Activision has laid out the rules for its "Independent Games Competition." Announced during DICE by CEO Bobby Kotick, the competition will be open to US-based indie developers and conducted in two phases. The first round has already begun and is set with an August 31, 2010 cutoff for submissions. The first and second place winners will receive $175K and $75K, respectively. The second round of competition will be announced at a later date.

Here comes the part that some may consider the "Ursula clause": Speaking with IndustryGamers, Laird Malamed, SVP of development at Activision, noted that if the company does decide to publish the winning entry -- which is not guaranteed -- that it will own the intellectual property. For anyone interested in participating, please make sure to read IndustryGamers' entire interview with Malamed and take note of any other little provisos in the rules.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/activision-indie-games-competition-detailed/

Posted: Jun 05, 2010 12:27 am