Today, Indie MEGABOOTH announced that the organization will be on an indefinite hiatus starting in May due to the circumstances around COVID-19.
You will normally find Indie Megabooth at conventions like GDC, Pax, Gamescom, and other bigtime gaming conventions. Indie Megabooth is known for its great service in highlighting independent developers on the same stages previously dominated by AAA budgets. IMB provides not only floor space at the major conventions but an entire support network for small development teams focusing on addressing the discoverability issues for indie games.
Today the founder of Indie Megabbooth Kelly Wallick announced the hiatus via their blog.
FAREWELL (FOR NOW) — A LETTER FROM KELLY WALLICK, FOUNDER OF THE INDIE MEGABOOTH
Hey everyone,
I wanted to share with you all some news about Indie MEGABOOTH. Due to the circumstances around COVID-19 and the cancellation of many in-person events and the high level of uncertainty, we’re planning to sunset IMB for the duration of the pandemic.After nine years of working on and building the IMB, it was a difficult and disappointing decision to make. Realistically though, we’re a very small team and this situation is bigger than us. Our primary focus right now is to stay healthy and safe through the COVID-19 situation as it’s unfolding.
The IMB team will stay on for this month to give a bit of a softer landing and to help support the Steam Sale we’ve been organizing for early May – which we’re now affectionately calling the “Going Away (for now) Sale” ????
My hope is that the Steam sale will provide an opportunity for you all to discover some great games and to create an opportunity for folks to pitch in and say thanks. The developers participating will do a “pay what you want” revenue share at the end, and we’ve set up a PayPal link for anyone who just wants to contribute to IMB directly.
The proceeds will be used to wrap up our financial obligations, set aside some money for maintenance and help support the transition. Think of it as a thank you for our work in the past and to help us land on our feet.
I’ve poured my heart and soul into building this and am constantly humbled and honored by our community and the games industry which has been so welcoming and supportive. It’s been an incredible journey, and I can’t believe that any of this was even possible in the first place. Let alone for nine years!!
Although this is really sad, I want to celebrate all the good we were able to do together and the impact we all had on the indie scene as it was expanding and changing over the last decade.
The best way to help support IMB right now is to help us kick off the end of this era with a bang during the Steam Sale and to send any love and happy memories our way.
I’ll be keeping the Alumni list, mailing list, Discord, and social media channels alive while we’re in hibernation. But this work will not be as active since I’ll be the only one maintaining things for now ????
Looking forward to the future and hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!Much love
Kelly and the IMB Team
The organization also announced a “Going Away (for now) Sale” on Steam, featuring more than 100 games selected by IMB taking place on May 5-12 2020. The developers participating will do a “pay what you want” revenue share with IMB at the end to help wrap up the organization’s financial obligations, set aside some money for maintenance, and help support the transition. IMB has also set up a PayPal link for those who just want to contribute to the organization directly.
We look forward to Indie Megabooth’s return as we await to find out when it will be safe to hold large conventions once again!
