Google launches Android Indie Game Contest for European developers

Google is trying to give a boost to small Android game developers in Europe with the launch of its Indie Games Contest. The competition is targeting teams of 15 developers or less who want to see their games get more attention in the Google Play Store.

The contest is currently open for submissions for teams located in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK (excluding Northern Ireland). The contest will be open soon for teams in France and Poland. Those teams have to have published a game in the Google Play Store after Jan. 1, 2016. They can also enter if they have a game they are still working on, but plan to publish soon, by submitting a private beta build.

Submissions for the Indie Game Contest must be entered by December 31, and up to 20 finalists will be picked and announced sometime in mid-January 2017. All of those finalists will get to see their game shown off at a special event on February 16 at the Saatchi Gallery in London. They will also get their game promoted on a London billboard for one month. The winning finalists will also get two tickets to a 2017 Playtime event, and one Google Pixel XL smartphone.

In addition, the top 10 finalists will get extra promotion for their game in the Google Play Store and the top three finalists will also get, among other things, YouTube influencer promotions that are normally worth €50,000. The top finalist will receive an additional €50,000 worth of YouTube influencer promotion, along with a feature in an Android Developer Story video produced by Google Play and promoted on the Android Developer and Play Developer channels, plus two tickets to attend the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March 2017.