SA GAME JAM is an annual competition proudly sponsored by Free Lives with the aim of encouraging more South Africans to make games!  The jam will run here on Itch.io from 19-22 September 2025.  We invite game devs of all levels to enter this exciting competition and stand a chance to win a share of over R70 000 cash!

You can enter as an individual or team.  You are allowed to use whatever tools you like and use pre-existing code/sounds/art/assets where it helps you but if you use assets you are required to disclose them.

Whether you're a pro game developer or just starting out, SA GAME JAM is for you. The competition is open to South Africans at any level of experience so enter NOW!

Please indicate in your submission what level you're participating in (student, hobbyist or professional), and whether you would like to be considered for the diversity prize.

Overall Winner: R20 000

Student (currently studying in any field): R10 000

Hobbyist (not working in the game development industry): R10 000

*Diversity: R10 000

Best Art: R5 000

Best Audio: R5 000

Technical Excellence: R5 000

Best Narrative: R5 000

Best Humour: R5 000

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT 12:00PM ON FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER.

1. Competition starts on  19 September 2025.

2. Deadline for entries:

21 September 2025, 18:00 SAST for 48 hour entries. 

22 September 2025, 18:00 SAST for 72 hour entries.

(Please note in your entry whether it is a 48 or 72 hour project)

3. You can enter as an individual or as a team.

4. To be eligible to win any of the prizes, your team has to play and give feedback to five other entries by Monday, 29 September 2025.

5. Use whichever language, tool or development system you are comfortable in.

6. Your game must contain all files needed for it to run and should not require other bulky systems to be downloaded or installed, exceptions are browser plugins like Flash and self-contained DLLs distributed with the game.

7. While any fixes post-jam will be taken into account, the version submitted at the time of the deadline will be played and judged, so make sure it is PLAYABLE WITHOUT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NOT CONTAINED IN THE GAME.

8. Competition is only open to entry for South African residents. You must be living in South Africa and have an active SA bank account.

9. You retain all copyright to your work.

10. The illegal use of copyrighted material will not be tolerated. Do not steal!

11. All risk or liability in case of copyright infringement or other legal issue resides with the entrant, Free Lives and Maker's Massive take no responsibility for entered games.

12. The judges’ decision is final and no negotiation will be entered into.

13. No generative AI allowed. Entries using generative AI will automatically be disqualified.

*This prize aims to reward devs from marginalised groups (women, people with disabilities, people of colour, LGBTQ+ folks, Indigenous people, etc). At least one member of your team must belong to such a group in order to qualify for the Diversity prize.

You are the monster.

OVERALL WINNER: Holey Moley 

Incredible. No notes, 10/10. WORMAGEDDON!

BEST STUDENT: The Etiquette Of Monstrosity

This made our toes curl in the best way possible. That poor gearbox of that poor car!

BEST HOBBYIST: Holey Moley

 WORMAGEDDOOOOON!!

DIVERSITY: To Reanimate Thomas, Freshly Deceased

A solid entry that was only missing audio (howling winds, creaking, monster grumbles). The writing was great, with a neat combination of horror and humour.

BEST ART: Sort it Out!

Art was a highly contested category this year, but the art direction for Sort it Out was just unbeatable!

BEST AUDIO: MONS

FUCKING FUNNY ... and the sounds are sooo good. Perfect little game.

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE: not awarded this year

BEST NARRATIVE: Sort it Out!

This was an absolute delight to play! Excellent gameplay loop that is HIGHLY addictive. I thought I picked up on environmental storytelling and then things escalated and I became a terrible person. Thanks for making me a terrible person :) 

BEST HUMOUR: PLEASE DONT FEED ME & MONS

PLEASE DONT FEED ME: So funny. Also fun and engaging. Getting fat is awesome. The blendshaped character is powerfully entertaining. It is a little tricky following the effects of the food, the game does get complicated quickly. But the engaging fantasy keep tugging.

MONS: No notes for improvement, this experience is kind of perfect. I would have happily left the ocean again to turn off my oven

Special Mentions:

Overall - MONS
Best Art - Snackin' Kraken & Abyssal Monster
Best Audio - BLOOD WIZARD

Also a special shout to the creator of Loadshedding The Game, who is in primary school (!!) and submitted a 48hr game! Keep it up!

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