NEW YORK (September, 21 2020) - Leading social impact nonprofit, Games for Change, supported by Endless, today opened submissions for the STEM Your Game Challenge. Game developers are invited to submit completed or beta-level games for consideration. Up to three selected development teams will receive up to $150,000 and then have five months to transform their “entertainment-first” games into enriching STEM-learning experiences to inspire and entertain middle school students. The STEM Your Game finalists will debut their games during the 2021 Games for Change Festival.
The STEM Your Game Challenge was created to inspire game developers to bring their talent and creativity to the edtech community and help raise the bar for the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) games. Well-designed learning games are promising tools for engaging and motivating students, and offer a unique opportunity to immerse students in STEM topics in order to develop skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving.
“The educational landscape is rapidly changing, and educators are recognizing a need to find digital tools to reach young people who are doing remote learning. Learning games offer a perfect solution for independent, project-based learning, and provide an invaluable tool
for teaching students STEM skills. There remains a dearth of high-quality digital games that successfully engage youth as entertainment products while also delivering enriching STEM learning experiences,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “We believe the STEM Your Game Challenge will allow the creation of new and innovative games that will engage even our harshest critics -- middle schoolers.”
“We believe that the potential for games in education is huge and yet unfulfilled. So we are partnering with Games For Change to spark the creativity of game studios around the world to let them show us what the future of education games can look like,” said Matt Dalio, Founder and Chairman of Endless.
The STEM Your Game Challenge is open to all game developers with a completed or beta-level game that has commercial appeal to kids, ages 12-14, and also has the potential to incorporate STEM-related topics relevant to middle school students. Through a rigorous evaluation process, up to three finalists will be selected and invited to participate in a five-month implementation phase during which the development teams will retool or redevelop their current game for STEM learning purposes. The selected teams will have up to $150,000 each and access to education experts to support their development process. Finalists will present their games at the 2021 Games for Change Festival, the largest industry-focused gaming event in New York City (Dates TBA). Registration will be open from September 21 through December 1, 2020, at 11:59PM EST. For complete rules and guidelines, please follow the links below.
Program Links
- Submission Form: bit.ly/STEMYourGame
- Guidelines: bit.ly/STEMYourGame-Guidelines
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About Games for Change
Since 2004, Games for Change (G4C) has been empowering game creators and innovators to
drive real-world change, using games and immersive media that help people to learn, improve
their communities, and contribute to make the world a better place. G4C partners with
technology and gaming companies as well as nonprofits, foundations and government
agencies, to run world class events, public arcades, design challenges and youth programs.
G4C supports a global community of game developers working to use games to tackle real-
world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education.
About Endless
Founded in 2011, Endless is a collection of independent companies and initiatives focused on supporting technology that cultivates digital agency among youth.
We believe in the power of technology to transform lives for the better, and that the people who use that technology should be part of building it. The first step in bringing those two beliefs to life is creating access to digital hardware, connectivity, and the skills to use them.
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