Are you ready to put your game design skills to the test? 

The 48-hours ARD GAME JAM is here, and it’s your chance to create something awesome while competing for €2,500 in cash prizes! 

Work with a team of up to five people from August 21st to 23rd on a special theme. Hosted by PULS Gaming Analyse. We are a part of the German public broadcasting network ARD.

Some parts of the game jam will be streamed live on the ARD twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/ard

More Infos to come, join the ARD GAME JAM now to stay in touch!

• Theme Announcement: The theme for the game jam will be revealed at August 21st 19:00 (CET) on https://www.twitch.tv/ard. Your task is to design and develop a game that fits this theme—how you interpret it is up to you!
• Location: The whole event is remote. 
• Event Schedule: You’ll have 48 hours to develop your game. Updates and important information will be shared on this page and here, keeping you connected throughout the event. Full details are available in our Timetable and Rules & Guidelines. Feel free to contact us at ardgamejam@br.de.
• Voting and Prizes: After the jam ends, games will be voted on by participants. A shortlist of 20 top games will then be reviewed by our panel of expert judges. In total, €2,500 in cash prizes will be awarded across 5 categories, with €500 awarded to the winner of each category:
  • Graphics: Visual style and presentation. Impress us, delight us, or surprise us.
  • Audio: Sound, music, and atmosphere. Whatever helps bring your game to life.
  • Narrative: Storytelling, characters, and emotion. Big, small, serious, or silly.
  • Gameplay: How it feels to play. Fun, engaging, or wonderfully unexpected.
  • Interpretation of the Theme: How creatively you explore the theme and make it your own.
• Eligibility: To be eligible for prizes, at least one team member must have an official residence in Germany and a German bank account (DE-IBAN). Full details are available in our Rules & Guidelines.

1. Create a game based on the theme.
2. Join the game jam on itch.io. The terms and services of itch.io can be found here: (Itch.io TOS). If you don’t already have an itch.io account, you need to register.
3. Submit your game through itch.io

1. Theme: Our theme will be announced on August 21st (see Timetable). It is mandatory and will be a factor in voting.
2. Participation: The game jam is open to everyone. Due to our status as a German public broadcaster, to be eligible for ranking by the jury and to win one of the cash prizes, a German bank account (IBAN starting with DE) and an official residence in Germany are required. Additionally, we need an email address to contact you. Only one person per team needs to meet these requirements.
3. Submission Requirements: Games must be submitted through itch.io (Itch.io TOS) and must run in the browser. All game engines are allowed! You may not participate by submitting third party developments. 
4. Pre-Made: Please do not work on your game before the jam starts. If you use any pre-made assets you must list them in the description of the game and you must have the rights to use those assets.
5. Teams: Are allowed and encouraged! The maximum size is 5. Individuals can only join one team and only 1 submission per team is allowed.
6. Content & IP:  Games may address mature topics, but they must not contain explicit sexual content, graphic violence, gore, discriminatory content, hate speech, or other content unsuitable for a general audience. You must own the IP of your game. You must own the IP of your game.
7. Deadline: We recommend submitting early to avoid accidentally missing the deadline on Sunday, August 23rd, at 7 PM. You can submit your game early and continue updating it until the submission deadline. Once the jam ends and the rating period begins, game uploads will be locked.
8. Ownership: Anything you create and submit during ARD GAME JAM remains yours. We claim no rights or ownership of your game. 
9. Coverage & ARD: Any game submitted may be featured in materials or media directly related to the ARD GAME JAM — such as event documentation, social media posts, or editorial coverage of the jam itself. This does not extend to unrelated promotional or advertising purposes. Submission of a game constitutes agreement to this condition. Creators will be credited wherever possible. Games contributed to by judges or ARD staff are not eligible for prizes.
10. AI Usage: Please do not use generative AI to create art or audio assets for your game or your Itch.io page.  If you use AI, you must specify where you used it. The usage and the tool must be labeled.
11. Voting: The first round of voting will open shortly after the jam ends and is open to everyone who’s a submitter. Entries will be rated on overall quality to create a shortlist of 20 games. This shortlist will be judged on upon by the jury, following these categories: Graphics, Audio, Narrative, Gameplay, Interpretation of theme.  See the Timetable for exact dates. 
    1. When the jam ends, game uploads will be locked for the duration of the rating period. No bug fixes, additional versions, or extra content may be uploaded during this time.
    2. Please do not provide links to alternative builds in your game description or comments. Doing so may result in disqualification.
    3. If you delete your game during the rating period, we will not be able to restore it and your entry will be disqualified.
    4. Once the rating period has ended, you are free to update your game as you wish.
12. Mention: While you don’t have to, we would love to see the ARD Game Jam mentioned in your game's credits. :)
13. Data Protection: By participating, you agree that your personal data (name, email address, IBAN where applicable) will be collected and processed solely for the purpose of administering the ARD GAME JAM — including contacting winners and distributing prizes. Your data will not be shared with third parties or used for any other purpose. Data will be deleted after the jam has concluded. The responsible party is Bayerischer Rundfunk, in accordance with the GDPR. Find more Information on our Data Protection Infopage. 
14. Liability: The ARD GAME JAM expressly assumes no liability for services provided by third parties. Program changes are reserved.

• Anormaldisaster - Digital Creator
• TooBad - Content-Creator
• Lena Fischer - CreatiF Center
• Rudolf Inderst - University of Applied-Scienes Neu-Ulm
• Laura Urban - BR
• Kim Fóri alias PikaKimi30  - Game Design student and Youth Festival Director of Gamesfestival 2026
• Andreas "AndiDev" Suika – Moderator and Game Designer
  
• Anna Rebecca Unterholzner - Professor of Game Design and Development at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences Cologne
• Kevin Nitsch - PULS Gaming Analyse
• Robin Rottmann - Teamlead Games/Bavaria

Additional jury members will be announced here before the start of the jam.

• Matthias Leitner (Project Management & Community Management)
• Laura Urban (Project Management & Community Management)
  
• Carina Urban (Design)
• Laura Pickert (Community Management)
• Lara Baumbach (Community Management)
• David Boos (PULS Gaming Analyse)
• Robin Köhler (PULS Gaming Analyse)
• Alexander Loos (PULS Coordinator)
• Tim Pfeilschifter (Idea)

Partners: game - Verband der deutschen Games-Branche, Games/Bavaria and more!

Contact us: ardgamejam@br.de