Student Games Fest 2026 Announced | Warsaw, Oct 8-9th
The statistics from the debut edition in 2025 speak for themselves: 133 student games submitted by teams from 26 countries competed for the Best Student Game Awards. Last year, over 50 speakers appeared on the Student Games Festival stages, including representatives of major industry companies (Techland, Bloober Team, 11 bit studios), non-governmental organizatons (Amnesty International, Games for Change), and academic experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Finland.
SGF 2026: GenAI, workplace abuse, layoffs
“The interest in the first edition exceeded our expectations,” says Ewa Maria Szczepanowska, co-founder of the Kultura Interaktywna Foundation, the festival organizer. “That is why in 2026 we are moving to the Palace of Culture and Science, where we will be able to showcase even more student games from around the world. And since this year’s edition will last two days, the program will include even more panels, lectures, and workshops.”
According to a recently published GDC report, as many as 74% of students in game related programs are concerned about their career prospects. During Student Games Festval 2026, industry professionals will offer guidance on where to look for jobs and how to write effective pitches and CVs. They will also address other key
challenges of contemporary digital culture:
The situation of young creators in an era of mass layoffs
The need to combat burnout, discrimination, and workplace abuse
The ethics of using GenAI and the challenges of education in the age of ChatGPT
Issues related to funding and promoting video games
Plans for leveraging the game industry
The Czech Republic joins the game!
“At the Student Games Festival, we aim to open doors to careers for young artists and build bridges between academia, institutions, and the game industry… However, the latter is not a monolith,” emphasizes Pawel Miechowski, co-founder of the Kultura Interaktywna Foundation. “For many countries, game development is the only gateway to global pop culture. For example, 97% of Polish games are sold in international markets, primarily in the United States, Western Europe, and China. However, each local industry operates under specific conditions, and a country’s background influences the work of its creators.”
Future editions of SGF aim to highlight and celebrate these differences and, ultimately, integrate creative sectors worldwide. In 2026, the Polish-Czech Video Games will be organized for this purpose. The Forum is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Czech Centre Warsaw. “In many respects, such as cooperation between universities and the game industry, the Czech Republic has a lot to teach us,” says Ewa Maria Szczepanowska. “Czech game development has produced series such as Mafia, ARMA, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, as well as games like Beat Saber, DayZ, and Factorio. Some of these will be presented as part of the ‘Infinite Universes’ exhibition.” As the festival organizer adds, veterans of the Czech game industry will also come to Warsaw to give talks, including creators from Amanita Design (Samorost, Machinarium.)
Best Student Game Awards 2026
Full program details will be announced soon. Meanwhile, submissions are now open for the international competition for the best student projects. Teams from around the world can compete for awards in four categories: Artistic Greatness, Technical Greatness, Meaningful Game, and Best Student Game Award.
Submission form and rules: www.studentgamesfestival.com
Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2026
Who can apply? Students and recent graduates (up to 12 months after graduation)
The event is supported by partners including 11 bit studios, Larian, Indie Games Polska, EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture, and AMD. Project was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Creative Industries Development program "Rozwój Sektorów Kreatywnych".