The video game accelerator campus GAME.EUS concluded its sixth edition last Wednesday, after six weeks of intensive work, with a Demo Day in which the five participating teams showcased their video game projects to industry experts, anticipating the international projection that their projects will reach in the coming months. This program, driven by the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Álava and led by the EUNEIZ Foundation, took place between June 10 and July 23, and included ten public talks delivered by renowned professionals from the video game industry.

The Demo Day, held on July 23 at the Villa Suso Palace, featured the round table discussion “Developing the Video Game Ecosystem in the Basque Country” —with Isabel Liébana, General Manager & Co-founder of Puzztime!, and Arturo Monedero, video game designer, Vice President of Development at AEVI, and Video Game Design professor at EUNEIZ— in addition to the public presentation of the five accelerated video game projects. Afterwards, a networking space was offered, specifically aimed at fostering contact between developers and publishers or investors from the sector.

The event was attended by Saray Zárate, Deputy for Economic Development and Sustainability of Álava, Eva Eguiguren, Rector of EUNEIZ University, and David Darnés, Executive Director of GAME.EUS, along with Itziar Redondo, Head of the Department of Cultural Planning of the Basque Government. The program is coordinated by BIC Araba and sponsored by EUNEIZ University, which has hosted the campus for the fourth consecutive year.

According to the Deputy for Economic Development and Sustainability, “it’s a great honor to have welcomed and supported in Álava such talented teams with such high-quality projects. From the Provincial Council of Álava, we are convinced of GAME.EUS’s potential as a platform to launch new games and showcase the dynamism and innovation that define our economy and our territory.”

Meanwhile, EUNEIZ Rector Eva Eguiguren congratulated the five teams for their work, which, she emphasized, “will undoubtedly help consolidate the professional careers of the participants and, consequently, the video game sector in the Basque Country.” She also highlighted the role of the EUNEIZ Foundation, which has led the campus since last year, and of the university itself, in “generating knowledge and creating talent” in this sector both in Álava and the wider region. With two video game-related degrees (Bachelor in Video Game Art and Bachelor in Video Game Design and Development), this campus represents a key opportunity for EUNEIZ —a university specialized in digital technologies— both academically, as the culmination of training, and professionally, as a gateway to entrepreneurship and industry connections.

Three Basque teams, one Catalan, and one Galician team participated in this six-week intensive acceleration program, which included training and mentorship aimed at developing a business mindset to successfully bring their games to market. They were equipped with essential tools and skills in areas such as game design, production, marketing, and business.

David Darnés, from the EUNEIZ Foundation, emphasized that “GAME.EUS is placing the Basque Country firmly on the global video game industry map. This edition marks a turning point by successfully integrating creative excellence with the business discipline demanded by today’s market. Our working model has focused on three core pillars: talent development, sustainability, and international projection.” He noted that in August, the developers will travel to GAMESCOM, where they’ll have an institutional stand in the Spanish pavilion, meet with key publishers and investors, and present professional versions of their games. In October, they will also have a dedicated space at BCN GAME FEST in Barcelona. “We are witnessing the birth of a new generation of studios, proving that the Basque Country has everything needed to lead innovation in the sector,” he said.

Throughout the program, participants received one-on-one mentorship from industry professionals who helped them refine their projects. Mentors included: Oscar Sahun (entrepreneur, designer, and video game producer), Alexander Camarero (co-founder and creative director at Keplerians), Lucía Quijano (publishing and communications expert, co-founder of Impulse Lean Publishing), Arturo Monedero (AEVI Vice President, EUNEIZ professor, entrepreneur and game designer), Sandra Samper (Dean of the Faculty of Interactive New Technologies at EUNEIZ and expert in business and game development), Ferrán Puntí (co-founder and CEO of The Breach Studios), Virginia Martín Pérez (game designer with over 16 years of experience), Xènia Castelltort (coach and public speaking expert using theatrical methods), Aitor Jiménez (innovation expert leading the Baskonia-Alavés Group’s strategy), and David Darnés (campus director and consultant in games and technology). In addition to the mentorship, these experts also hosted public “mixers” to raise awareness of the sector among the general public.

“The mentors and speakers at GAME.EUS made a real difference this year. Experts in key areas like finance, business, and marketing provided the teams with concrete tools to compete in the global market. Their combination of technical expertise and strategic insight significantly boosted the quality of the projects, highlighting the level of excellence the Basque Country is building in the video game industry,” Darnés added.

The five teams and their respective genres presented at Villa Suso were:

• Box Collider Game Studio (Vitoria-Gasteiz): A team native to Vitoria, introducing “The Heart of Anatema,” a real-time strategy game set in a mysterious forest beyond the edge of the kingdom, where players race to uncover the cursed land’s hidden treasures.

• Zomorro Studio (Gipuzkoa): Independent developer Ibai Aizpurua, working under the name Zomorro Studio and based in Irun, brings an experimental approach to each project, exploring different mechanics and visual styles such as claymation, ink, or pixel art. In Guillotine, players follow the sadistic adventures of a headless executioner through traditional Basque Country settings.

• DEP Games (A Coruña): This Galician studio, with 90% of its team from Galicia, develops handcrafted indie games. Unicorn Wars is an action-platformer featuring a sacred war between teddy bears and unicorns. Slash, shoot, and kill to fulfill your divine mission. Death to the unicorn!

• Auxilio Games (Bilbao): Founded in 2023 after taking part in the Málaga Jam, this studio focuses on telling stories that challenge the status quo through a queer and LGBTQ+ lens. They are developing their first professional project: The Great Farce, a nonlinear mystery game with Point and Click mechanics inspired by Spain’s political transition.

• Flatline Studio (Barcelona): A team of lifelong friends and family originally from Argentina and now based mostly in Barcelona. They are developing Into The Grid, a game set in a dystopian future where hackers fight against evil corporations.