Elevation Capital looks to back studios building on alternate distribution and publishing platforms beyond Play Store and App Store | Organises a Hackathon for game developers to build with Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN)
Democratization of game creation spurs investment appetite - Accessibility of tools and platforms empowers indie developers to build and launch games rapidly, igniting a new wave of creativity and innovation.
Elevation Capital’s 'GameOn UEFN Hackathon’, supported by Epic Games, centred around Fortnite - one of the world's most popular games challenged developers to create unique games and experiences with Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). UEFN, a version of Unreal Engine with customizations to support the creation of content for Fortnite pushes the boundaries of creativity and empowers creators to build experiences and publish them directly in Fortnite.
The hackathon was judged by industry experts such as - Arvind Neelakantan (Solutions Architect, Epic Games), Zankhit Chawda (CEO, Small World Games), Mayank Khanduja (Partner, Elevation Capital), Karan Parikh (Founder, Green Rain Studios), and Manish Agarwal (Elder Council Member, Kratos Gaming Network). The top teams were awarded prizes worth INR 7.5 lakhs cash and credits from Google that would help these teams take their games to commercial launch. Gamersroof Technologies (Siddhesh Meher) received INR 4 lakhs cash for first place, BotGaming (Sidharth Kothari) and Lazzy Couch (Ravi Teja Mallipedi) received INR 1.5 lakhs cash by tying in second place and 5th Ocean Studios (Yasaswy Sharma) received INR 50,00 cash by placing fourth. Beyond cash rewards, the teams also received valuable feedback from industry experts that helped them polish their games.
Talking about the hackathon, Mayank Khanduja, Partner and Gaming Lead at Elevation Capital said, “We are thrilled by the transformative potential of alternative distribution platforms in India and the world. The GameOn hackathon was a testament to this potential, as we witnessed incredible creativity and innovation from the participants. The level of engagement and the quality of the projects exceeded our expectations. All of the builds submitted were fully playable multiplayer games and have the potential to be highly successful. We are happy to see the vast capabilities of UEFN that allowed the developers to build and fine-tune these games in a really short span of time.”
The global gaming industry has been experiencing rapid growth over the past decade, currently valued at $232 billion in 2024, it is projected to reach $385 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%. This growth is fueled by an increase in access & longevity of games that have evolved from being hardware-specific to cross-platform and available widely on smartphones now, have a lot more user-generated content to experience now (vs just developer-led before) and increased streamer and community-driven growth that games experience. Reflecting on this global trend, India has become a significant player, with the gaming market valued at USD 3.5 billion in 2024. It is driven by its young demographic’s burgeoning interest and easy access to resources to build and launch games from India for the world.
A significant trend is the adoption of new platforms like Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft by both young gamers and developers leading to a move away from traditional app stores like Google Play and the Apple App Store. For young gamers, who hold no affinity to Play Store or App Store, these platforms have evolved into their own virtual worlds - they are as much a social platform where people hang out as much as they are games. High store commissions and restrictive policies have prompted studios to seek alternative distribution channels to publish games & experiences. These platforms allow developers to build games & virtual social experiences directly for their gamers, creating tremendous potential for new studios to emerge with better economics. Additionally, web-based platforms and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are also becoming popular, offering users seamless access to games via web browsers while avoiding app store fees. These shifts are complemented by engagement strategies involving niche online communities on Discord and other such platforms, content aggregators, and influencer partnerships, which enhance visibility and drive traffic to these new games and experiences on alternate distribution channels.
Talking about Elevation’s thesis, Mayank Khanduja further added, “With platforms like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft amassing over 600 million monthly active users globally and offering developer payout programs exceeding a billion dollars, there's a massive opportunity for studios and developers to reach new audiences. We're particularly excited about the potential for founders to capitalise on technological shifts, creating unique entry points to engage users. These channels are reshaping the gaming and digital experience landscape, and we are eager to invest in and support forward-thinking teams that are pioneering these innovative paths.”
The success of the GameOn hackathon underscores the growing importance of alternative distribution platforms in the gaming industry. As platforms like Fortnite continue to evolve and offer new opportunities for developers, events such as this play a crucial role in nurturing talent and driving innovation in the Indian gaming ecosystem.
