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- 🏆🚀Announcing the 2025 G4C Awards Finalists!
🏆🚀Announcing the 2025 G4C Awards Finalists!
Celebrating Games and XR Experiences Designing Tomorrow
Games for Change
May 27, 2025
The moment we've all been waiting for is finally here! We're excited to announce the finalists for the 2025 Games for Change Awards, celebrating games and XR experiences that are truly "Designing for Tomorrow." This year's fantastic lineup includes finalists from around the world, showcasing everything from our new Platform-Based Project category to groundbreaking narratives and environmental impact games. Learn more about G4C pre-festival sessions, our first-ever streamathon, and additional details in this special edition of the #G4C2025 newsletter. Join us from June 26-27 in NYC for the Awards ceremony, two full days of festival programming and networking opportunities, and so much more. Get your tickets now!
-Team G4C
We’re thrilled to share this year’s finalists for the 2025 Games for Change Awards! This year, we received nearly 800 submissions from around the world showcasing the growing power of games and immersive media as tools for real-world change. With 10% more entries from 2024 and over 60% of submissions coming from international developers, the 2025 Awards truly embody the global spirit of the G4C Community 🌍
The 2025 Games for Change Award Finalists Include:
Join us in NYC on June 26th at 6:30 PM ET for the Awards Ceremony with host Kahlief Adams of Spawn on Me, or tune in via Twitch! Get your tickets now before prices increase on June 9th - this year's celebration promises to be our biggest yet.
Can't make it to NYC for #G4C2025? No problem! We're excited to bring the G4C experience to our global community with three ✨FREE ✨ virtual sessions that embody the 2025 Festival theme: "Designing for Tomorrow." These sessions are designed to spark conversations, build connections, and get everyone energized before we all come together in NYC—or tune in from around the world.
 | Access Ahead: A Practical Games Accessibility Crash Course |
 | Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully Virtual Book Launch Twenty years ago, scholar James Paul Gee established a foundation around games, learning, and literacy, which has had profound implications on game studies and learning game design. Join a conversation between Gee, Tracy Fullerton, and Matthew Farber, authors of the newly released The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully, for a discussion that builds on these foundations to address games as literary experiences. This new theory of player response examines the experiences we have when playing games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures, but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. |
June 20: First-Ever G4C streamathon! Join us for an evening of gaming with G4C and the global community. We're bringing creators, experts, and community members together for a few hours of interactive content focused on games, immersive media, and social impact, all in support of G4C programming. More info coming soon!
Elevate your festival experience with our exclusive Masterclass Series on June 25! Join industry leaders like Drew Davidson for creative leadership insights, Eric Zimmerman for hands-on game design workshops, and experts from Blockworks & Filament Games exploring platform-based impact within established ecosystems like Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite. These intensive, small-group sessions provide unparalleled access to the strategies and expertise that are shaping the future of impact gaming. No Festival pass is required to attend the Masterclass Series. Sessions are $75 each or $125 for two, with limited space available.
 | Gone Home: Return to an empty family home and piece together a mystery through everyday objects and personal artifacts. This intimate exploration game tells a powerful story of identity and belonging, using environmental storytelling to create an authentic coming-of-age narrative that resonates with players long after the lights come back on |
 | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: Journey into the mind of a Celtic warrior battling psychosis in this deeply personal exploration of mental health. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people with lived experience, Hellblade breaks new ground in an authentic representation of mental illness through immersive storytelling and innovative audio design. |
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