Smilegate STOVE and Tumblbug Enter into MOU to Aid Indie Game Creators 2023-04-24

■ Business agreement for aiding indie game creators

■ Both companies have alluded to providing various forms of aid starting with collaboration on ‘Funding Pack’

Smilegate STOVE, which operates the indie game platform STOVE Indie, announced on April 11 (Tue) that it will enter into an MOU with the crowdfunding platform Tumblbug to support indie game developers. STOVE and Tumblbug plan to gradually expand the scope of their collaboration starting with STOVE Indie’s creator aid program ‘Funding Pack’ through this business agreement.

Funding Pack is the first collaboration project between the two companies. The program provides practical aid from funding to game launch for indie game developers. Creators can receive up to 50% of the funds raised through crowdfunding and also can receive all other forms of aid including game ratings and creativity- and promotion-related support for launching the game.

Based on this business agreement, STOVE Indie will manage and support the entire process until the game is launched, including game ratings, promotional support before and after launch, and the provision of a launch congratulatory fund for the Funding Pack program. Tumblbug will serve as a bridge where even more creators can receive aid by introducing and providing details on Funding Pack to indie game creators and promoting the games created through Funding Pack on the channels operated by Tumblbug.

Aside from the MOU with Tumblbug, STOVE Indie has also launched a Funding Pack program, entered into a business agreement with BIC, and hosted the STOVE Indie Awards last year as the company has continued to expand its scope of aid for indie game developers and firmly established itself as a reliable support system in the indie game industry. Tumblbug has also served well as a bridge in the indie game industry by actively supporting game funding for developers to raise funds for development while also extending opportunities for game developers to secure a fanbase. Through this MOU between the two companies, more aid will be provided throughout the indie game industry and this is expected to result in more high-quality games being launched in the market.

STOVE Indie’s Funding Pack began with Between the Silver Grass and Shambles and the scope of aid has been expanding to other projects. The next project aided by Funding Pack will be SuccuHeart from BShowzDev. SuccuHeart is a visual novel game depicting the story of Iye, who is a succubus that can absorb stamina through SNS, and the main character, who has entered into an agreement with Iye to serve as her familiar, and the crowdfunding for the game is scheduled to be launched on Tumblbug in April.

Smilegate Director Seung-hwan Yeo stated, “Through this agreement with Tumblbug, STOVE Indie has secured a channel to discover and aid indie game creators even more aggressively. The two companies will combine their respective strengths in their respective domains and generate significant synergy.” He added, “STOVE Indie will continue to create new opportunities to aid indie game creators in the future.”

Tumblbug CEO Dong-hwan Kim stated, “We expect this agreement between the companies to play a huge role for indie game developers, who are continuing their creative efforts in this harsh environment. Through the aid we provide, we hope that quality games are created and that we can rejuvenate the indie game creativity environment.”

Indie game creators can apply for the Funding Pack program on STOVE Indie’s creativity aid program details website (https://forcreators.stoveindie.com) and on Tumblbug’s official website (https://tumblbug.com).