The Witness developer Thekla has put up $100k in grants in a bid to support indie developers from underrepresented backgrounds in creating grid-based puzzle games.

The studio was able to double its initial figure of $50k, announced last month, after RAD Game Tools' Jeff Roberts matched it.

The individual grants are worth between $3,000 and $20,000 and will be made available to women, people of colour, disabled people, trans or gender non-binary, LGBTQIA or people with mental health issues.

The studio has also extended the offer to indies from outside North America, Europe and other Western nations, as well as those whom English is a second language. Thekla noted however that the list is not exhaustive and invited others to submit a proposal with their background outlined.

Solving the puzzle

The smaller grants available will paid upfront while larger ones will be paid in instalments upon completion of various milestones.

Thelka is not seeking any rights to the resulting games that come from the grant and has left platform and marketing strategy up to the applicants.

Interested applicants have until April 23rd to apply and can do so here.

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