Pitch ICE sees record number of entries ahead of inaugural Barcelona edition

Gaming events company Clarion Gaming has announced that Pitch ICE has received a "huge" increase in the number of entries. The initiative has attracted 73 entries for its 2025 edition, compared to the 27 received for London 2024.

This year's edition of Pitch ICE will be the first to take place in Barcelona, following ICE's relocation from its longtime home of London. The initiative was introduced a decade ago to help nurture the development of start-ups and fledgling businesses in the gaming space.

The Pitch ICE sessions taking place on Monday 20 January and Tuesday 21sJanuary (11 AM - 12:30 PM) will see 12 “trailblazing” start-ups present their business plans to a panel of judges and compete for the chance to win $50,000 in deliverables courtesy of Pitch ICE sponsor NYCE International.

The short-listed enterprises are: EmpowerYourPlay; MFC Games; ChatBet; HotTakes; Betpass; SavageTech GmbH; Vulkan Systems S.L.; Reincleanchips AS; XGENIA; The Game Safety Institute; FootAR SA and AcePay.

The judging panel is made up of gaming and venture capital representatives:

• Kelly Kehn, Co-Founder, Defy the Odds
• Harmen Brenninkmeijer, Executive Chairman, NYCE International Ltd.
• Mona Motwani, CEO & Founder, Ixia Capital
• Adam Rosenberg, Senior Advisor, Gaming & Leisure, Blackstone
• Farzad Peyman, CEO, NYCE International & Partner, Virya Gaming Ventures
• Tom Waterhouse, CIO, WaterhouseVC
• Miquel Martí, CEO, Tech Barcelona
• Garron Whitesman, Owner, Whitesmans Attorneys

Stuart Hunter, Managing Director at Clarion Gaming, stated: "I am extremely proud that ICE has played an important role in bringing together the gaming ecosystem in such a way and being a facilitator of opportunity for companies which may be small in size but who are giants in terms of their creativity and potential."

He continued: "The fact that this is the largest number of entries that we have received reflects the spirit of innovation that drives this amazing industry. Our new home at Fira Gran Via Barcelona will be full of exhibiting companies that began with a brilliant idea and through a mixture of inspiration and hard work grew to be where they are today. 

"Pitch ICE 2025 will showcase the brightest ideas that have the potential to shape the future of gaming. With the generous support of our sponsors NYCE International and the insight of a judging panel whose expertise you simply couldn't buy,  I hope that we can collectively help turn those brilliant ideas into outstanding businesses."

ICE Barcelona will be home to an exhibitor line-up comprising "the world's biggest and most respected innovator brands from every gambling vertical." Trade associations, strategic bodies, regulators, CEOs of tier-1 operators, and games creators are expected to arrive "in record-breaking numbers" to the show's first edition in Barcelona.