Longtime Asian game distributor and publisher PLAY Interactive are doing something beneficial for Malaysia’s video game-making industry with all the hard-earned money it acquired.

The company has recently opened up the PLAY Game Development Co-Investment Fund, which will help fledging Malaysian video game developers realize their dream of making their games. The funding program will support local developers in commercializing their hard work, helping them out with funding and budget. How much? RM100,000 per project, with the total funding in the program being RM1,000,000.

The catch? PLAY Interactive will acquire the worldwide publishing rights to the project. In addition, only digital games are accepted (PC, console, mobile), and the project must be completed within 2 years. PLAY Interactive will accept all sorts of games based on the criteria listed on the site.

Speaking of which, here they are:

1. The applicant is a company incorporated in Malaysia.
2. More than Fifty One Per Cent (51%) of the legal and beneficial ownership of the applicant is vested in Malaysian(s).
3. The applicant is not the subject of a winding up order and has no going concern and if the applicant has going concern issue (as reported in the latest audited account), the applicant has to obtain undertaking letter and/written statement by the company’s shareholder and/or director to financially undertake and liability to the company.
4. Where the applicant has received grant / funds from any other agencies of parties for the same project applied here for PLAY Game Fund:
   (a) All such grants / funds have been fully utilised; and
   (b) All projects thereunder have been completed i.e. all milestones have been delivered to the satisfaction of the provider of such funding as duly acknowledged and certified by the provider of such grants / funds
   (c) The applicant must not have any form of publishing deal tied up with the provider of such grants / funds
5. Where the applicant has received grant from any other agencies or parties for past project(s), the applicant shall provide success story and/or proven revenue generated from the project which was funded

To sum it up, your game studio needs to be made in Malaysia and majority-owned by Malaysians; legally born here, with the passport showing your citizenship, and so forth. The website also provides checklist, templates, and guides for essentials in video game pitching such as a pitching deck, an eligibility checklist, and a letter of undertaking. Talk about being prepared!

This does sound like a good deal if you’re not too fussy about who is distributing your game(s) worldwide. You just have to worry about your pitch, your game idea, and getting it done within 2 years or less. And also making a budget of RM100,000 work within that time frame.

Do keep in mind that PLAY Interactive handles SEA distribution work with game publishers like Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation, Square Enix, Activision, Bandai Namco, Falcom, Nacon, Hori, Scrysoft, and a few others. If you somehow manage to participate in this and make it work, chances are one of these big guys might notice.