F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
This section is meant as TL;DR for the Official Rules. If you decide to submit your game, you're still required to read the Rules and the Privacy Policy.
LOCATION
This contest is available to developers and studios worldwide. However, laws vary from country to country - depending on your location, you may be prevented from participating in contests. If you're not sure, do some research before submitting your game.
AGE
Please note: age restrictions apply not only to you, but also your entire team.
- In order to enter the contest without any additional paperwork, your entire team has to be 18 years of age or older.
- If you or some of your team members are between 13 and 18, you need to submit a Parental Consent Form for each member who is within this age category.
- If you or any of your team members are younger than 13 years of age, unfortunately you cannot enter the contest (it would be illegal, sorry!).
This is a contest for indie developers only. While the word indie is used to describe many things these days, all that matters to us is how many people have worked on the game.
- For the purposes of this contest, the size of your team cannot exceed 10 members.
- We define a team member as someone who is or has been working on the game on a regular basis.
- To further clarify, a contractor who is hired to perform a single task (such as translation, creation of the game's cover, etc.) should not be counted as a team member (in this context). On the other hand, a 3d artist who had spent months creating assets for the game should be counted as a member.
Games released between November 30th, 2019 and March 15th, 2021 are accepted. (Early access counts as release)
Games that have an intended release date before December 31st, 2021 are accepted.
- Nov 30th, 2020: Submissions Open
- March 15th, 2021: Submissions Closed. Judges begin reviewing submissions.
- May 1st, 2021, Nominees Announced. Voting for the Audience Award begins
- May 15th, 2021, Winners get contacted privately to obtain additional information required for prize distribution
- May 20th, 2021, Winners and Honorable Mentions Announced
Yes, we will not accept submissions that contain hate speech, likeness of any public or private person, real-world political or religious references, nudity, torture, gambling, self-harm, and needless to say, anything that contains viruses, malware, trojan horses, etc. See the Official Rules for the full list of no-no's.
Nope. One game per person (if you're a solo developer) or studio (if you're working with a team).
$150,000 USD in funding from Integral Capital will be awarded to the “Best Game Award” Winner only if that Submission is an unreleased game. If the Winner’s Submission has already been commercially released, then Integral Capital reserves the right (at their sole discretion) to choose another Winner from among the other category Winners or nominees whose Submission has not been commercially released.
Please note: this prize is essentally an investment, that's why it's subject to Integral Capital's due diligence and sucessful completion of negotiations with the chosen Winner.
Similarly to the $150,000 Funding Prize, this Prize is also subject to certain limitations. If the Winner of the "Best Game Award" is in need of the US trademark registration, they will be awarded this service. Otherwise, this Prize will be awarded to the first of the other Winners who has a need for a US federal trademark application.
Please note: while this Prize waives the attorney's fee ($1,500 value), the Winner will be responsible for covering the USPTO filing fees.