🎒 Back to School: Join the 2026–27 G4C Student Challenge + Explore What’s New!

Welcome to the September G4C Learn Newsletter! Start the school year with the G4C Student Challenge! Sign-ups for the 2026-27 Challenge are now open, and we're excited to share this year's themes and program updates. Plus, revisit highlights from the 2026 Games for Change Festival, relive our first-ever Next-Gen Summit in Lagos, see where the Summit is headed next, and explore Tales from the Middle, a game co-produced by G4C to support students transitioning to middle school. Keep reading to discover how you can bring game design into your school year! 📚️ 

– The G4C Learn Team

It's that time of the year again! 🎉

The 12th annual Games for Change Student Challenge is back – and we are seeking young creators, educators, program leaders, changemakers, and organizations that work with students all over the world! 

The G4C Student Challenge is an international game design competition that invites youth worldwide to create games that use their voices, creativity, and imagination to address social impact themes through original digital games, tabletop games, character designs, or game trailers. 🎮🌍

Since 2015, we’ve reached 100,000+ students and trained 2,000 educators in over 90 countries! This year, we’re expanding access for young creatives and educators with new age divisions, social-impact themes, and learning opportunities. 🚀

🥁Without further ado, dive into the 2026-27 G4C Student Challenge themes:

In case you missed #G4C2026, we announced the expansion of the G4C Student Challenge through a new partnership with Sanford Harmony! 🌱 🌟 

• 🌱 Novice (Ages 8–10) [NEW] 

• 🌿 Apprentice (Ages 11–13)

• 🌳 Senior (Ages 14–18)

• 🌲 Expert (Ages 19–25)

We are thrilled to welcome this new division and can’t wait to see what these young creators will produce and how educators and leaders will integrate the Challenge into their programming. 🚀

In the coming weeks, we'll release full theme pages, Student Challenge orientation materials, and more!

📥 Questions? Email us at [email protected]

*The Student Challenge is asynchronous and designed to be flexible, allowing educators and program leaders to integrate it into their curriculum or programming in the way that best meets their needs.

The 2026 Games for Change Festival, centered on “Reimagining Play,” has come to a close! 🎬 🎮

We brought together 185 speakers across 90 sessions, panels, and workshops, alongside 35 games and XR experiences. The Festival also featured major announcements, including the launch of “Game the Food System” with the UN World Food Programme and the exciting news that the Games for Change Festival is heading to Arizona in 2027.  🌄 🎮

Take a look at staff picks from the Games & Learning track! 🎞️
Explore sessions that examine how games support themes like well-being, belonging, resilience, and healthy play for a thriving future.

• 🎤 Panel | Raising Good Gamers: Building a Healthier Future for Play

• 🌲 Panel | Hooked on the Environment (showcasing Student Challenge Game of the Year winners)

• 🌱 Fireside Chat | Everyone Belongs Here: A New Partnership for Young Game Designers

• 💡 Fireside Chat | When Digital Play Helps Children Thrive: A UNICEF Conversation

🎥 There is even more to check out! Watch available session recordings from #G4C2026 on YouTube to see how games are bridging social impact and entertainment.

The Next-Gen Summit is heading West! 🌵🎮

We’re delighted to announce a partnership among Games for Change, ASU Prep, and the ASU Endless Games & Learning Lab to bring the Next-Gen Summit to Arizona!

Led by ASU students and supported by our organizations, the Summit aims to inspire the next generation of game creators through hands-on game design and development activities, emerging technologies, and connections with games industry professionals and ASU students pursuing their own pathways in games and technology.

📅 Date: Saturday, November 7, 2027
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
📍 Location: ASU MIX Center, Mesa, Arizona

Stay tuned for more details on the Arizona Next-Gen Summit coming soon!

Relive the excitement and momentum from our Next-Gen Summit in Lagos, Nigeria. 🎮

The Summit brought together 120 students from nine secondary schools, 12 teachers/chaperones, and 18 industry professionals. Centered on the themes of Play, Learn, and Networking, students explored careers in the games industry, developed their creativity through pixel art, experienced activations on the Lagos Games Week expo floor, and connected with games industry professionals.

Discover Tales from the Middle, a FREE interactive game for students! 🎮

Developed by Filament Games, with executive production from Games for Change and support from the Bezos Family Foundation, Tales from the Middle gives students an engaging way to explore the challenges and experiences of adolescence. 

💡Students will leave the experience feeling more equipped to navigate the ups and downs of growing up, build healthy relationships, and make thoughtful choices.

Do you teach, counsel, or lead at a school serving students who are navigating the transition to middle school? Sign up for the pilot to bring Tales from the Middle to your students, plus the opportunity to provide feedback to the developers.

• Take a look at an educator's two-year journey as a judge for the 2025-26 Student Challenge, and explore his insights from collaborating with G4C Learn 

• Explore how global game jams are being hosted in classrooms and communities with limited equipment around the world in this Global Game Jam Article. 

• Recently, G4C released a new Raising Good Gamers white paper, What Families Need to Know About Video Games and Well-Being, by Dr. Rachel Kowert. The paper gives families a grounded way to think about the games in their kids' lives, plus hands-on resources: a family conversation guide, a family code of conduct, and the SPACE framework.

Do you know educators who would be interested in bringing games and play to their classrooms with the professional support and community of G4C Learn? Share this newsletter with them!