Game Off 2025: The Theme Is Waves

GitHub's annual Game Off jam returns this November, giving developers a month to design, build, and ship a game. Since 2012, the event has drawn thousands of participants, from first-time jammers to seasoned developers. This year's theme: WAVES. The deadline to push your code is December 1, 2025, at 13:37 PST.

Interpretation is deliberately loose. You might build a space shooter weaving through gravitational waves, a coastal survival game bracing against tsunamis, a tower defense title facing escalating enemy waves, or a rhythm game that rides musical beats. A skateboarding game on a sine wave, a vaporwave racer with synthwave tracks, a physics puzzler bouncing energy waves—all fit. Even a remake of a childhood favorite counts as endless waves of nostalgia.

How to Participate

Solo or team, any language, engine, or library is welcome. The submission process is straightforward:

  1. Create a GitHub account if you don't have one.
  2. Join the jam on the Game Off 2025 itch.io page.
  3. Create a public repository, write your game, and push before December 1 at 13:37 PST.
  4. Submit the game on itch.io, where you can play entries and vote.

Voting and Timeline

After submissions close, participants evaluate each other's work across six categories: overall, gameplay, graphics, audio, innovation, and theme interpretation. Voting runs through January 8, 2026, at 13:37 PST, with winners announced on the GitHub Blog and social channels on January 10, 2026, at 13:37 PST.

The Few Guidelines

Game Off keeps rules intentionally light, but a handful keep things fair:

  • The game must live in a GitHub repository. You can start from a template, but the bulk of work should happen during the jam period.
  • Choose your own license; open source is encouraged, not required.
  • Work alone or with teammates, however you're most comfortable.
  • Use open source, commercial, or self-made assets and tools.
  • AI-assisted development is allowed. Stuck for ideas, ask an assistant, "What are some fun games I could create with the game jam theme, WAVES?"

Engines Worth Exploring

No expertise is required to join. Many participants ship their first game during Game Off, some on classic hardware like the NES or ZX Spectrum. If you need a starting point, a range of engines fits different backgrounds:

  • Godot (GDScript, C#, C++): Open source, lightweight, good for 2D and 3D.
  • Unity (C#): Strong for 3D and mobile, with abundant tutorials.
  • Unreal Engine (C++, Blueprints): Best for cinematic and complex 3D.
  • Phaser (JavaScript): Browser-based 2D arcade and platformer work.
  • Pygame (Python): Ideal for learning fundamentals or fast prototyping.
  • Bevy (Rust): Data-driven engine emphasizing performance and ECS design.
  • LÖVE (Lua): Lightweight, fast for 2D and creative projects.
  • Flame (Dart / Flutter): Mobile-first 2D for Flutter users.
  • Ebitengine (Go): Simple, powerful 2D engine in Go.
  • Defold (Lua): Cross-platform 2D with built-in tools.
  • libGDX (Java): Familiar territory for Java and Android developers.
  • HaxeFlixel (Haxe): Retro-style 2D, platformers, and jam projects.

New to Git? The Git documentation, GitHub Help, and the GitHub Community Forum cover version control basics and troubleshooting. The Game Off 2025 Community is the place for questions and teammate hunting.

Kung Fury hanging ten on their keyboard as they surf through time waves on Hackerman’s computer

Whether your creation crashes or floats, join the global push for a month of creative code. Head to the Game Off 2025 itch.io page to sign up and start building.