Mentors Announcement

MARCH 25th, 2015 - Stugan Adds High-profile Game Developers from Minecraft, King Digital Entertainment and Elsewhere to Mentor Line-up
Stockholm, Sweden – 25 March, 2015 – Stugan, the games accelerator launched by Sweden’s most influential video game developers and entrepreneurs, today announced its initial line-up of mentors, workshop speakers and content for accepted applicants. The initial roster includes a well-rounded, highly respected cast of games industry professionals spanning across development, design, production, monetization, venture capital, marketing and more. Current mentors include: 
•    Jens Bergensten (Jeb_), lead developer of Minecraft at Mojang.  
•    Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Resolution Games and long-time Swedish games industry veteran. 
•    Oskar Burman, general manager of Rovio Stockholm and one of Sweden’s most well-known figures within the games industry. 
•    Christofer Sundberg, founder and creative director of Avalanche Studios. 
•    Paul Bragiel, Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and managing partner and co-founder of I/O Ventures. 
•    Alexander Ekvall, director of product at King Digital Entertainment overseeing production for Candy Crush Saga and other hit games. 
“We’re excited to have such prominent games industry players shepherding Stugan’s inaugural batch of participants. The team is also seeing a great amount of support and interest for participation from Sweden’s leading games companies like King Digital Entertainment, Mojang and others,” said Tommy Palm. “We’ve received some great applications so far and look forward to seeing how the final group of applicants shapes up.”
Stugan also announced the extension of its application deadline through April 15, 2015 to give applicants an opportunity for feedback on initial submissions. With this, applicants who submit their entries by the last day of March will be provided feedback from the review panel and allowed to resubmit their entries to increase their chances of admission. 
Stugan will be accepting 20 aspiring game developers, who will spend eight weeks over the summer of 2015 with all expenses paid in a traditional “Stugan” (cabin) in the Swedish countryside. They will be supported and mentored while building their games and will eventually present their work to potential publishers, sponsors and investors. Unlike traditional accelerator programs, all participants will keep the rights to the games they work on.
The application process is simple and includes a 90 second video, where applicants present themselves and their game idea, along with a short written description of themselves, the game and the goal they want to reach. Applicants can be for games developers across any platform and from anywhere in the world. To submit an application and see additional program details go to www.stugan.com.

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About Stugan:
Stugan is a non-profit organization that organizes the annual accelerator program for aspiring game developers. The word Stugan means “the cabin” in Swedish and is also a throwback to the name of the first Swedish commercial computer game made in 1978. Stugan leverages the expertise of the established Swedish game industry and aims to provide opportunities for shepherding up-and-coming game designers and developers through development, publishing, marketing and more for ensuring a successful games launch. Stugan is supported by individuals including Oskar Burman, general manager of Rovio Stockholm; Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Resolution Games and Christofer Sundberg, founder and creative director at Avalanche Studios.  For more information visit www.stugan.com and on twitter: www.twitter.com/stugan_
King Digital Entertainment and Candy Crush Saga are trademarks of King.com Ltd. Other trade names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact:
Paul Brady
Consort Partners for Stugan
Tel. 646-491-2777
paul@consortpartners.com

Video blogger wanted

 JANUARY 14th, 2015 - We're looking for a committed Video blogger who love new games, and can talk about them in an entertaining way. You probably already have a fanbase, big or small, that follows you through your channels on Youtube / Twitch or similar. You are eager to spend all or part of the summer of 2015 in Stugan (www.stugan.com), to document, test and present participants' creations. We expect great interest in Stugan during the summer, and your videos will reach a wide audience internationally. It's a bonus if you can also write about games, and thus also reach out through blogs and other text-based media. Contact us on info@stugan.com, and introduce yourself in short with links so we get an idea of what you have done in the past. Stugan is a non-profit organization, and this is an unpaid assignment, but we'll support you with travel expenses to and from Stugan, as well as food and accommodation for the time you spend on site.

Stugan Announcement

Stockholm: 17 November 2014: Sweden’s most influential video game developers and entrepreneurs are supporting a new non-profit accelerator program for aspiring video game developers named Stugan. The initiative is being overseen and catered to by Sweden’s leading individuals in the games industry including participation from Oskar Burman (Rovio), Tommy Palm (King Digital Entertainment), Christofer Sundberg (Avalanche Studios), and developers from the likes of Mojang and others.  Stugan aims to assist the burgeoning community of talented yet undiscovered game developers across the globe.
 
The word Stugan means “the cabin” in Swedish and it is also a throwback to the name of the first Swedish commercial computer game made in 1978. Since then, the country’s revenue from video games has grown to nearly 1B USD (6.55B SEK). 
 
“Revenues in Sweden’s games industry grew 76 percent last year with employment growing nearly 30 percent,” said Per Strömbäck spokesperson of trade body Swedish Games Industry. “Talent is a big part of the secret to the success of Swedish games. Stugan is a brilliant concept, because it invests in talent, giving new developers new opportunities and adding to the good karma of generosity within the Swedish games community.”
 
“The Swedish games industry has catapulted into the forefront of game development over the last decade with some of the world’s most popular games including Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga, Just Cause and others,” said long-time games industry veteran Tommy Palm. “Stugan has been created to share the deep rooted insights behind these hit games, while inspiring and encouraging students and young designers from around the world so their ideas and talents can ultimately translate into blockbuster hits as well.”
 
Twenty aspiring game developers will be selected to spend eight weeks with all expenses paid in a traditional “Stugan” in the Swedish countryside, where they will be supported and mentored while building their games during the summer 2015. Top Swedish and international games industry thought leaders will visit the cabin and hold lectures and workshops around their respective areas of focus with an aim to inspire excellence. Unlike traditional accelerator programs, all participants will keep the rights to the games they work on.
 
Individuals or small teams can begin applying in January 2015. At the end of the project, the developers will present their work to potential publishers, sponsors and investors at an event in Stockholm. For more information visit www.stugan.com and on twitter: www.twitter.com/stugan_
 
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About Stugan:
Stugan is a non-profit organization that organizes the annual accelerator program for aspiring game developers. Stugan leverages the expertise of the established Swedish game industry and aims to provide opportunities for shepherding up-and-coming game designers and developers through development, publishing, marketing and more for ensuring a successful games launch. Stugan is supported by individuals including Oskar Burman, General Manager of Rovio Stockholm, Tommy Palm, Games Guru at King Digital Entertainment and Christofer Sundberg, Founder & Creative Director at Avalanche Studios.  For more information visit www.stugan.com and on twitter: www.twitter.com/stugan_
 
King Digital Entertainment and Candy Crush Saga are trademarks of King.com Ltd. Other trade names are trademarks of their respective owners.
 
Contact:
Paul Brady
Consort Partners for Stugan
Tel. 646-491-2777
paul@consortpartners.com

STUGAN

BOX 7527

103 92 Stockholm

Sweden