April with G4C: New Partnerships, G4C2026 Festival Tickets and International Events!

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Games for Change
April 15, 2026

Happy April, G4C Community! 🌎🌿

Regular-priced tickets for the G4C2026 Festival are now available, and this month we're taking Raising Good Gamers global with a launch at the Games for Change Summit at London Games Week. We're also bringing the Games & SDG Summit to Nairobi for the first time, with other chapter events taking place across Hong Kong, South Korea, and Türkiye. In honor of Earth Day, we're spotlighting games from last year's Student Challenge. Read on for everything happening this month!

— Team G4C

Today at the Games for Change London Summit at London Games Week, we announced the next chapter of Raising Good Gamers with launch partner Tencent!

The expanded program brings together industry, researchers, and nonprofit expertise to support more informed, evidence-based conversations around gaming. At the center of this work is a new white paper, "Raising Good Gamers: What Families Need to Know About Video Games and Well-Being," authored by Research Director Dr. Rachel Kowert and drawn from research spanning 15 countries and 7 languages. The paper explores how families talk about video games today, the barriers parents face in engaging with gaming culture, and opportunities for more informed conversations across families, educators, and policymakers.

Practical workshops and conversation guides, developed by our Chief Programs & Operating Officer, Arana Shapiro, will begin reaching schools and community youth organizations in the US and UK this September, with more locations coming in 2027. Full findings will be presented via keynote and panel at the G4C2026 Festival in New York, July 21-22!

Regular-priced tickets for G4C2026 are now available!

Three months out and we're just getting started! Join us July 21-22 at the Glasshouse in New York City for two days exploring this year's theme, "Reimagining Play." Expect sessions, workshops, the Festival arcade, networking, and the G4C Awards ceremony. Programming announcements are coming soon, so stay tuned.

Grab your tickets now, and we'll see you in July. 🎮✨

Games for Change is headed to Nairobi, Kenya, for the first international convening of the Games & SDG Summit, hosted alongside G4C Africa, the Pan African Gaming Group (PAGG), and Playing for the Planet!

Building on our NYC-based UN summits, this convening will bring together 150+ senior leaders from across the games industry, technology, and the United Nations to discuss pathways to the SDGs across education, climate, and economic stability. As Africa's game ecosystem rapidly grows, Nairobi is a natural next home for this conversation and a chance to elevate the developers and community.

The summit takes place April 22-23. Follow our socials for live updates!

Games for Change Türkiye will host the first international Next-Gen Summit, May 5-7, at Bahçeşehir University, Galata Campus! Attendees will come together to hear from gaming industry professionals, network with indie studio teams, and connect with peers from their communities! High school students can apply individually via the application form. Educators interested in attending with students can contact [email protected].

Games for Change Korea is hosting its annual festival from May 20-23  at Sungkyunkwan University with the theme of Playable Impact. The festival will focus on the convergence of games with social issues, education and healthcare. More to come soon!

Games for Change Hong Kong is hosting its annual festival on May 27, 2026, at the University of Hong Kong, where it’ll explore the theme “Gaining Momentum.” Stay tuned for updates!

  • What happens when you can’t go back to the games you once loved in your youth? Read all about it in ‘A Love Letter to Girl Games,’ where Bee Wertheimer talks about how many games for girls have been buried due to heteronormative stereotypes. Read it here

  • There's still time to create your Unreal Engine Rube Goldberg machine. This year’s challenge is to create a wild and whimsical Rube Goldberg Machine to open a box. Submissions close on May 8, 2026.

  • Learn about what’s new in game-based learning, from a narrative-based language learning game to the benefits of cognitive training games. Read more here.

  • NASA has created opportunities for students to help shape a new era of space exploration through internships, student challenges, and Minecraft. Students now have the opportunity to have hands-on experience and engage with space. Learn more here

  • We're proud to share that our President, Susanna Pollack, has been nominated for the GamesBeat Boss Mode 'Woman of the Year Award.' The awards honor women leaders across games, media, and technology, and take place this May in Los Angeles. Use code GBS26BossMode for 25% off regular tickets. Read all about it here

In honor of Earth Day 🌎 on April 22, In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we're spotlighting two games our 24-25 Student Challenge Arcade, from the theme “Nurture Yourself with Nature”, which focused on youth mental well-being and easing their eco-anxiety about environmental issues. 🌳♻️

Mother’s Nature: Mother Nature wakes from a half-billion-year nap after humanity's final war and finds Earth desolate. In this simulator, you take on the role of Mother Nature and revive the Earth to what it once was, creating new life and a system for others to survive.

EnviroWare: Play microgames to learn about taking care of and appreciating nature, animals, and the world. Each game will help participants learn new topics in environmentalism and nature while also offering ideas for better environmental care.