AppCampus, the global mobile app acceleration program funded by Nokia and Microsoft and managed by Aalto University, has released its first app.

Haunted is a chain physics puzzle game with a fantasy theme, aimed at casual gamers. Players find themselves deep in a dungeon they need to escape from and find treasures by creating chain links between objects on a map. Developed by Tuliotus, it’s the first app funded by AppCampus to be released to the Windows Phone Store. The app is released on Windows Phone 7 and 8 with two versions; a free trial, and a full version of the game priced at €2 (£1.60).

The release of the app marks the start of AppCampus’ stream of apps that will cover diverse areas of business and life. The program started operations in May, and has since attracted more than 1,500 applications from 85 countries, with more coming in daily. So far 60 submissions have been accepted, including 25 per cent in the Games category, 15 per cent in Education, and 10 per cent in Entertainment.

“Games represent more than 50 per cent of global app revenues, which is why we are very pleased to address this part of the playing field first”, said Pekka Sivonen, head of AppCampus. “Haunted is a great example of innovation and creativity combined with quality that AppCampus propagates. This is only the beginning: once we get the pipeline going, we’ll be publishing exciting new apps on Windows Phone on an almost weekly basis.”

AppCampus was created in collaboration with Aalto University, Microsoft and Nokia. Both of the corporations pledged to invest together up to €18m over the next three years to fund mobile apps for Windows Phone and additionally other Nokia platforms. Aalto University offers its expertise in managing the program and in coaching the start-ups. During the next three years the program will release an estimated 700 apps. The program does not take equity or commission from the investment.