Venture fund Blue Ocean Games has announced Rising Tide #2, a second round of its competition for new game creators. The company held Rising Tide #1 earlier this year, which led to investment offers on six projects. The second version of the competition will feature two different submission tracks for projects in different stages of development.
The “In-Development” Track is for developers with active projects. The top 10 winners of the public vote receive cash prizes and would be invited to pitch to Blue Ocean for up to $300,000 in funding under the Structured Agreement for Indie Launch (SAIL) contract.
The “Idea-Only” Track is for those pitching concepts. Winners receive $10,000 from Blue Ocean to option the concept for 12 months, and $25,000 for the IP if the company finds a development partner. Those submitting to this track don’t need to have any development experience, opening the competition to those outside the traditional game development environment.
Damian Lee, Blue Ocean’s founder and managing partner, said in a statement, “Rising Tide is about funding game creators at the earliest stages and pairing their ideas with real market validation through public voting. By introducing two tracks and a more dynamic submission process, we’re making it easier than ever for creators to share their visions, gain recognition, and potentially secure funding to bring their games to life.”
Murray Smith, the developer of Terra Factoria, one of the projects in Rising Tide #1, said of the competition, “Finding funding for games can feel like a catch-22—you need a demo to secure funding, but you need funding to make a demo. Blue Ocean Games is breaking that cycle and opening doors for developers like me to bring our ideas to life.”