Arrowhead invests in development incubator to open ‘Game Villages’ outside big cities

Arrowhead Game Studios, known for games like Magicka and Gauntlet, has made an investment in Mind Detonator. It is a development incubator that helps aspiring devs who live outside big cities.

The investment was announced on July 8. Arrowhead Game Studios said that the incubator’s goal is to “capture talent at a very early stage and build the next generation of gaming developers far from the big cities.”

Mind Detonator will offer financing for developers in the Nordic region. Unlike traditional incubators, the company doesn’t require teams to learn how to run a business while trying to create their games.

“Mind Detonator is a fantastic initiative that gives us a chance to give back and create an opportunity for more people to be part of a journey equally as fantastic as our own. I really wish there was something similar when we started our business,” Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt said.

Pilestedt knows what he’s talking about, as Arrowhead was founded in the small Swedish town of Skellefteå. The studio still remembers its roots and wants to help other teams from rural areas to succeed.

The biggest ambition of Mind Detonator is to open “Game Villages” in different countries’ rural areas. The first one will be opened in Jörn in October 2021, with five teams of up to five people starting their journey near the ski resort.

Mind Detonator plans to make at least 15 investments a year. The teams will spend their entire working days creating their games, with a chance to exchange experience and find new energy in the “Arctic environment.”

You can find more about the initiative here.