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$250,000 Unity and Universal contest gives game devs access to IP such as Battlestar Galactica and Back to the Future

Other famous franchises to play with include Turok, Voltron and Jaws

$250,000 Unity and Universal contest gives game devs access to IP such as Battlestar Galactica and Back to the Future

Unity has partnered with Universal Studios to launch a new $250,000 game dev competition in which developers can harness well-known IP.

The Universal GameDev Challenge is letting developers play with Universal-owned IP including Back to the Future, Turok, Battlestar Galactica, Voltron Legendary Defender and Jaws.

Developers have one month from March 19th to April 19th to submit a winning game idea in the form of a design doc to the Unity Connect website.

Six finalists will then get to build their game prototype which will be submitted for final judging on August 15th. The winner will be announced at Unite Los Angeles which takes place on October 23rd to 25th.

Big prizes

The winner and runner-up will receive a combined cash prize of $250,000 along with a consulting contract with Microsoft, Unity and Universal.

The competition will be judged by Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale, Geogrify’s Kate Edwards, Venturebeat’s Dean Takahashi and DreamWorks TV co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery.

“The Universal Games Dev Challenge is an entirely new approach for entertainment and media companies to work with the indie game community,” said Universal games and digital platforms EVP Chris Heatherly.

“The incredible properties we are showcasing in this contest are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the vast portfolio of IP we have at NBCUniversal. This is a fresh and innovative way for us to find developers who are passionate about bringing those properties to life through games.”

For more details on the contest and how to get involved visit the Unity website.


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Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.