DIGIAGE International Game Development Winter Camp Is Completed

The 7th DIGIAGE International Game Development Winter Camp was held between April 25-30 at Bilişim Vadisi, Türkiye’s technology and innovation hub. With participants from 50 different cities and different countries, the camp brought together many members of the digital content ecosystem such as game developers, software developers, artists, digital cinema and animation film producers, and screenwriters. During the six-day camp, various trainings and workshops were organized, training was provided, and mentors were given the opportunity to meet. On the last day of the DIGIAGE Winter Camp, participants had the opportunity to meet with investors. In this particular camp, Bilişim Vadisi Venture Capital Investment Fund observed the game companies in terms of investment potential throughout the camp and held an investor meeting with all teams on the last day.

This year, those who wanted to participate in the camp were eligible to attend by passing five different stages different from the previous years. 83% of the participants are friends who already know each other and are familiar with the technical aspects of co-creating games but are looking for the right support to become entrepreneurs. 43% of the participants are software developers, 26% are 3D artists, 22% are design team members, and 8% are 2D artists. 35% of participants produce or plan to produce games for mobile, 41% for PC/Console, and 24% for both. This distribution shows that the Turkish gaming ecosystem is laying the groundwork for team formations to participate in larger-scale productions. Furthermore, this year’s DIGIAGE Game Development Winter Camp has an important difference. DIGIAGE itself is now involved as an investor in the camps. It will meet with entrepreneurs who participate in the camps and invest in them.

200 Games Developed; 70 Companies Established

DIGIAGE game camps, held by Bilişim Vadisi to develop and support the gaming ecosystem, play an important role in Türkiye’s digital future by promoting the establishment of new companies, the growth of entrepreneurs, the development of collaborations, and the generation of new ideas. 200 games have been developed and 70 companies have been established at DIGIAGE so far. The fact that the DIGIAGE Game Development Winter Camp is being held in Bilişim Vadisi is significant in terms of both highlighting the potential of game development and digital content production in Bilişim Vadisi and demonstrating the significance of the work done to contribute to the Turkish game industry.

DIGIAGE Receives Usd 500.000 Investment At A Valuation Of Usd 2.5 Million

In his closing speech at the DIGIAGE International Winter Camp, A. Serdar İbrahimcioğlu, General Manager of Bilişim Vadisi, said, “We have come to the end of the winter camp, which we organized for the seventh time this year. We see a happy ending. As every year, we had an incredibly competitive, hard-working, and non-stop camp. We have been organizing this camp for the seventh time in four years without exception. We are speaking about a project that started with 50 computers in 2018. Then it evolved to this level. We have developed not only in terms of quantity but also by increasing quality. Our initial objective with these camps was to reach out to more game developers and provide them with the opportunity to do so. So far, we have reached 20 thousand game developers or individuals who are interested in developing games. We provided personal training, mentoring, and investment opportunities in physical and online environments, as well as the infrastructure to develop their own games. 1000 people developed digital games. 200 games have been developed and 70 companies have launched so far. 7 of them have received investment. This project, which began as DIGIAGE, is now a company, a startup. And this startup received an investment of USD 500.000 today at a valuation of USD 2.5 million. We are working with a startup spirit and entrepreneurial spirit while working together with you.”

We Want To Invest In Game Developers

Sharing the good news that DIGIAGE has been incorporated İbrahimcioğlu said, “Just like you, we see ourselves in the same place and we develop together. This year, as DIGIAGE, we will invest in this company we established to develop the game ecosystem. Our aim is not to develop games ourselves. Our aim is to support the development of game developers, to be an investor, to support them in their training, mentoring and infrastructure processes. Now we have a company to do it. As of now, this company is starting to invest in itself. And we are here as investors.”

DIGIAGE Camps Expanding Abroad

Emphasizing the importance of DIGIAGE for the Turkish gaming ecosystem, İbrahimcioğlu said, “We had the opportunity to observe your efforts. And now I see that it was worth it. By the end of the camp, hopefully it will be a camp that will pay off when your presentations are completed. In the future, we will also see DIGIAGE Balkan in Skopje and DIGIAGE Baku in Baku, that is, Central Asia camps. We are also looking forward to three separate international camps that will include the MENA region. I would like to thank you, my dear young friends, for your kind support in raising Türkiye’s economic indicator from 1% to 5% in the global gaming ecosystem.”