Submissions open from 2025-07-26 08:00:00 to 2026-01-19 23:59:59
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NEW UPDATE:

The deadline has been extended to the 19th January 2026 and our panel has been revealed!

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The Northampton Games Network  and Northampton Film Festival are teaming up for NFF’s 5th birthday for their first ever Games competition!

Shortlisted games will be played and a winner chosen at NFF 2026 between 28th February and 8th March. Shortlisted games will be invited to the games night at UON and also to the awards ceremony at the Royal Theatre Northampton on Sunday 8th March. They will receive 2 free tickets per game.

At NFF we want to see originality and creativity, with strong storytelling. And we love work that fits one or more of the characteristics of Northampton – we say Northampton is a town of Rebels and Revolutionaries, Misfits and Mavericks, Creatives and Changemakers!

For submissions we want to see a functional game with at least one playable level and an end screen. Games will be judged on all aspects of game development and how the game has come together into a final piece.  Games submitted can be for any platform. 

Submission Details

  • All entries must be a functional game (a game with at least one playable level, title, and end screen)
  • Games must be original concepts developed by the game development team
    • DO NOT USE Copyrighted images, audio, footage, and characters (ie. Celebrity photos, movie screengrabs, drawings of copyrighted logos, characters, etc., and so forth).
    • DO NOT USE AI Generated content, such as artwork, music, code, etc. All work must be created by the creator(s) or is properly licensed by them.
    • DO USE: Creative Commons / Licensed  external, publicly available, libraries (For example Java libraries or free assets from the Unity Asset store)
  • Games may be built in any language and using any engine
    • Game Engines include but are not limited to Twine, Unreal, Unity, Gamemaker, Godot, etc.
  • All submissions must be appropriate for all viewing ages
    • MUST NOT contain any offensive language, graphic content, and suggestive themes (ex. sex, drugs, and alcohol)
  • All submissions must include a Gameplay Video demonstrating the game
  • All game submissions must be submitted by 19th January 2025

Game Video (2 to 10 MINUTE video)

All submissions must include a Gameplay Video (Youtube video) which should include:

  • Premise - overview of the game or idea
  • Gameplay Overview - demonstrate a little bit of the game for the judges
  • Development Team - who are the people who built this game and their roles

Game Proposal videos must be submitted via a public Youtube link 

  • Videos visibility settings must be set to public for viewing
  • When uploading the Youtube video (under details, tags) you must include the tag #NFFXNGN

These videos may be screened during the festival and NGN/NFF will also reserve the right to publicly share these videos across our social channels.

Eligibility

The contest is open to residents of England in the following groups:

  • Under 21yrs
  • 21yrs and older

** Participants under the age of 13 require a legal guardian or instructor to register with itch.io and submit on their behalf. 

All games must have been created within the 18 months prior to the start of the festival (which is 28 Feb 2026)

All submissions must be made via itch.io

Team Requirements

  • Contest is open to individual or team submission.
  • Teams can consist of two or more individuals. While team sizes can vary we recommend a group of 4 and no teams larger than 8 individuals. 
  • The deadline to register and submit for all competitions is 19th January 2026

Exhibition

Games will be exhibited using the submission files provided from itch. If your game has requirements (such as a controller) then please state this in the submission of your game so it can be exhibited appropriately.

All rights, permissions, and clearances must be obtained before submission, and applicants must ensure they have the right to submit the work and for it to be displayed publicly. By entering your work, you agree to this and the responsibilities involved. Northampton Film Festival Limited and Northampton Games Network assumes no responsibility for violation of copyright law.

By submitting your work, you are giving permission for Northampton Film Festival Limited and Northampton Games Network to display and play your game, and use information provided and promotional material without any charge or fee for the purposes of Northampton Film. If you are successful, your game will be automatically included in the programme and be listed on our website when the programme is announced.

We retain the right to use stills and excerpts of your work for the purposes of promotions, including the festival trailer and social media posts before, during and after the festival.

Your details will be shared with the University of Northampton and Northampton Film Festival Limited.

Awards and Judging

  1. Judges will review all submissions prior to the day of competition. All submissions must be submitted by 19th January 2026
  2. All awards are at the discretion of our judges. Awards have no financial value and there is no prize. The judges’ decisions are final.
    • Just because you are the only entry in a competition does not guarantee a win. The quality of work must meet a certain ranking determined by our Judges.
    • Judges also have the discretion to move an entry to a different competition if they feel it is better suited for that competition. Note that is not done arbitrarily, it usually is to give the competitor a better chance at winning an award.
  3. Entries may be disqualified at the discretion of the judges for use of any inappropriate content, themes or failure to meet submission requirements.
  4. All entries will be notified if they have been shortlisted or not on 1st February 2026. Winners will be announced during our awards ceremony held on Sunday 8th March 2026.
  5. Please make it clear in your proposal that you have a link to Northamptonshire if you want to be eligible for the Northamptonshire commendations.

Judges Panel

Shortlisting Organisers:

David Nicholls

Northampton Games Network Co-Founder | Creative Director at Goblin Games | Games Design Programme Leader for UON | BAFTA Guru

Vikaas Mistry

Northampton Games Network Co-Founder | CEO of Goblin Games | Senior Lecturer in Games Design,Animation, Art, Programming.

Judging Panel:

Kish Hirani


Board Advisor | Technical & Creative Leader | Mentor | Speaker | Award-Winning Diversity & Inclusion Advocate | BAFTA Patron

Jupiter Hadley

Head of Community at Toya Play Studio

Haz Dulull

Game Director | Developer | Producer for ASTRO BURN

Nia Wearn

Producer at Deep Silver Dambuster Studios

Quang DX

Lead Technical Game Designer at Bitmap Bureau | Founder/Designer/Coder at Asobitech | Co-Organiser for Brilliant Indie Treasures showcase | BAFTA Member | ENSEMBLE 2019

Tomas Sala

BAFTA nominated Artist, Creator of #theFalconeer

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Please send any questions to: info@northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk