New indie game incubator Execution Labs launches in Montreal

A group of industry veterans has launched a new indie game incubator, with the aim to help smaller teams of developers fund, create and launch their game titles. The Montreal-based Execution Labs has raised $1.4 million through venture capital funding, and is headed up by Jason Della Rocca, a former director of the International Game Developers Association, Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, most recently head of deployment at Gameloft, and Keith Katz, previously VP of monetization at OpenFeint. The start-up is offering what it describes as a "first-of-its-kind hybrid game incubator and go-to-market accelerator," as it looks to make the process of funding and creating games much more manageable for indie teams. Those teams selected by Execution Labs will receive seed funding, office space, development tools and assistance from a number of mentors in the field of game development, from both a creative and business perspective. Once their games are ready to launch, these groups will then be provided with marketing money and support for customer acquisition and live operations. The idea is to gather enough market traction that a team will then be able to go it alone and form their own studio. In return for all of this, Execution Labs receives an equity and revenue share proportionate to the level of investment it puts into your team. Applications for the program are now open, although currently only Canada-based teams can apply, with plans to expand to international applicants in the future. Interested parties can sign up at the official website.