Japanese publisher Konami has opened up a competition for indie developers to use some of its older IP.

As reported by IGN, the Action and Shooting Game Contest began on September 30th and is going to be running until January 6th, 2022. Konami has served up 80 different properties that indie studios can work on, such as Gradius, Star Soldier and Twinbee.

The contest is being ran with Shueisha Game Creators Camp and boasts a prize pool of ¥2 million (roughly $18,000); developers that win will also receive ¥30 million ($270,000) in funding to make the project, with Konami providing support.

There's also an Outstanding Performance prize, which clocks in at ¥57,300 ($515).

This contest comes in the midst of a report that says Konami is turning to external development studios to help make new entries in its blockbuster franchises, such as Metal Gear, Castlevania and Silent Hill.

The Action and Shooting Game Contest is similar in many ways to Square Enix Collective, which saw the Japanese publisher letting smaller studios pitching to work on its IP.