includes an on-site portion. Bring your team to Pärnu, Estonia for the on-site week and weekend.
- Attend 8 weeks of the Pärnu Game Incubator course once a week
- Perform and submit a pitch at the end of the course in the Demo Day event.
The Schedule
The course runs once a week (usually Wednesdays, depending on mentors) from June 27th onwards. Here's our rough curriculum with mentors and topics subject to change, tailored to your game businesses.
- Business Opportunities in the Game Industry with Tomi Toikka (Director, Tampere Game Hub) and Marten Palu (CEO, Gamecan)
- Game Development Pipeline (gameplay, monetization, retention) with Tomi Toikka and Flavio Pontes (CTO, Gamecan)
- Fundraising, mentors TBA
- Communications and PR, mentors TBA
- Pitching (Pitch Deck), mentors TBA
- Marketing and Social Media, mentors TBA
- Service sales, pricing and cash flow planning, mentors TBA
- Pitch training and feedback with Peter Vesterbacka (FinEst Bay Area)
- Legal and HR with Juuso Turtiainen (Lexia Attorneys)
- Demo Day 2022 with presentations from all teams
The mentors: CEOs, experts in game funding and more
We've gathered the best of the best to help you get your game out and make it sell well - including CEOs, founders, marketing experts and investors.
The course is run by Joonas Pylvinen (Gamedev Estonia), Marten Palu (CEO of Gamecan) and Tomi Toikka (Tampere Game Hub, CEO of Makea Games) who know the game industry inside and out.
Joonas Pylvinen
Gamedev Estonia
Tomi Toikka
CEO of Makea Games
Marten Palu
CEO of Gamecan
We like to tailor our mentors based on the teams coming in, so expect to see some surprises in the schedule tailored to match your game business needs. You will get devoted one-on-one mentoring from these game industry experts, and they will host a keynote in the weekly meetings.
The COVID-19 situation in Estonia
We're confident that you are comfortable joining us in Pärnu, Estonia despite these trying times. Estonia has mandatory COVID-19 screening and the incubator spaces are sanitized, with people teaching the course practising social distancing.
This is an unique opportunity to gather together for the summer and develop videogames with the mentorship from the best game developers and experts in the industry.
The course includes one week and one weekend in Pärnu, Estonia. Rest of the course is remote through Discord. We will monitor the situation over the summer closely to make sure it's safe to visit!