Global Game Jam is back this month, with headline sponsorships from dotbigbang and Coherence.

Every year the Global Game Jam brings together tens of thousands of game developers from over 100 countries and makes thousands of video games in the span of 48 hours.

Coming soon

As a nonprofit organisation registered in the state of California, the Global Game Jam’s mission is to empower all individuals worldwide to learn, experiment, and create together through the medium of games in a safe and welcoming environment. It stirs a global creative buzz in games while exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. All of this is condensed into a shortened development cycle.

Many game developers see the Global Game Jam as the starting point where a moment of bravery to join their first event turns into a successful and sustainable career in game development.

In addition to dotbigbang and Coherence, there are many other companies like Github, AWS for Games and PayPal sponsoring and partnering with this year’s event.

Important dates to keep in mind are the prep week, taking place from 23 January to 27 January 2023, the worldwide reveal of the event’s theme this year on the 28th or 29th depending on the time zone, and then the Jam week itself from 30 January to 5 February.

As a hybrid event, this year’s Global Game Jam is accessible online but also has in-person locations such as Helsinki, Finland, New York City, USA, Stockholm, Sweden, Tourcoing, France and more. Full information on each locale’s event, such as date, capacity and more, can be found on the Global Game Jam site. The Tourcoing event taking place on 3 February with a maximum capacity of 120, for example.

As highlighted last year, the Global Game Jam encourages people from all backgrounds to participate and contribute.