Pinoy studio Keybol Games wins Top 10 Studios spot at Global Top Round Conference

Filipino game development studio Keybol Games has won a spot as one of the Top 10 studios eligible for the Global Top Round (GTR) interactive accelerator program.

GTR made the announcement on September 10, 2019 at the GTR Conference, which was held in Busan, South Korea, from September 9 to 10.

Like each of the other studios in the Top 10, Keybol Games will now be inducted into GTR’s annual acceleration program, which “provides funding, game development and culturalization support, global publisher exposure, fundraising assistance, and an extensive global network of professionals to give them the feedback they need to take their studios and projects to the next level,” according to GTR.

“The GTR program will support Keybol Games by having its first round of investment of $40,000 for 5% equity, which will be put towards solidifying and creating a solid marketing plan for Keybol’s IP and additional support towards future projects. They will conduct a studio visit, online and offline events such as conferences, meet ups, and showcases,” said Keybol Games CEO and Co-Founder Bari Silvestre.

Keybol Games seized their win thanks to “Jack Axe,” a 2D side-scrolling action platformer with a strong focus on puzzles and exploration. It has players assuming the role of axe-throwing warrior Jack (or her sisters in multiplayer co-op), who must explore a colorful open world inspired by Filipino and Norse mythology.

The road to Top 10

Keybol Games previously won first place in GTR’s 2019 Southeast Asia Pre-Acceleration program, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand from June 17 to 28, 2019, where fellow Filipino studio ThinkBIT Games won second place for its game “Brawl Quest.”

As the first place winner, Keybol Games was invited to the GTR Conference as one of the Top 20 studios. From these 20 studios, the 10 best studios were then selected for the acceleration program.

Keybol Games shares its GTR Conference victory with the following nine other studios:

• PortaPlay (Denmark) for “Broken Lines”
• Black Flag (France) for “Orphan Age”
• Point Blank Games (Germany) for “Stray Blade”
• 21c Ducks (South Korea) for “Chrono Sword”
• MirageSoft (South Korea) for “Real VR Fishing”
• Soen Game (South Korea) for “Rush Hour Rally”
• Gigantic Duck Games (Sweden) for “Bombergrounds: Battle Royale”
• DC1ab (Bulgaria) for “Dominus”
• Big Moxi Games (USA) for “Wardens”

Keybol Games also recently showcased “Jack Axe” and Drix Studios’ “Grand Guilds” at Utomik’s booth at the Indie Arena Booth at Gamescom 2019 in Germany. “Jack Axe” was showcased at Busan Indie Connect, as well, where it became eligible for the Games Competition.

“Jack Axe” will soon be available on the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. — LA, GMA News