I'm playing award-winning indies in a browser with the $10/month Jump
So, I'm in the Jump beta right now, playing Always Sometimes Monsters in a browser. It took only seconds within Jump to get me to the main menu and hitting start. That's kinda cool. I've already found one of Always Sometimes Monsters' endings—an unexpected ending—but that's neither here nor there. Less than a minute later, and now I'm in The Bridge, a topsy turvy puzzle game I reviewed some years ago [GN score 8 out of 10], another one of the games available on Jump's beta. Neat!
Jump [playonjump.com] is giving folks open access to its closed beta for a sneak peek right now. The beta runs from July 10–24. It's the first on-demand video game subscription service for indie video games. A subscription to Jump will cost $10 a month...
...Sorry, I'm back. I just lost an hour at work playing Sproggiwood.
I'll enjoy watching Jump's library grow. But even just flipping through the eight currently available (in beta) games was worth ten bucks. So if you, like me, would like to dabble in a bunch of indie games, but haven't always got the pocket change to throw a dollar at the hundreds that come out every week, then maybe let Jump curate an award-winning list for you and send some of your $10/month subscription on to these indie devs. I just had a good time. Good enough that I'm looking over my shoulder to see if my boss is headed down the hallway.
Announcing Jump, The First On-Demand Video Game Subscription Service
for Fans of Independent Games
Launching Summer 2017, Jump Opens Access
to Closed Beta for a Sneak Peek at Service.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, 2017 — Jump Gaming, Inc. today announced Jump, a new on-demand video game subscription service, with an emphasis on independent games. Launching later this summer, Jump will feature a highly curated library of more than 60 games, playable first on all three desktop systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual-reality support. Keys for Jump’s closed beta, which runs from July 10th to 24th, are available now for gamers and can be accessed at www.playonjump.com.
Started by a group of independent developers and video game industry veterans with experience in publishing, marketing, and distribution, Jump has secured $1.66M in Series A funding from prominent angels including board member Montgomery Kersten, as well as Buddy Arnheim of Perkins Coie, and with previous Seed investments from Boost VC (led by Adam Draper) and Sand Hill Angels. Additionally Jump has a robust advisory board composed of more than 15 video game industry and Silicon Valley executives including Tom Kalinske (chairman of Gazillion Games and former CEO of Sega), Mike Fischer (former CEO of Square Enix and former head of marketing for Xbox), Louis Castle (founder of Westwood Studios and current head of Amazon Game Studios), Tony Parisi (head of AR/VR at Unity and pioneer of WebGL and VR), and Rick Tallman (COO of Vungle), Mike Williams (former CFO of EA Games Label), and Robert Bowling (co-founder of The Label and former VP of Publishing at Humble Bundle).
With an introductory flat monthly fee of $9.99, Jump subscribers receive unlimited access to the curated library filled with award-winning, top-selling, and/or highly rated indie games. In addition to quick access to fan favorites, Jump’s recommendation system helps gamers find gems that may have been missed when they initially hit the market. Players can ‘jump’ in and out of games across devices without the commitment to buy games individually, and without in-app purchases or advertising, allowing them to have an uninterrupted full game experience. New game titles will be added each month, along with additional service features on a regular basis.
Using its innovative HyperJump delivery technology, the service provides players with the same experience as a game that is fully installed onto their device, but without long download times and without requiring large amounts of disk space. This unique data-transfer system was developed by Jump to help players avoid latency and quality issues by providing game data to a user’s device and have them playing in under a minute.
With its origins as an independent game development studio, Jump Gaming understands the challenges facing indie game developers today, specifically when it comes to discoverability and distribution. Jump supplies an additional revenue stream for independent developers, whose games have completed their premium sales, to help sustain their studios and future projects.
For more information on Jump and to sign up for the closed beta, please visit www.playonjump.com.
