The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is an annual event held in many places around the world. It was inspired by the Nordic Game Jam and created by Susan Gold, Ian Schreiber, Gorm Lai, and Foaad Khosmood. The event was originally started by the International Game Developers Association's Education SIG to encourage creativity, teamwork, and new ideas. At each location, people come together to share ideas, form small groups, make new and creative games, and show their work to others, all within a short time. Since 2013, GGJ has been managed by Global Game Jam Incorporated. Past and current board members include the founders Elonka Dunin, Lindsay Grace, and Zuraida Buter. In 2022, the staff included Executive Director Tim Cullings, Director of Operations Charly Harbord, and Senior Director of Communications Tarja Porkka-Kontturi.

In January 2019, GGJ had teams in 860 locations across 113 countries. These teams created 9,010 games over one weekend. The Global Game Jam has a registered trademark.

In January 2022, GGJ lasted 10 days and nights, making it the longest event in the organization's 14-year history. That year, 33,000 participants joined at 680 locations in 100 countries.

Participants

People who take part in the Global Game Jam have different skill levels and come from many different jobs or areas of work. Anyone, including professional game makers, teachers, artists, and designers, can join. When the event starts, participants think of game ideas, share those ideas with others, and then join groups to work together on a project.

Event organization

Groups that want to host a jam site must meet specific rules. The location must have Internet access for all people involved, special software tools like an IDE, possibly already set up at the site, an event organizer, drinks and food nearby if possible, be available all day and night, and have a safe place for personal items.

At each site, the Global Game Jam lasts for 48 hours straight in each time zone, starting at 5:00 PM on the first day and ending at 5:00 PM two days later. A suggested plan includes a short time to plan and form teams, followed by time to create games until 3:00 PM on the last day. The final hours are used for teams to share their games with others. However, sites are not required to follow this plan.

At the start of the event, participants receive a theme, such as "Extinction" in the 2011 Jam. They are asked to make a game connected to this theme. Participants also get a list of "achievements," sometimes called "diversifiers." These are special tasks or rules meant to help make games more creative or add unique challenges to their design.

Past events

The first Global Game Jam took place from January 30 to February 1, 2009, at 53 locations worldwide. During this event, 1,650 participants created 370 games.

The second Global Game Jam in 2010 grew larger, with 138 sites and 4,300 creators making 900 games.

In 2011, the Game Jam occurred from January 28 to 30, with 6,500 participants at 169 sites creating over 1,500 games.

The 2012 Game Jam was held from January 27 to 29, with more than 10,684 participants in 242 locations across 47 countries. A total of 2,209 games were made. According to a March 2 press release, the Global Game Jam was named the largest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.

In 2013, the Game Jam took place from January 25 to 27, with 16,705 participants at 319 locations in 63 countries. Over 3,248 games were created.

The 2014 Game Jam occurred from January 24 to 26, with 23,198 participants in 488 locations across 72 countries. A total of 4,290 games were made.

The 2015 Game Jam was held from January 23 to 25, with 28,837 participants at 518 locations in 78 countries. Over 5,438 games were created.

The 2016 Game Jam took place from January 29 to 31, with more than 36,164 participants in 93 countries.

The 2017 Game Jam occurred from January 20 to 22, with over 36,401 participants in 95 countries.

The 2018 Game Jam was held from January 26 to 28, with 42,811 participants in 108 countries. A total of 8,606 games were made at 803 locations.

The 2019 Game Jam took place from January 25 to 27, with 47,009 participants in 113 countries. Over 9,010 games were created at 860 locations.

The 2020 Game Jam was held from January 31 to February 1, with 48,753 participants in 118 countries. A total of 9,601 games were made at 934 locations.

The 2021 Game Jam occurred from January 27 to January 31, with 28,825 registered participants at 585 sites in 104 countries. Over 6,383 games were made. This event was held online only due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 Game Jam took place from January 20 to January 30, with 33,000 registered participants at 680 sites in 100 countries. A total of 5,860 games were made.

The 2023 Game Jam was held from January 30 to February 5, with 33,664 registered participants at 800 sites in 108 countries. Over 7,637 games were created.

The 2024 Game Jam occurred from January 22 to January 28, with 34,649 registered participants at 796 sites in 102 countries. This was the first year the event took place on all seven continents. A total of 9,964 games were made.

The 2025 Game Jam took place from January 20 to January 26, with 35,371 registered participants at 795 sites in 97 countries. Over 12,098 games were created.

Event themes

• 2009 – "As long as we have each other, we will never run out of problems"
• 2010 – "Deception" (plus themes related to different time zones, including "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain")
• 2011 – "Extinction"
• 2012 – An image of Ouroboros
• 2013 – Sound of a Heartbeat
• 2014 – "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
• 2015 – "What do we do now?"
• 2016 – "Ritual"
• 2017 – "Waves"
• 2018 – "Transmission"
• 2019 – "What home means to you"
• 2020 – "Repair"
• 2021 – "Lost and Found"
• 2022 – "Duality"
• 2023 – "Roots"
• 2024 – "Make Me Laugh"
• 2025 – "Bubble"
• 2026 – "Mask"

Intellectual property

All games made during the event are created under the Creative Commons Non Commercial Share Alike 3.0 free license. This means the games belong to their creators, but the Global Game Jam can use them for promotional purposes. As part of this agreement, every game is saved on the Global Game Jam website, along with the computer code for many digital games.