The game accelerator
that ships studios
ShawneeXP turns early-stage game teams into funded, incorporated studios — with industry mentors, publisher access, and AAA-grade university facilities, without leaving Ohio.
The record
One cohort in, here's the scoreboard
Ten studios entered our first cohort in September 2024. They left as incorporated companies with pitch-ready games, publisher meetings, and wins on the world's biggest indie stage.
JollyWare — four Shawnee State grads who came into our first cohort to commercialize their senior project — took first place at the Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2026, during GDC week, beating studios from around the world.
Read the PocketGamer.biz story →The program
A 10-week sprint from game team to game studio
Run at the Kricker Innovation Hub by Shawnee State University — home of the #1-ranked game development program in Ohio (Princeton Review). One workshop day a week with industry faculty, mentor sessions in between, and a Demo Day in front of real publishers and investors.
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Industry faculty
Weekly workshops led by working experts in law, business, production, marketing, and publishing.
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1-on-1 mentorship
A standing bench of studio heads, engineers, publishers, and investors, matched to each team.
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Convertible grant
Milestone-based convertible grant funding for every studio in the cohort.
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Publisher Demo Day
Live pitches to publishers and investors, then deck distribution to the Powell Group's 1,400+ network.
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AAA-grade facilities
Motion capture, audio labs, and dev spaces at Shawnee State, with dedicated desks at the Hub.
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Legal counsel
Loading Law on formation, contracts, IP, and AI — through the program and beyond.
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12 months of aftercare
Post-program support on distribution, funding, and hiring — through deal negotiations.
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Global founders
A Global Entrepreneur in Residence pathway for international founders building US studios.
The curriculum: Legal · Team & studio alignment · Business fundamentals · Production management · Community · GTM · IP & AI · Publisher & investor relations
Cohort 1 studios
Success stories
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JollyWare 1st Place · Big Indie Pitch · GDC week 2026
Four Shawnee State graduates came into the accelerator with Gnomad — their senior project — and a plan to turn it into a real product. They left as an incorporated studio, and took first place at the world's biggest indie pitch competition in San Francisco.
“The accelerator took us from 4 guys making a game into an actual studio.”Elijah Wickerham · CEO, JollyWare
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Lunacy Games | $500K raised post-program
Founded by industry veterans Bill Roper, Nick Newhard, and Geoff Tuffli — combined credits include Warcraft, StarCraft, and Red Dead Redemption. After graduating, raised $500K from Big Bang Accelerator to build the co-op horror RPG Innsmouth Mysteries.
Three founders with 30+ years in the industry each — and they chose Portsmouth, Ohio to build their next studio.The veteran track · Cohort 1
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Ludare | Lands $100K seed round
Founder Matthew Stone — a veteran of 343 Industries and ZeniMax Online Studios — is building a subscription platform that funds and distributes indie games, giving players early access and developers real-time validation and cash advances. After ShawneeXP, Ludare went through the University of Michigan's Desai Accelerator and closed a $100K seed round from U-M's Early Stage Fund.
A Portsmouth founder opened the national Small Towns, Big Ideas showcase — pitching a new model for how indie games get funded.Featured founder · Cohort 1
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Tastie Games | Featured at GDC 2026 · Xsolla booth
Solo founder A.J. Fulco joined as a one-person team. His game Mole Maiden was selected as to be a featured game by Xsolla at GDC San Francisco 2025.
“One of the most valuable things about the accelerator is the network and community you build here.”A.J. Fulco · Founder, Tastie Games
“This is one of the most comprehensive games accelerator programs I have seen.”
“I’m jealous of the opportunity this program and region has. This feels like a new industry hotspot in the making.”
“The resources here are phenomenal. It’s the perfect environment for new studios and founders.”
The bench
Mentors & faculty who've shipped
Structured competition that supports academic achievement, personal development, and high-level play — wherever you are as a player.
Rami Ismail
Industry consultant · $51M in deals closed · 157+ game credits
Renee Gittins
Studio Head, Stumbling Cat · Forbes 30 Under 30 Games
Marcus Cenci
38 AAA credits · EA, THQ-Volition · CCO, Trouble Maker Game Co.
Chris Volpe
President, Multivarious · Founder, GDEX
Ross Hersemann
Founder, Loading Law · video game law, DePaul University
Graham McAllister
Organizational psychologist · Founder, TeamSync
Michael Brown
CEO, Vicarious PR · 300+ projects marketed
Heather Chandler
The Powell Group · production management
Zak Whaley
Director of Engineering, PlayEveryWare · IGDA
Hugh Behroozy
Founder/CEO, Blinkmoon · Guardians of the Galaxy, Tomb Raider
Shirley McPhaul
CEO, CodexLudil · Women in Games Ambassador
Ash Cason
Community building · formerly with Mixer, Discord, Nitrado
Up next
What's coming
Structured competition that supports academic achievement, personal development, and high-level play — wherever you are as a player.
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Shawnee Game Conference | Fall 2026 · On campus
Our annual industry conference at Shawnee State — speakers, showcases, and the front door to everything ShawneeXP does.
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Always on · Free Pre-Accelerator
A free program that takes student and early teams from finished game project to accelerator-ready — 64 participants across Shawnee State, Ohio State, and Miami University this year.
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Summer 2027 Accelerator Cohort 2
The next cohort runs in summer 2027. Applications open February 2027, with full program details published alongside the application.
Partners
Built with the industry
ShawneeXP runs on partnerships — from publisher relations to legal counsel to platform support. Sponsors put their name on the next generation of game studios and on the economic story of Appalachian Ohio.
