Hosted by Abu Dhabi Gaming, in partnership with Unity.

A three-day game jam, 13–15 November 2026, 10:00–19:00 GST each day. Venue to be announced. Free to enter, solo or in teams of up to 5, for students and recent graduates in the UAE. 50 places.

Apply: shiftgamejam.com (registration closes 6 November) 

The theme

Announced at the Day 1 opening session, so nobody gets a head start. All submissions must respond to it.

Rules

• Original work. Nothing is built before the theme is revealed. Free or licensed assets and code are allowed. List everything you used in your description.
• AI tools. Allowed. Say what is AI-generated in your submission notes.
• Team size. 1 to 5 participants. Apply solo and we'll match you with a team.
• Engine. Built in Unity, on your own laptop, with whichever tools you prefer.
• Deadline. Upload here before the cut-off on Day 3. Late submissions are not judged.
• Content. No sexual content, excessive violence, or discriminatory or hateful material. Violations mean immediate disqualification.
• Code of conduct. Treat every participant, mentor, judge and organizer with respect. Harassment means removal from the event.
• Ownership. You keep full IP in your game. Abu Dhabi Gaming and Unity reserve the right to showcase, publish, modify or distribute submitted games for promotional or educational purposes.

Judging

Creativity · theme · gameplay · art direction · presentation.

Judged on site by the panel. Winners announced at the Day 3 awards ceremony.

How to submit

1. Publish your game as a project on itch.io — set it to Public or Restricted. A Draft project cannot be submitted.
2. Click Submit your project on this page.
3. Add every team member as a contributor, and name them in the description.
4. WebGL is preferred so the judges can play in the browser. A Windows build is fine.

العربية

فعالية Game Jam على مدى ثلاثة أيام، من 13 إلى 15 نوفمبر 2026، من الساعة 10 صباحًا حتى 7 مساءً، تستضيفها أبوظبي للألعاب بالشراكة مع يونيتي. يُعلن عن المكان لاحقًا. المشاركة مجانية، فرديًا أو ضمن فريق يصل إلى 5 أشخاص، ومفتوحة لطلبة الجامعات والكليات والخريجين الجدد في الإمارات. يُغلق التسجيل في 6 نوفمبر. تُسلَّم جميع الألعاب عبر هذه الصفحة. التفاصيل الكاملة: الموقع الرسمي

Questions: Hello@adgaming.ae