Dialog Axiata Launches Game Jam+ to Promote Local Game Development

Photographed from left to right: Amith Perera, Product Manager - Gaming Services, Content Services, Dialog Axiata PLC, Ashani Senaratne, Head of Marketing, Dialog Axiata PLC, Viranga Seneviratne, General Manager - IdeaMart, IdeaMart, Dialog Axiata PLC, Lahiru Rajapaksha, Chief Organizer, Game Jam Plus Sri Lanka, and Ravihans Wetakepotha, Chairman, Le Fantastical Holdings & Executive Director in Asia for Game Jam Plus

Accelerating local game development and gamification while helping to foster the developer community of Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, will be powering the Sri Lankan edition of Game Jam+, a global movement by Google promoting entrepreneurship in the creative industry.

Aiming to help transform games into businesses, the 5th edition of this local game development and gamification marathon will feature 100 cities worldwide with more than 50,000 participants, 4,000 projects (100 incubated over 2 months), and 1,000 volunteers, in addition to companies such as Google Games, Epic Games, Sebrae, Nuuvem, Unity and Wild Life.

Dialog Game Jam+ series, spanning four months, is set to kick off on 9th October at 3 locations simultaneously (Trace Expert City, Peradeniya University and Jaffna University) in a 48-hour game development immersion. Developers are invited to register for the first stage via www.gamejamplus.lk. During this first stage, over 200 participants from each city will receive mentorship from 10 industry professionals. In the second stage, two finalist teams per city will be accelerated by renowned international experts and regional professionals. Finalists from the second stage will proceed to meet in 5 major events to compete for continental first place, where two representatives from each continent will get the opportunity to compete in the World Grand Final.

Commenting, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We are pleased to host the local extension of the globally renowned Game Jam+ (Dialog Game Jam+) to bring together creators from all over the country and help build a sustainable local industry by providing access to industry mentors, creating opportunities within the region and enabling global exposure through this programme. This endeavour is in line with our mission of fostering innovation and technology entrepreneurship through the Ideamart platform and its 30,000-strong local developer community, as we strive to be the main agent of change to help advance and transform the highly promising local developer ecosystem while improving the adoption of eSports in Sri Lanka which is being accepted as a mainstream sport.”

“We are delighted to bring a massive international event such as Dialog Game Jam+ to Sri Lankan soil, together with Dialog Axiata. Digital Gaming Industry is the world’s fastest growing sector in technological entertainment and new media and this event will put Sri Lanka firmly on the world map as a destination for game development and esports events. Moreover, this monumental event shall mark Sri Lanka’s first ever global leap and foray into digital gaming and thus we see countless opportunities and new doors for Sri Lankan IT industry and BPO sectors get open in digital gaming.” said Ravihans Wetakepotha, Chairman Le Fantastical Holdings and Executive Director in Asia for Dialog Game Jam+.

“Le Fantastical, Game Jam+ and Dialog Axiata share the belief that technology could uplift people and economies,” added Lahiru Rajapaksha, Chief Organizer Dialog Game Jam+ Sri Lanka. “Working with Dialog Axiata we are embarking on a true global mission to showcase and uplift Sri Lankan interactive media and gaming talents globally and we couldn’t be happier to do that with a strong partner such as Dialog Axiata.