Submissions open from 2026-09-01 16:00:00 to 2026-10-03 05:59:59
Starts in
years
months
days
hours
minutes
seconds

Every year, HawkZombie hosts a game jam centered around everything horror. The main reason is to have awesome, new, and exciting games to play around his birthday, Halloween! A sort of birthday gift to himself ;P

Tons of amazing and talented devs create fun and horrific games during this period, and some even go on to become cult classics in their own right! The most famous of which is Look Outside (from Hawktober Horrors 2024). Perhaps YOUR game will become an indie darling ;)

The best part? He streams every single entry live on his Twitch channel during the month of October. This is now the 9th year he has done this, and this year marks the return of something missing from the last two: A Set Theme!

Sometimes, a tale is spun that doesn't give the ...full details. Perhaps information is left out, or it's told in a way as to showcase one thing while doing its best to ignore another. Maybe the storyteller isn't to be trusted. Or, perhaps, it's an amalgamation of different viewpoints, all with their own version of events.

A fractured story is a perfect setting for horror, as you never know what you can believe.

Examples:
Memento, Dark Souls, Mouthwashing, Rashomon, Pulp Fiction, Bioshock

These are not required to enter the jam, but are fun little additives that can help enhance your game, or help give you ideas to create from! Think of them as adding a little spice to your game. Use as few or as many as you like:

  • HawkZombie is in your game as a character or cameo
  • All characters in your game are classic horror tropes (Jock, Final Girl, Nerd, etc)
  • Your game is themed around a major holiday
  • The entire game takes place in a single room
  • No spoken or written dialog
  • A character in the game is redeemed somehow
  • The game takes place is a public setting, such as a convention center or a mall
  • Your game is told entirely from the antagonist's POV
  • All in-game information communicated to the player is in the form of a riddle
  • The game is no longer than 10 minutes

  • Your entry can be made with any engine/code base and with any assets as long as you have legal rights to use them.
  • You may NOT use existing projects. All entries MUST begin development during the submission period to be accepted.
    • Concept work and planning can begin before the start date, but no conceptual work can be used 'as-is' in the final jam submission.
  • Your game can be entered into other game jams, as long as it still follows the submission guidelines and is a horror game.
  • Absolutely ZERO TOLERANCE for ripped or stolen assets. This includes any fan games where you do not have legal rights to make said game.
  • Absolutely no Generative AI can be used to create games for this jam.
    • I cannot control if people use GenAI during the development, but absolutely nothing AI can be in the final submission.
  • Games MUST be able to be easily played on a Windows-based computer. This includes browsers HTML-based games.
  • PDFs and the like are not considered games for this jam's purposes.
  • Submissions MUST be free and easily accessible during the jam voting period. After Hawktober Horrors ends, submitters may do what they wish with their entries.
  • Demos are allowed
  • All games must be between 1-60 minutes. If any run over an hour, they run the risk of not being finished or properly judged.
  • Adult content (up to and including a 'Mature' or 'R' rating) is allowed as long as it follows Twitch guidelines.
    • This includes partial nudity, language, gore, and violence.
  • NSFW games (18+) are not allowed. After the jam has finished, you may do what you wish with your game.
  • Teams are allowed, and all team members will receive the special Discord Role if they win.
  • There is no limit to the amount of entries one can submit, but a person/team can only win either People's Choice or Judge's Choice
    • In the case of a game getting both, the next highest winner will be selected for the Judge's Choice
  • All submissions remain the sole property and copyright of those who submit them. HawkZombie only reserves the right to ONLY use submissions as promotional material for future Hawktober Horrors game jams.
  • HawkZombie reserves all rights to remove/disqualify any entry for violating any of these terms without warning or explanation.


The top overall winner in the People's Vote and the Judge's Choice will receive a special Discord role in The Feathered Dead Discord server. Wear it as a badge of honor!

Also, HawkZombie will pick the best game (in his own opinion) from the jam to showcase as the Trailer for his channel. The 45-60 seconds video will be what people see whenever they visit his YouTube or Twitch channels! Last year it was The Witch House of Raven Lake. This year it could be YOURS!

The results of the jam will be announced LIVE on November 1st during a special Sunday stream on Twitch.*


Finally, be sure to join HawkZombie's official Discord Server! While it is focused on the streamer side of things, it is incredibly dev friendly, and we love to see new faces!

*If the amount of entries is enough, the voting period may be extended to allow hawk and the judges time to review all the entries.