Madrid in Game entrepreneurship program inaugurates its fourth edition and will accelerate 58 companies

Madrid in Game has inaugurated at the Campus del videojuego the fourth edition of the Start IN Up Programthe incubation and acceleration program for startups in the video game and gamification sector. from Madrid in Game, which has already hosted 92 companies since its creation in 2023.. The start of this new call will host 58 startups during the next 6 months. A figure that makes the program one of the most ambitious gaming accelerators in the world.

The Start IN Up Program was born in March 2023 with the mission of To attract, promote, retain and enhance talent, as well as generate direct and quality jobs in the video game industry.. The program is adapted to the different business profiles depending on the maturity stage in which each of the selected companies are, and is organized in 3 phases: pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration. For the fourth batch of the program, and given the quality and competence of the new startups that join and those that remain from previous calls, the Madrid in Game accelerator will deploy during the coming months a more specialized line aimed at helping to achieve more ambitious goals for its participants.

After the presentation ceremony, held at the Experience Center of the Video Game Campus on October 28, the new entrepreneurs set up shop in the Development Centerthe pavilion located on the Casa de Campo Campus itself and dedicated to this initiative, which will be its new workplace for the next few months. This space provides participants with a physical place to work, networking and technological resources, including sound, video, virtual and augmented reality labs. state-of-the-art laboratories. Resources to promote the development of your companies with the aim of converting them into solvent and reference projects for the videogame industry in our country..

The Start IN Up Program, an engine to boost the video game industry from the ground up.

Participating startups receive support in the search for investment, presence in professional events of the video game industry at national and international level.being part of events to obtain funding (such as the recently held Investor and Demo Day or the II Conference on financial instruments). In addition to personalized advice from experts from different professional fields: business (strategic management and investment, market and publishing, economy design, blockchain, corporate and product communication, localization and legal field), product (production and development, creative direction, distribution and retail marketing) person (human resources) and esports.

More than 200 mentors (specialized in the field of video games, business management, marketing and other business areas), led by Iván Fernández Lobofounder of Gamelab, will be available to entrepreneurs. Among them will be Fernando Piquer (first president of the Madrid Video Game Cluster and CEO of Movistar KOI), Ignacio Monereo (Boost Capital), Connie Brammeier (former director of gaming and experiences at The Walt Disney Company), Eduardo Aparicio (Primastika), Pablo de la Nuez (RaiserGames) and Ricardo Carretero (GamifiedSystems).

Of the 58 startups that make up the fourth edition, 7 are in the pre-incubation phase, 23 in incubation and 28 in acceleration. 80% based in Madrid. Of the total, the high presence of video game development studios stands out compared to previous editions (45%), with esports studios accounting for 10%.. The rest (45%) are dedicated to different technologies applied to video games (Web3, Metaverse, AR/VR, marketing, education, health or finance.).

More than 5M in funding and the creation of 170 jobs.

Since its launch in March 2023 and after completing 3 editions, the companies that have been part of the program have managed to raise 5.5 million euros in financing rounds.900,000 of which came from public funds. During their passage through the program, the participating startups have generated 170 jobsstrengthening Madrid’s industrial fabric and creating qualified, quality jobs.

Start IN Up Program milestones

In the year and a half that this initiative has been underway, the startups accelerated at the Campus del videojuego have achieved outstanding milestones that have made their companies and the Madrid video game ecosystem grow.

ConWirohas advanced the development of its product reaching the beta stage, closed a €90,000 bridge round and has signed a contract with one of the most important soccer leagues in the country; SecondWorld raised over €1 million in the first half of 2024 and launched its $SWIO cryptocurrency; Pontic launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter with which they raised more than 35,000€ to launch their two-dimensional historical exploration game “Plus Ultra: Legacy”; QuanticStudios has completed its automatic audiovisual content generation product and achieved its first recurring revenues.. Eonesia improved its turnover and became the winner of the Reto del Mañana (Tomorrow’s Challenge) at a national level in the Emprende XXI awards.

For its part Infinite Thread has finished a demo for publishers of its game “Hidalgo” based on Don Quixote de la Mancha and is preparing its Kickstarter, which will be launched on the platform of crowdfunding on November 5; Bitcoin Games Lab has achieved a 30% increase in active players without advertising investment, made progress in the development of a new version of the game and was selected to participate in the Bitcoin Startup Lab in the US; Stadio Plus launched an immersive experience for the Kings World Cup; Clivi took his startup to Silicon Valley and launched the most advanced generative AI model on the market for Minecraft; Scientific Videogames developed the demo of the educationally oriented game “AtomicFusion” and. UFO Agency launched its beta platform UFOLAB and was awarded in the Entrepreneur Awards 2024.

The video game industry has transformed into a relevant economic sector in the last decade, driving other sectors and contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product of many countries.

Ángel Niño, Councilman delegate of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Area of the Madrid City Council.