🎉 #G4C2025 Festival Speakers Revealed + Student Challenge Deadline & More!

Deepak Chopra and Poonacha Machaiah headline with a keynote on gaming’s potential for mental wellness, plus leaders from Marvel Games, Discord, Xbox, ustwo games, Supercell, ESA, and others.

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Games for Change
April 16, 2025

Welcome to the April Newsletter! Kick off the month with the first speakers for the Games for Change Festival and exciting updates on the G4C Student Challenge! Plus, in celebration of Earth Day, we’ve got some immersive games and talks to inspire you to create meaningful change through play. Take a quick break from Split Fiction and get ready for an exciting read! 🌟

— Team G4C 

With the 22nd annual Games for Change Festival just around the corner, we’re thrilled to announce our first lineup of speakers! This collection of global cross-sector leaders and experts are reimagining how we can harness the power of games and immersive media as tools for real-world change, imaging solutions for a better future. 🌍 🎮

Headlining the Festival will be Deepak Chopra and Poonacha Machaiah, taking the mainstage for a keynote fireside chat on the intersection of gaming and mental health.

🎤 Featured Speakers Include: 

  • Maria Sayans (CEO, ustwo games) 

  • Leo Olebe (VP of Global Partnerships, Xbox | Microsoft)

  • Mathias Norvig (CEO, SYBO)

  • Deborah Mensah-Bonsu (social impact partner, Supercell)

  • Nicole Smith (Senior Manager, Tech Initiatives & Partnerships, USA for UNHCR) 

  • Patricia Noel (Mental Health Policy Manager, Discord)  

  • Rachel Kowert (Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge) 

  • Phil Stuart (Executive Creative Director / Founder, Preloaded)

  • Stanley Pierre-Louis (President & CEO of the Entertainment Software Association)

  • Nicole Twohig (Director, Marketing and Communications Campaigns, Vibrant Emotional Health/988 Lifeline)

These speakers will guide sessions across our three core tracks—Games & Learning, Civics & Social Issues, and Health & Wellbeing—exploring how games address mental health challenges, build inclusive communities, leverage emerging technologies, and pioneer sustainable practices. Come for innovation, leave with inspiration, and connect with the leaders and changemakers shaping the future through the power of play!🎮✨

🚨Grab your ticket before prices increase on June 9!

đź’ˇAre you a student, educator, nonprofit member, or indie game developer? Check if you qualify for a discount!

Just 6 days are left until the G4C Student Challenge Competition closes on Monday, April 21, at 11:59 PM PT! 🎉

This gives students more time to perfect their projects addressing social challenges such as peacebuilding, food security, and eco-wellness to win a $10,000 scholarship, an all-expenses-paid trip to NYC to attend the G4C Festival, worldwide recognition, and more! 🌟

🔹 Need guidance? Check out our student resources to help your students reach the finish line and add final touches to their projects.

🔹 Want to give your students real feedback before they submit? Use the Endless Studio playtesting platform for valuable insights from fellow creators! Visit Endless Studio and enter the access code G4C2025University to get started.

  • Discover how video games can inspire everyday players to hold their communities, the gaming industry, and national governments accountable in addressing climate crisis.

  • Explore Ubisoft's new open-source tool, Chroma and how it’s helping developers make their games more accessible to the 300 million people affected by color blindness.

  • Learn about Clean Play on the PlayStation Store, where players can learn about energy use in gaming, support renewable energy projects, and earn digital rewards for their contributions.

  • Students, apply for the ESA’s scholarship program aimed at those pursuing a career in the games industry, aiming to expand the industry through play, design, creation, and innovation.

  • Help shape practical tools for sustainable world-building in games by sharing your insights in the Desirable Futures Toolkit survey.

World Rescue: A narrative, research-based video-game inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Through fast-paced gameplay set in Kenya, Norway, Brazil, India, and China, you will meet and help five young heroes and help them solve global problems—such as displacement, disease, deforestation, drought, and pollution—at the community level.

World For Two: Traverse stunning pixel landscapes, collect resources, and solve genetic puzzles to bring life back to a desolate planet. Play as an android created by the last human in existence to retrace evolution and save the world from mass extinction while discovering the true weight of the human condition.