$200,000 up for grabs in causal games dev contest

The Casual Games Association has teamed up with Russian casual games publisher IT Territory to launch the Casual Games Association Innovate 2007 Contest – with a total prize fund of $200,000 and publishing deals the top honours.

Held in conjunction with Casual Connect Kyiv 2007, which takes place from October 17th to 19th the contest is open to all game developers and is designed to recognise and inspire the creation of casual games. Studios can submit betas that will be judged by a panel of independent industry execs.

There are two categories – Main Category and Special Nominations. The former is exclusively for indie studios: winners get a publishing deal and prizes of either $80,000 (first place), $60,000 (second place), or $40,000 (third place).

“Innovation and fun drives the casual game industry,” said Jessica Tams, managing director of the Casual Games Association.

“IT Territory shares our dedication for bringing casual games to an ever increasing global audience and we are pleased to have their support. Working together we are awarding the very developers who have the drive, innovation, and creativity to move the industry forward.”

The deadline for entries is at the end of the month – head to innovate2007.casualgamesassociation.org to find out more.