Big Indie Pitch Announces Paris Games Week Debut and Opens Opportunities for Mobile Developers

The Big Indie Pitch is heading to Paris Games Week for the first time, with organisers announcing an event scheduled for October 23 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. The competition, supported by Gameloft Paris and Xsolla, gives independent developers an opportunity to present upcoming mobile, PC and console games directly to panels of industry professionals. Each participating studio receives five minutes, including questions, to demonstrate its project before moving to another judging panel.

The format is essentially speed dating for game developers, except the participants are discussing monetisation, gameplay loops and publishing opportunities rather than pretending to enjoy somebody's favourite restaurant. Every entrant receives direct feedback and a written assessment, while the leading projects can receive editorial coverage and other promotional opportunities. Applications for the Paris event close October 15, and participating developers need access to Paris Games Week's business programme.

The organisers are also preparing additional events in Helsinki, Amman, Montréal and London. For smaller mobile studios, these opportunities can be genuinely useful. Discoverability remains one of the industry's greatest challenges, and even an excellent game can disappear beneath thousands of competing releases. A short presentation to the right publisher or industry contact will not automatically solve funding or marketing problems, but it can open doors that would otherwise remain firmly closed.

Five minutes may not sound like much. Anyone who has ever watched an investor lose interest during a forty-slide presentation knows it can be more than enough.