Last July, Ouya, a new kind of video game console, took the Kickstarter world by storm. Far exceeding their initial goal of $950,000, they hit $8.5 million over a one-month period. Julie Uhrman, founder, today announced the creation of a Free the Games fund that will kick off next month.
Currently, the Android-based console has over 250 game titles and 21,000 game developers, but they want to expand the pipeline even more. Reaching out to game developers from all walks of life, the idea is that Free the Games will bring in new, quality titles while helping developers.
To be eligible, a developer must launch a Kickstarter campaign for their planned title on or after August 9, include a short description of the game features, and agree to launch exclusively on the Ouya platform for a minimum of six months.
Ouya will reward that loyalty with a guarantee to match 100 percent of the total funds raised on Kickstarter, up to $250,000. In addition, they will offer a bonus earn-out of $100,000 to the game that raises the most money by the end of the one-year fund.
“A year ago, you helped us take Kickstarter by storm with a new way to play video games, and today we are returning the favor,” says Uhrman in the blog post. “I cannot wait to see what great games we are able to support and help bring to life.”
Beyond being a cool story, this is a shining example of a startup company thinking outside the box when it comes to problem solving. Keep your eyes on Ouya for the next year, see how they adapt to the market, and take a few lessons from them. The fund will stay alive until the money dries up.