Gaming entrepreneurs in the spotlight at BEGE Expo 2017

For the first time this year the must-attend gaming show in Eastern Europe – the Balkan Gaming and Entertainment Expo welcomed startup companies from the region in a separate zone on the exhibition floor. This year the exhibition went under the slogan “Bulgaria – the technology hub of the Balkans”, which meant to highlight the importance of past and current advancements in the technological field, as well as the achievements of the young entrepreneurs, part of which was the Startup zone.

On the second day of BEGE Expo took place the Gaming Startup Challenge. This was the final stage of the competition and the startups had the mission to make the best sales pitch in order to impress the jury. President of the jury was Mr. Ivan Tzankarsky – Executive Director of Casino Technology. The members were Mr. Iordan Chahanov from the global provider of analytic software Statsoft, Mr. Angel Dimitrov – R&D Director of the first Bulgarian software university Softuni and Mr. Stoyno Stoynov – CTO of AvantX Technologies. 

The company that was evaluated with the highest potential and best presentation was Zebra Digital – a digital marketing company, presenting their concept for online games as a unique way of engaging prospects and generating new leads. 

The Macedonian startup company Football Chat AI was awarded with the second place award. They have created an artificial intelligence system that successfully predicts the outcomes of football games by analysing several history segments of the teams and so far has reached a success rate of nearly 60%.

The third place award went to the first dark fantasy action-adventure video game of the Bulgarian game studio Incineration Productions. Although the creators take inspiration from the real world and its legends and myths, they strive to combine them and tell a story that has never been told before.  

Awards for an excellent participation received the other two contestants – Pseudocode games and The Sixth Hammer.

PowersVR is the superhero virtual reality game that Pseudocode Games presented at the Gaming StartUp challenge. The game lets players step into the shoes of a wide cast of superheroes and villains and explore a city filled with challenges and secrets for players to uncover and experiment with. 

The team of The Sixth Hammer presented their biggest project so far - Moo Lander, a 2D game in the Metroidvania genre. The storyline starts in the distant past and it features the cow milk as a primary and most-effective resource for two ancient civilizations – The Landers and The Anunnaki. 

“We gathered a lot of positive feedback at BEGE Expo 2017. This means that we are in the right direction” commented Yasen and Dimitar from the Sixth Hammer. 

The organizers of BEGE Expo shared their intentions to make the Startup zone a traditional accompanying event to the exhibition in order to support more the entrepreneurs in the region and give them a platform for sharing ideas and business opportunities, making beneficial partnerships and meeting investors. 

BEGE Expo - the leading gaming and entertainment exhibition in Eastern Europe. The event is business oriented and provides opportunities for commercial contacts and presentations of products for the leisure, gaming and entertainment industry as well as technology products for optimizing operational, management and control processes. BEGE welcomes manufacturers, vendors, operators and representatives from the gaming and entertainment industries.  www.balkangamingexpo.com