The SXSW Sydney Game Jam slithers in for 2025!

Teams will be provided with a theme to develop their game and asked to develop this over 30 days. Ten projects shortlisted from among the entries will each win 2x Games Pro Passes to attend SXSW Sydney.

The shortlisted games will be showcased one night during the SXSW Sydney Games Festival which runs 15 October - 18 October 2025.

🐍🐍🐍 THEME: SNAKE 🐍🐍🐍

In honour of the Lunar Calendar year and a little piece of mobile gaming history, this year's theme is SNAKE!

You can interpret this how you like! Whether you take the theme literally or figuratively is up to you. See where your inspiration takes you, treat SNAKE as a starting point, not an ironclad theme.

CRITERIA & JUDGING

Entries for the 2025 SXSW Sydney Game Jam will be scored on the following criteria:

• Innovation: Is your game mechanically interesting or explore gameplay in an innovative way? 
• Polish: Does your game feel smooth and intuitive? Does it look and sound great? 
• Execution of Theme: Does your game meaningfully or creatively interpret the theme? 

Based on this criteria, shortlisted games will be hand-picked by our returning guest judge Siobhan Dent in conjunction with the SXSW Sydney Games Team. 

RULES & ELIGIBILITY

Applicants for the SXSW Sydney 2025 Game Jam must be over the age of 18. Outside of this one restriction, we encourage creators from all backgrounds and skill levels to participate. 

• Your game must be created entirely between August 4th and September 4th.
• Your game must be playable on a Windows PC.
• You are not expected to spend the entire month working on your game, you can start at any time, so long as it is submitted in time.
• Any assets used should be created by your team. If you use any existing asset packs or libraries, please credit them in your project. 
• Use of generative AI to create assets or write code are forbidden.

WHAT IS SXSW SYDNEY?

SXSW Sydney is built on the singular vision of helping creative people share their ideas and achieve their goals. Across seven days annually, SXSW Sydney gathers the world’s most inspired thinkers, creators and innovators for an agenda-setting exploration of the best in Tech and Innovation, Games, Music, Screen and Culture. Industries and audiences converge in a melting pot of new connections and unexpected discoveries across more than 1,000 conference sessions, showcases, screenings, networking events, parties and exhibitions. Learn more here

FAQS

Is there a discord? 

There sure is! Join our unofficial SXSW Sydney discord to chat with other jammers and share WIPs. Be sure to select Game Jam during onboarding to gain access to the game jam channels. https://discord.gg/g4H6G66UR5

Is there a prize? 

Each shortlisted entry of the Game Jam will win 2x Games Pro Passes to attend SXSW Sydney 2025. The shortlisted games will also be showcased during the festival.

Can I submit a previous project for the Game Jam?

To be eligible for the Game Jam, you must build the entire game from scratch between 4th August and 4th September 2025. 

How many people can I have in a team? 

You can have as many as 5 people in the team for the Game Jam. Please keep in mind that if shortlisted, only 2x Games Pro Passes will be awarded.  

If shortlisted do I have to attend/showcase? 

If shortlisted, you are not required to attend the festival or manage your game while it is being showcased. You are of course absolutely welcome and encouraged to attend the showcase event (details TBD)

When do the winners get announced?

The winners for the Game Jam will be contacted in late September via the email provided when submitting your game.