The new year brings a fresh wave of game jams! From tournament-style competitions to cozy winter creations. Here are some notable jams to check out this month.
The official Pirate Software bi-yearly game jam is back! Starting on January 17, 2025, and running for 14 days until January 31, 2025, participants will have the chance to create a game within the given timeframe with teams of up to 5 people. A Game Design Document and a browser-compatible prototype are required for submission. Judging will take place from January 31st to February 14th, 2025, based on playability, theme implementation, cleverness, artistic style, and judges’ choice. Winners will be announced during Pirate Software’s daily Dev Stream.
The Road Trip Game Jam, hosted by Meiri and Nevi, invites you to create a game that takes place primarily during a road trip. This chill and stress-free jam starts on January 23, 2025, and extends until April 23, 2025, offering an extended window for development. All genres, sizes, and complexities are welcome, including tabletop/analog games.
ScoreSpace Jam #33 🕹️ challenges developers to create games with a focus on high scores. This ranked jam, running from January 24, 2025, to January 27, 2025, culminates in the top 3 games being played by streamers in a high-score competition. Games will be judged by contributors, streamers, and ScoreSpace staff on gameplay, theme, aesthetics, and sound, among other criteria. A leaderboard system for each submission is required. Voting will take place after the jam, from January 27th to January 31st, 2025.
Mini Jam 176: Foxes, hosted by ZahranW, is a 72-hour ranked jam starting on January 17, 2025, and ending on January 20, 2025. Participants will get a surprise limitation at the start of the jam that they must incorporate into their game. The theme, “Foxes,” is optional and meant for inspiration. Voting will follow from January 20th to January 24th, 2025.
The Cozy Winter Jam 2025 ⛄, hosted by Virtual Turtle Games, invites you to create small, cozy games inspired by the winter season. This ranked jam runs from January 23rd to January 26th. An optional additional theme will be announced at the start of the jam. Voting will be open to contributors from January 26th to February 2nd.
The “❤️🔥💯 Horror Ham-Jam 2025 💯🔥❤️”, hosted by Gxvrnxr and Pizza Doggy, focuses on creating short, horror-themed games. The jam runs from January 16, 2025, to February 2, 2025. In this game jam, you’re challenged to create a small, horror-themed game that takes place in a confined or restricted space, such as a small room or an area with limited movement, while also incorporating the assets in the provided bundle. Voting, restricted to judges, will take place from February 2nd to February 16th, 2025.
Round 1 of the GDKO 2025, a 5-round game development knockout tournament hosted by Xanderwood. Self-described as the Squid Games of the game dev world with a less valuable prize and nobody dies. Participants were tasked with creating a game featuring a core mechanic and a secondary mechanic that supports progression. 215 submissions were collected from January 1 to January 14, 2025. View the submissions.
The CONSTRUCT JAM 2025, focused on creating games using the Construct game engines, has finished its development phase. Hosted by Blue Pin Studio, Armaldio, and skymen75, the jam ran from January 3, 2025, to January 13, 2025, with the theme “Tough Choice.” Community voting took place from January 13th to January 20th, 2025. Check out the submitted games and the results.
Looking for more? Browse the full calendar of jams over at the itch.io jams page. Feeling inspired to host your own? Check out the guide to hosting your own jam on itch.io.
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