Manifesto CEO to be honored by IGDA

Greg Costikyan, CEO and co-founder of Manifesto Games, is this year's recipient of the International Game Developer's Association Maverick Award, which will be given to Costikyan at the Game Developers Conference. This year, the conference will be in San Francisco and the awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 7 at the Moscone Convention Center.

The Maverick Award recognizes those who make significant contributions to the game field by taking risks and experimenting with unconventional methods. A juried award voted on by a panel of IGDA members and established in 2004, the Maverick Award is now in its fourth year. Previous recipients of the award have been the founders of Harmonix Music Systems, creators of Guitar Hero; the founders of Pop Cap Games, casual games innovators whose successes have included Bejeweled; and the founders of Blast Theory, a group of UK interactive media artists. This is the first time that the Maverick Award has been bestowed upon an individual and Costikyan is being honored for his tireless efforts to create a path to market for independently developed games.

Launched just slightly more than five months ago, Costikyan is proud of the accomplishments that Manifesto Games has made in that time which include:
… Nearly 200 games
… Forums for spirited conversations about the game field and original site content
… The first Manifesto Exclusive, Play with Fire, a puzzle platformer designed by Chris Bateman
… A full-page profile of the company in Wired Magazine
… Awards recognition for Manifesto games, including a Best New Studio Choice nomination for Dave Gilbert (The Shivah, The Blackwell Legacy) and multiple nominations for Toribash, which was a finalist status in the Slamdance festival and is a finalist for an IGF Award for Design Innovation.

An accomplished game designer, Costikyan explained his eagerness to work on the business end of the field. "As a designer, I can only do a few games, but as a CEO, I can bring hundreds of new games to market that might not otherwise have a chance to find an audience in a AAA-driven retail environment," Costikyan explained. "This is about doing for games what indie film and music have done for those fields; reviving innovation and creativity. This is bigger than me," he said. Asked about his plans for the next quarter, Costikyan said that he is focused on fundraising. "We need to support Web 2.0 development and increased marketing initiatives to better support our games," he said.

About Greg Costikyan: He has designed more than 30 commercially published games spanning every possible type. He has written extensively on games, design, and industry business for publications that include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal Interactive, Salon, Game Developer magazine and The Escapist. His games have won five Origins Awards and a Gamer's Choice Award, and he has lectured extensively at major universities and industry events.

About Manifesto Games: Manifesto Games (www.manifestogames.com) is an ecommerce retailer of downloadable computer games for PCs, Macintosh computers, and Linux machines, specializing in independently developed games. Based on long-tail theory, Manifesto Games was founded on the belief that with lower overhead of cost and production, it is possible for developer and publisher alike to make a living, even a profit, from the production and sale of good games to an audience hungry for originality. Manifesto Games is based in New York City and corporate information about the company can be found at www.manifestogames.com/corporate.

For more information on Manifesto Games or Greg Costikyan, or to speak with Greg, contact:

Eleanor Lang
Eleanor@manifestogames.com
www.manifestogames.com
O: 212-945-1388
M: 917-553-6658