TORONTO – Weird Ghosts announces an impact investment fund aimed at supporting and sustaining Canadian digital game development studios led by underrepresented creators.
Weird Ghosts believes that underestimated founders – given adequate opportunity – can deliver both financial and social returns, create new product categories, access new audiences, and have a high potential to create original and innovative hits.
Weird Ghosts will invest up to $150,000 CAD in studios that have impact at the heart of their operations, a long-term vision and a commitment to equitable worker-centric structures.
The fund embraces small studios that prioritize stability over growth. Weird Ghosts offers an alternative to venture capital and bootstrapping that not only provides financial returns to allow us to continually invest in new studios, but also recoup mechanisms that don’t eat into revenues and leave founders struggling in the early days.
Through its investments and strategic supports, the fund will further social impact goals including increased employment in well-paying creative industries, entrepreneurship among founders from underrepresented communities and geographies, and equitable access to the digital economy.
”Weird Ghosts is a love letter to the communities and creators behind game development, particularly those who have been underrepresented within the industry thus far,” says general partner Eileen Mary Holowka.
Existing funding options reinforce unhealthy industry norms, such as end-of-project layoffs, that disproportionately affect marginalized creators. To model more sustainable paths, instead of project funding, Weird Ghosts provides equity-free investments in new and established studios to smooth the peaks and valleys of game production financing.
About Weird Ghosts
Weird Ghosts is an impact fund backed by Infinite Ammo Inc. aimed at supporting game studios led by underrepresented founders across Canada. We support studios with grants, catalytic investments, and community in order to build strong, impactful teams of underrepresented makers who are shaping the future of games.
Eileen Mary Holowka, co-founder and general partner, is a writer, game dev, and PhD candidate living in Montreal. She has been involved in video game and digital media communities for over 10 years and is currently the general manager of Infinite Ammo Inc.
Jennie Robinson Faber, co-founder and general partner, is a community arts advocate and organizer, developer and leader in the IDM industry for over 15 years. She co-founded the videogame arts nonprofits DMG Toronto and Gamma Space Collaborative Studio.
Contact
- Media enquiries: hello@weirdghosts.ca
- Twitter: @weird_ghosts