Welcome to GDKO 2025

Game Dev Knock Out (GDKO) is an elimination tournament for game developers of all skillsets. It's played out over 5 rounds between January and May with the game developers with the lowest scores being eliminated each round until only 5 developers remain to take part in the final of the competition. Think of it as the Squid Games of the game dev world with a less valuable prize and nobody dies... Join now and be assigned a starting group. What do the groups mean? You'll find out after round 1 ends. 

Round 1

Task: TBC once the jam begins.

DISCORD: https://discord.gg/bPjHFPUJZQ

Join the Discord community to chat to other dev's, new dev's and OG veteran devs of GDKO. 

Judging Criteria:

1. TBC
2. TBC
3. TBC
4. TBC
5. TBC

Who can take part?

There is no limit to the amount of devs that can register, the competition is open to everyone no matter your skill level. You'll need to qualify from the round in order to continue in the competition.

How will I know what to create?

Each round will give you a specific task to complete that is related to an element of game development. Some tasks may focus on sound design, some may focus on art,  you may even be asked to make a game with a set theme and limitation. The task for the round will be revealed at the start of each. After the round has ended there will be a standard community voting period after which the entries with the lowest ranks will be eliminated from GDKO and everyone else will receive an invite to the next round.

What if I fail to submit something?

Don't worry, it happens, you'll just be eliminated, there is not obligation to finish your task and submit. You don't even need to join the next round even if you qualify. You will remain in GDKO as long as you don't get eliminated or leave of your own accord. 

Can teams take part?

No teams. This is a game development competition that will focus on a range of game development criteria, competing in a team would give an unfair advantage. 

How long will the competition last?

GDKO will run for 5 rounds with 5 developers finally making it to round 6, the final. Each round will last between 1-2 weeks with a community voting period at the end. 

If I qualify from round 1 how will I join the next round?

You will receive a link to join the next round via itch.io email and via the discord. The round participants will be monitored and any devs that join that didn't earn a place will be removed. 

What happens if I am eliminated?

After each round one of our GDKO judges will pick a 'Wildcard' entry from those that were eliminated. That developer will be given a second chance and progress to the next round. There is only 1 wildcard available each round. 

All the video updates will be available on Xanderwood's YouTube channel. 

Can I make devlog on my progress?

Yes of course, there will be a community post asking for your YouTube links if you'd like parts of your devlog to feature in the official GDKO announcement videos each round.

The GDKO Judges

There will be 5 official Judges that will be judging the final rounds of GDKO and picking wild cards along the way.

Prizes

The winner of GDKO 2024 will receive a GDKO 2024 winners T-Shirt (Shipped worldwide). 

GDKO Sponsors