3 Hit Combo

What 3 Hit Combo does

3 Hit Combo is a French non-profit cultural association (loi 1901) founded in 2005 in Rennes, dedicated to positioning video games as a legitimate cultural, educational, and social medium. The organization runs four member clubs (Arcade, Music, Retro, Speedrun), the long-running Stunfest festival (annual since 2006, with a 20th-anniversary edition planned for 2025), monthly Ranking Battles for fighting games, the Roazhon e-Cup youth esports program, and the RennesCraft urban-modeling project built on the open-source Luanti/Minetest platform. It does not develop proprietary technology; its technical stack is composed of open-source tools (Luanti/Minetest, GDevelop, Scratch) deployed in educational and cultural workshops. Revenue is generated through a hybrid of public grants (DRAC Bretagne, Conseil Départemental d'Ille-et-Vilaine, Rennes Métropole, Région Bretagne), modest membership fees (€8-12/year), professional training distributed via Qualiopi-certified partner ElectroniK, equipment rental, and festival/event receipts. Customers span schools, cultural institutions, libraries, municipalities, and individual members, with institutional commissioning being the primary commercial channel.

The organization serves multiple customer segments: school-age children and teenagers reached via artistic and cultural education residencies; young adults and esports enthusiasts engaged through tournaments and clubs; cultural and educational professionals served by training; and public institutions that commission cultural mediation projects. Distribution is overwhelmingly in-person, centered on Rennes and Brittany, with selective national reach through La Villette's Micro-Folies network and ad hoc museum partnerships (e.g., Musée d'Arts de Nantes, Bibliothèque Départementale de Saône-et-Loire).

Between late 2023 and 2024, 3 Hit Combo underwent a severe financial restructuring that reduced salaried staff from 7 to 2, resulted in an economic layoff, and forced the cancellation of Stunfest 2024. The volunteer-led Club Ranking spun off into the independent 'Les Rankings Rennais' association in September 2023. In spring 2024 a new 11-member Board was reconstituted, and 2025 marks a recovery phase, with the return of Stunfest, expanded training and youth esports programs, and renewed institutional partnerships.

Name

3 Hit Combo

Legal name

3 hit combo – Association

Website

https://3hitcombo.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

3 Hit Combo is a Rennes-based non-profit cultural association, founded 2005, that promotes video games as a tool for cultural mediation, education, and community engagement through schools, clubs, festivals, and training programs across Brittany and select national partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural and Educational Services

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Third-Party Esports Tournament Organizers (TOs) (MPAGANAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Third-Party Tournament Organizers (TOs) (MPAKANAB)

Keywords

• Video game cultural mediation
• Community esports events
• Youth gaming education
• Professional game training
• Video game festival

Headquarters

HQ city

Rue Du Rosult

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees (Adhésions): Annual membership fees provide core community participation and generate modest recurring revenue. Regular membership costs €12/year; reduced rate (students/unemployed) costs €8/year. Membership grants access to clubs, events, and reduced Stunfest pass prices.
2. Public Funding and Grants: The association receives financial support from public institutions including DRAC Bretagne (Ministry of Culture), Rennes Métropole, Conseil Départemental d'Ille-et-Vilaine, and the Region Bretagne (KARTA dispositif). These grants fund specific artistic, cultural, and educational projects.
3. Training Services: Professional training programs for educators, cultural workers, and organizations on using video games for mediation, cultural action, and education. Delivered in collaboration with ElectroniK (Qualiopi certified). Training topics include Luanti/Minetest, game creation, gamification, and independent game facilitation.
4. Equipment Rental and Lending: The association maintains a large equipment park (arcade machines, consoles, retro hardware, and a game library) used in its own activities and made available to partners for rental or lending. Revenue is generated through equipment loans to external organizations.
5. Festival and Event Revenue: The Stunfest festival generates revenue through ticket sales, partner sponsorships, and bar/restaurant concessions. Other events (Summer Combo, Micro-festivals, tournaments) may also generate entry fees and sponsorship income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

3 Hit Combo is a non-profit cultural association founded in 2005 in Rennes, France, dedicated to promoting video games as a source of social connection and creativity. It delivers cultural mediation workshops, artistic and cultural education (EAC) residencies in schools, professional training for educators, community clubs (Arcade, Music, Retro, Speedrun), equipment lending services, and operates the annual Stunfest video game culture festival and Roazhon e-Cup youth esports program.

Product overview

3 Hit Combo is a cultural association founded in 2005 in Rennes, France, dedicated to promoting video games as a source of social connection and creativity. The organization offers a portfolio of services including cultural mediation workshops, educational artistic projects, equipment lending, professional training programs, and club activities. Key offerings include: workshops for creating video games and digital literacy; the annual Stunfest festival celebrating video game culture; the Roazhon E-Cup youth esports project; various clubs (Arcade, Music, Retro, Speedrun); and training sessions for professionals on using video games in cultural mediation contexts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STUNFEST: Festival des cultures du jeu vidéo organisé par 3 Hit Combo depuis 2005.
• Roazhon e-Cup
• RennesCraft

Products and services

• Ateliers et Médiation Culturelle Cultural mediation workshops, animations, and awareness sessions including game creation workshops, digital arts education, game discovery sessions, and collective play sessions ("Let's play"). The organization conducts workshops ranging from video game creation to circuit bending, serving various public audiences including schools and families.
• Stunfest Festival Annual video game culture festival organized by 3 Hit Combo, featuring esports tournaments, conferences, game showcases, and cultural activities. The festival celebrates 20 years in 2025 and includes the Forum de la Médiation avec le Jeu Vidéo.
• Roazhon E-Cup Youth esports project for Rennes Métropole creating federating events around video games, combining discovery, encounters, and competition for young people. Editions have gathered between 60 (2023) and 100 (2024) participants.
• Formations Professionnelles Professional training programs on video game usage in education, animation, and cultural mediation. Training covers topics including Luanti/Minetest for pedagogy, game design, and gamification. Delivered in collaboration with Qualiopi-certified ElectroniK.
• Mise à disposition de matériel Equipment lending service including arcade machines, retro gaming devices, controllers, and a large video game library for partners and events.
• Clubs (Arcade, Musique, Rétro, Speedrun) Member clubs offering regular gatherings around specific video game practices: Club Arcade, Club Musique, Club Rétro, and Club Speedrun. Activities are open to association members.
• RennesCraft Collaborative project using Minetest (open-source Minecraft alternative) to model and explore the city of Rennes and its history, developed in partnership with cultural institutions including the Champs Libres museum.

Quantifiable outcome

• Roazhon e-Cup youth esports projects engaged 60 participants in 2023 and 100 in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ElectroniK (Rennes)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorElectroniK is a Qualiopi-certified training organization in Rennes that distributes 3 Hit Combo's professional training programs to a broader audience of cultural and educational workers. The partnership enables 3 Hit Combo's expertise to reach professionals beyond its direct network through structured, certified training courses on video game mediation, Luanti/Minetest, and gamification.
• Collectif FAIR-E / CCN de Rennes et de BretagnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAIR-E is a dance and performing arts collective (Collectif conventionné de danse) based in Rennes. 3 Hit Combo partners with FAIR-E on artistic projects combining hip hop dance with video game creation, notably the residency at Collège La Providence de Montauban-de-Bretagne where choreographer Bouside Ait Atmane and game developer Tomavatars collaborate with students.
• DRAC Bretagne (Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles)coreOthersDRAC Bretagne is the regional office of the French Ministry of Culture. It provides recurrent funding and institutional support for 3 Hit Combo's artistic and cultural education projects, including school residencies with artists such as Benjamin Gibeaux, Fabien Drouet, and Valentine Delattre. DRAC support is explicitly acknowledged across multiple projects.
• Conseil Départemental d'Ille-et-VilainecoreOthersThe departmental council of Ille-et-Vilaine provides funding and institutional backing for cultural and educational projects, particularly those conducted in departmental colleges. It supports residency projects and the 'Numérique au collège' program through which 3 Hit Combo delivers digital workshops in middle schools across the department.
• Rennes Métropole (Mission Jeunesse)coreOthersRennes Métropole's Youth Mission funds and coordinates the Roazhon e-Cup project, a youth esports initiative created by and for young people in the Rennes metropolitan area. 3 Hit Combo has coordinated Roazhon e-Cup since 2024, with each edition gathering 60-100 young participants and involving professional esports figures.
• La Villette (Micro-Folies project)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa Villette, a major cultural institution in Paris, partnered with 3 Hit Combo as part of France's Micro-Folies initiative, deploying the 'GG! L'autre jeu vidéo' micro-festival concept and video game mediation installations at cultural venues across the country.
• Wild Wits Games (Rennes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWild Wits Games is an independent video game studio based in Rennes, co-founded by Corto Laly. The studio collaborated with filmmaker Fabien Drouet and 3 Hit Combo on the 'Faire corps' residency at Collège Mahatma Gandhi in Fougères, adapting student-created content into a cooperative stop-motion video game.
• Maison Familiale et Rurale (MFR) de Saint-GrégoirecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe MFR de Saint-Grégoire is a rural family learning center that has partnered with 3 Hit Combo for nearly 10 years on artistic and cultural education projects. Multiple residencies have taken place at the MFR, including science vulgarization video creation with Valentine Delattre and landscape-themed game creation with Tom Avatars.
• Musée d'Arts de NantesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFor the Electric Op exhibition (April-August 2025), 3 Hit Combo curated and provided a selection of auteur and classic video games to demonstrate parallels between the exhibited artworks and video game aesthetics, installations included Line Wobbler, Rakete, RGB Racer, and classic arcade hardware.
• Région Bretagne (Dispositif KARTA)minorOthersThe Brittany Region's KARTA program supports artistic and cultural innovation projects. It has funded the 'Graines de vidéastes' science vulgarization residency project at MFR Saint-Grégoire, in cooperation with 3 Hit Combo.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ping: French video game industry association supporting the national ecosystem of studios, schools, and creators. Comparable as a French association that bridges video games with cultural, educational, and professional stakeholders, similar to 3 Hit Combo's mediation and training role.
• France Esports: French national esports federation organizing competitions and supporting the esports ecosystem in France. Directly comparable as a French esports-organizing body that builds competitive gaming communities and engages public institutions, mirroring 3 Hit Combo's Ranking Battles and Roazhon e-Cup.
• IndieCade: International indie games festival with cultural and educational mission across multiple geographies. Comparable as a non-commercial cultural festival organization elevating video games as artistic and social practice, aligned with Stunfest's positioning.
• A MAZE Berlin: International independent games and play festival celebrating artistic video games. Comparable as a cultural festival that combines exhibitions, tournaments, and artistic programming around video games, parallel to Stunfest's cultural-mediation festival identity.
• SNJV (Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo): French video game industry union representing studios and the broader ecosystem. Comparable as a French non-profit/industry body engaging public institutions and shaping cultural policy around video games, with similar institutional positioning to 3 Hit Combo.
• Capital Games: French non-profit supporting the national video game ecosystem with industry events and training. Comparable as a French association that bridges video game culture, professional development, and public sector engagement, paralleling 3 Hit Combo's combined festival/training/mediation model.
• ESWC (Electronic Sports World Convention): Historical French esports tournament organizer and convention. Closely comparable to 3 Hit Combo's tournament-organizer and event-delivery model, historically one of France's flagship competitive gaming event operators.

Broad incumbents

• Webedia: Major French digital media and events group covering gaming, entertainment, and pop culture. Comparable as a French organization running gaming-related events and content ecosystems, but at much larger scale and with commercial scope.
• Centre Pompidou: Major French national cultural institution that has hosted video game exhibitions and cultural programming. Comparable as a public cultural institution treating video games as a legitimate art form, similar to 3 Hit Combo's mediation work with Musée d'Arts de Nantes and other museums.
• Paris Games Week / SELL: France's largest annual video game consumer event organized by industry body SELL. Comparable as a French gaming event but at far larger scale and with commercial industry funding, sitting in the same ecosystem as Stunfest but as a broader incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/3hitcombo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcywS-lGpzHEPst0nXJTnsw
• Facebookfr-fr.facebook.com/3hitcombo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3-hit-combo
• Instagraminstagram.com/3hitcombo_asso

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3 Hit Combo