The SwissGames Showcase, established in 2020 by Pro Helvetia, is an annual mentorship initiative designed to provide personalized coaching and connections within the game industry for independent Swiss game studios.
Following a call for participation in 2024, studios from all over Switzerland sent in applications – explaining their aim of participating in the mentorship program, outlining their business strategy, indicating the production status of their game, and – of course – giving insights into the gameplay.
The jury members, a panel of international experts from the game industry, chose the studios that they would personally coach via online sessions and introduce to potential business partners within their networks. The mentors pass on their knowledge acquired through years of experience in the international videogame scene and share their expertise for the studios to gain enough credibility, expand and establish international partnerships. This program also includes knowledge-rich lectures to help participants put forward and finance their projects. The mentors remain attentive to the needs of the studios they have chosen to coach and aim to create a long-term relationship.
Furthermore, the studios forming the SwissGames Showcase 2025 will participate in several important international industry events throughout the year, as well as be supported in curated matchmaking by our partner MeetToMatch. This includes detailed feedback on pitch decks and game builds/prototypes, and studios can opt for a second one-on-one session to receive more personalized advice. These enhancements will provide deeper insights into projects, helping studios improve their presentations and prototypes.
The 6 selected studios forming the SwissGames Showcase 2025
Strobetano
Spord Worlds
‘SPORD!’ is a bouncy adventure of fun and self-discovery where you play as a quirky ball boy blasted far from home by a giant squid cannon. Roll through a vibrant arcipelago filled with puzzles, ink enemies, and hidden treasures by using special flowers to gain new powers and forms as you explore, battle, and solve your way back home. Each island tackles a slice of the teenage experience. From conquering fears of letting go to dealing with jealousy, with wacky bosses bringing these themes to life in a gentle and approachable way.
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Adventure
Mentor: Lélia Peuchamiel
Kipwak Studio
Wizdom Academy: ‘Build, Manage, Thrive!’
‘Wizdom Academy’ is an enchanting magic school management game where players can construct and customize their own school, recruiting students and teachers.
Platform: PC, MacOS
Genres: Construction, strategy
Mentor: Rufus Kubica
Obleak Games
In Full Bloom
Taking inspiration from the classic Tamagotchi mechanics, the goal of ‘In Full Bloom’ is clear: Keep the creature alive. As the player feeds the ever-hungry entity, it continues to outgrow its environment. Players will be confronted with the conflict between responsibility and mindless consumption, embracing the blend of weirdness and familiarity. There is only one way.
Platform: PC (Windows and MacOS)
Genres: Weird Tamagotchi, Message Game, Empathy Game
Mentor: Astrid Refstrup
Whimsical Wolff Games
Kohlrabi Starship
‘Kohlrabi Starship’ is a cozy farming game with space travel. Fly your very own greenhouse spacecraft and discover mysterious planets. Put on your gardening gloves, make friends with animals, fall in love, and slowly turn your desert home planet into a thriving ecosystem.
Platform: PC (Windows, MacOS, Linux)
Genres: Indie, RPG, Simulation
Mentor: Ella Romanos
Ninoko
Lizard Express
‘Lizard Express’ is a cozy adventure where you ride giant lizards to deliver packages and letters across diverse biomes, uncovering hidden political tensions along the way.
Platforms: Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Adventure
Mentor: Christopher Chancey
Rulefactory
EON – Summon the Rift
‘EON – Summon the Rift’ is a tactical, grid-based card battler that blends the depth of strategy RPGs with the dynamic nature of deckbuilding.
Platforms: Steam (PC and Mac OS)
Genres: Turnbased SRPG, Card Battler
Mentor: Christopher Chancey
Jury members
Astrid Refstrup is responsible for Relations and Business Development at WINGS Interactive. Formerly, she was the CEO of Triple Topping Games, a feminist game studio focusing on narrative games. She was the co-writer and director of ‘Welcome to Elk’, released in 2019, and an advisor to the game fund Kowloon Nights.
Christopher Chancey is the President and CEO at ManaVoid Entertainment. He is also chairman of the Board of Directors at La Guilde du Jeu Vidéo du Quebec and Founding Partner at Indie Asylum.
Ella Romanos is a games industry executive, with over 12 years of experience running and managing teams and projects. She is the COO of Fundamentally Games Ltd and helps developers and organizations transform their games into services, working from concept to live ops. Formerly, she was a board member at UKIE.
Rufus Kubica started his adventure at 11bit studios as Community Manager (Marketing), then switched to a more high-level PR role as a Senior Communication Manager, to finally become External Development Director.
Lélia Peuchamiel is a Game Production/funding coach and indie games specialist. Currently, she is the Director of Production at i3D.net. Among other roles, she was a Senior Producer at Good Shepherd and an External Producer at Team17.
What is SwissGames?
SwissGames is an initiative to promote the Swiss games cluster at home and abroad. Under the brand SwissGames, we organize and support Swiss participation in annual international events and help Swiss developers gain visibility, build relationships with the international games industry and access the global market.
