Brawl Stars studio Supercell has opened applications for a developer grants program for game development studios across Africa.

Announced earlier in the week, Supercell is looking to support "exceptional" studios across Africa with equity-free grants of $20,000 to $200,000 to help them "reach their next stage of growth," as well as strengthening an emerging ecosystem.

"Some of the most exciting creative energy and distinctive cultural narratives today are emerging from Africa, and we believe this talent will help shape the future of global gaming," reads the announcement.

Applications officially opened yesterday, and will close on Sunday, August 9. The review period will run from August to October, with successful applicants being notified in October. Grant funding is set to begin in December.

While Supercell is primarily a mobile studio, it is welcoming applications across multiple platforms, genres, and business models. The program is meant to support studios, not individual projects, and said studios must be legally registered as such. "Applications from individual developers, hobby projects, or unregistered teams will not be considered," Supercell adds.

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In addition, the studio's primary operations and the majority of its team must be based in Africa to be eligible.

Supercell says that its developer grants are non-dilutive grants, meaning the company does not take equity or ownership in a studio or game as part of the program. The studios will retain ownership of their intellectual property.

Lastly, the company is expecting to select approximately three to five studios for the first cohort. Supercell recommends having the following ready before applying: a pitch deck, a gameplay trailer or video, links to previous games, a high-level funding plan and budget, and a playable build, although the latter is optional.

Aside from this grant round, Supercell has been investing in multiple studios throughout the last 10 years. The company invested $5 million in Redemption Games in 2018, picking up a minority stake. In 2021, it invested $2.9 million in Shipyard Games. Then, in May of this year, Supercell went from being a major shareholder of Metacore to acquiring the studio altogether following studio restructuring.

About the Author

Diego Argüello

Contributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com

Diego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance journalist and critic from Argentina. Video games helped him to learn English, so now he covers them for places like The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and more. He also runs Into the Spine, a site dedicated to fostering and supporting new writers, and co-hosted Turnabout Breakdown, a podcast about the Ace Attorney series. He’s most likely playing a rhythm game as you read this.