The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is starting once again, offering yet another fun-filled game development experience! If you're not familiar with it, the GGJ is the world's largest game creation event, held at hundreds of physical and virtual sites across over 100 countries.
Last year, over 35,000 participants across 796 locations in 102 countries took part. In just 48 hours, they created nearly 10,000 games, all centered around the theme "Make Me Laugh!". The 2025 edition starts today and runs until Sunday, January 26, with jam sites following their own schedules within this timeframe.
The GGJ welcomes people of all backgrounds and experience levels, including artists, level designers, programmers, musicians, writers, voice actors, and more. It also encourages participants to explore new tools and try out different roles in game development.
For those who have never participated in a game jam, it is an event similar to a hackathon where people come together for a short period of time to create games around a central theme revealed at the start of the event.
The theme for this year's GGJ was already revealed at yesterday's keynote, and it's the following: Bubble.
Along with the theme, there is usually an extensive list of diversifiers, which are optional constraints designed to add more fun or challenge to the experience. They can help your game stand out from the crowd, and you can choose up to 4 when you submit. This year's diversifiers will also be available in other languages. You can check this year's list of diversifiers here: GGJ 25 Diversifiers.
Registrations are open, so be sure to check out and join physical or online/virtual hosting sites in your area. Additionally, if you do not have one yet, make sure to register for a GGJ user account. This will enable you to submit your game and/or be part of a game's team.
For additional information, visit the Global Game Jam website!
