Welcome to the Cold Case Jam!
Welcome to Cold Case Jam, the mystery game jam for developers with unfinished business. Whether your project is a dusty prototype, a half-written script, or a game that lost steam halfway through — this is your chance to bring it back to life.
Unlike traditional game jams focused on starting fresh, Cold Case Jam challenges you to resurrect an old mystery game project and finally bring it to completion. You've got 60 days to revisit, revise, and release!
What Are Mystery Games?
Mystery games are a unique cross between story games and puzzle games in which the story is a puzzle. Rather than telling us "the princess was kidnapped and taken to another castle", mystery games ask the question "who kidnapped the princess, and where was she taken?" Mystery games contain puzzles connected by story-driven context, so that the solving of each puzzle directly leads to a better understanding of the story.
In contrast to mystery fiction, video games allow us to interact with the world and uncover the truth ourselves. Mystery game mechanics are designed to facilitate the player's understanding of the story. Crime scene investigation, evidence collection, suspect interrogation, case notes, theory-crafting, and logic debate systems are all common mechanics in these kinds of games.
Detective games, courtroom games, escape games, and death games are all popular mystery game subgenres. Social deduction games also count. The truth is that mystery elements can be added to almost any game genre, so there is a lot of room to explore and innovate. We hope this game jam provides an opportunity for exactly that.
If you need inspiration or examples, check out these articles on mystery game subgenres here and here.
What Counts as a ❄️Cold Case❄️
A cold case game is a mystery game project that was started in the past but has since lost momentum, been paused, or abandoned — and has remained incomplete or unreleased. Like a real cold case, its mystery was left unresolved and forgotten… until now.
To qualify as a cold case, your game must:
- Be a mystery game, as defined above.
- Has been "in development" before August 2025.
- Not be released in a completed form before the start of the jam.
- Have been put on hold or otherwise not worked on for a meaningful amount of time.
When you submit your cold case, you'll need to provide:
- Whether you first worked on the project before August 2025
- The last time you worked on the project prior to the jam
- Optional "reflection questions" documenting your experience
When submitting, give yourself enough time to answer those questions!
Submission Requirements
- Your submission must be a mystery game, as defined above.
- Your submission must meet the criteria of "Cold Case" as defined above.
- You may use pre-existing assets and code to speed up development, as long as you have the legal right to use them.
- If your game features excessive gore, you must disclose a warning on your game page.
- If your game requires the player to authenticate with a third party service, you must include a privacy policy on your game page.
- If you use generative AI, you must disclose on your game page all the ways your game uses generative AI to create pre-made content and/or live-generated content and how you have made sure it does not generate any content that is illegal or infringing.
Prohibited Content
Do not submit a game with the following, or it will be removed:
- Sexually explicit (adult/18+) content.
- Fan-games and assets from or depictions of unlicensed intellectual property.
- Malware, viruses, or otherwise suspicious/flagged files.
- Any game that obviously does not belong in the jam (per the above rules).
Just a "Chill" Jam
There will not be any voting, so feel free to work on the game without stress. That said, we do want to encourage participation, so a special Discord role will be given out to all submitted participants (with valid entries) that have joined our Discord server.
Why Participate in the Jam?
Mystery-themed video games are in incredibly short supply. Less than 1% of games on itch.io are tagged "mystery" — that includes games that are only half-finished or outright abandoned, and we aim to reduce the number of these "cold case" mystery games.
With mystery being one of the most popular genres in other forms of entertainment, there is a ton of demand and not nearly enough supply. This is your chance to make a big difference and become a Mystery Gamedev!
Frequently Asked Questions
❄️What is the submission timeframe?
Cold Case Jam runs from November 1st to December 31st, 2025. Submissions close shortly before New Year's Eve so you can finish your project and celebrate the holiday immediately afterward. Please see the timer at the top of the page for the exact deadline according to your timezone, and be sure to submit early regardless!
❄️What if I fail to complete my game during this jam, too?
That's okay, feel free to submit it anyway. Just like with real "cold cases", any progress is good progress!
❄️What counts as a "public announcement" regarding Rule 2?
Just something that proves the game was started before August 2025. It can be a social media post, a blog or dev log, or any kind of web page with a timestamp. The point is that you made your project public to the world in some form.
❄️How long is a "meaningful amount of time" regarding Rule 4?
The purpose of Cold Case Jam is to encourage finishing old mystery games, not enforcing pedantic rules. We don't want to discourage you from finishing a project because you accidentally worked on it too much.
Think in terms of weeks, months, or even years. If your project was on hold long enough that you lost momentum, forgot parts of it, or weren’t sure you’d ever come back to it, that counts.
❄️Is my game a "cold case" if I only made assets or wrote down ideas without actually building something out of them?
Yes, as long as you made a public announcement indicating that you had started making the game. Any failed attempt at making a game counts — even if it barely got off the ground.
❄️Can I submit a game from a previous Mystery Game Jam?
Yes, the cutoff dates were designed so that you can submit a completed version of your Mystery Game Jam game. You can also submit unfinished projects from other jams, as long as they meet the submission requirements.
❄️Can I submit more than one game?
No, your first submission will be your only one. However, you are allowed to contribute to more than one game (i.e. being on more than one team), but it is not recommended.
❄️Do I need to work on my submission during the entire jam period?
No. You can start at any time, submit early, or take a break when needed. Your project has gone unfinished for a reason, so we just want to make sure you have enough time to actually get it done.
❄️Does my game need to feature any cold-case related themes?
No. Your game does not need to involve the solving of any cold cases, nor any themes related to Winter, ice, snow, etc.
❄️What can I use to make my game?
Any game engine, pre-made libraries, pre-existing assets, or tools you have the legal rights to use. This includes anything free or paid that a copyright holder has licensed for the general public, such as royalty-free asset packs or open source code, but you must always follow the rules of each specific license. You may also use your own pre-existing assets and code.
❄️Will I be able to submit after the deadline?
No. Please don't wait until the final hour when mistakes can happen. There is no penalty for submitting early, and then updating the game right before the deadline. You will need to spend some time filling out the submission form, so please don't let that time push you over the deadline.
Help & Team-Building
If you're new to mystery games, start by reading this ultimate guide.
Mystery games are complicated and hard to make, so we're giving you plenty of time. You might also be surprised how much you can get done when you set your mind to it. If you don't think it's possible, you should read the full story of how finished our own mystery game in under 30 days. You can do it too!
If you need any kind of help or you're looking to form a team, feel free to join our 500+ member Discord server. Developers who join and verify they are working on (or have completed) an existing mystery game project gain access to exclusive channels, where we hold monthly Q&As to help developers finish their games. We will help you every step of the way, from clueless to creator.
What is Mystery Gamedev?
Mystery Gamedev is a community exclusively dedicated to mystery-themed video games. We provide tools and resources for developers, and we help fans discover their next favorite game.
If this sounds exciting, please join our Discord and our weekly newsletter!
Legal
Anything you make during the Cold Case Jam is your property. Mystery Gamedev claims no rights or ownership of your game.
It is your responsibility to make sure you are legally allowed to upload your game. If a violation is brought to our attention, we will take appropriate action.
By submitting your game, you agree that Mystery Gamedev may show all or part of your submission for promotional or informational purposes, including but not limited to YouTube videos and newsletter articles, without your express permission.