Game Off 2026 is GitHub’s month-long game jam, and this year’s theme is SHIFT. You have until 1 December 2026 at 13:37 PST to build a game, keep its code in a public GitHub repository and submit it on itch.io. Anyone can join, alone or in a team, with any engine.
Game Off is one of the friendliest jams for web game developers: it lasts a whole month instead of a weekend, and many of the best-rated entries can be played straight in the browser. This guide covers the dates, the rules and a practical plan for shipping a small HTML5 game on time.
Game Off 2026 at a glance
| Organizer | GitHub, hosted on itch.io |
| Edition | 14th annual Game Off |
| Theme | SHIFT (announced 1 November 2026) |
| Submission deadline | 1 December 2026, 13:37 PST |
| Voting ends | 1 January 2027, 13:37 PST |
| Team size | Solo or team, no size limit |
| Engines and tools | Any language, engine, framework or library |
| Cost | Free (GitHub and itch.io accounts) |
| Prizes | No prizes named — bragging rights decided by participant votes |
What does the theme SHIFT mean?
GitHub leaves the theme wide open and accepts strong or loose readings. Its own examples include shifting gears, shifting perspectives, a game where the Shift key is the only control, and working a night shift. The announcement sums it up as shifting gears, perspectives, dimensions and bits.
A few directions that work well for small browser games:
- Perspective shift: swap between top-down and side view, or between two characters who see the level differently.
- World shift: the level changes state — day and night, past and future, flooded and dry.
- Control shift: one key that changes everything, or controls that rotate every few seconds.
- Gravity or rule shift: a puzzle where you shift rows, colors or gravity to open a path.
- Work shift: a short management game about surviving one busy shift.
Pick the idea you can explain in one sentence. Jam players rate dozens of games, so a clear hook in the first 30 seconds matters more than a long story.
Rules you must follow
- Public GitHub repository. Your game’s source must live in a public repo, pushed before the deadline.
- Submit on itch.io. Pushing code is not a submission. You must also submit the entry on the Game Off itch.io page — you can sign in to itch.io with GitHub.
- Build it during the jam. Templates and starter projects are allowed, but most of the work should happen in the submission period.
- Any tools and assets. Open-source, commercial, commissioned or original assets are all fine. The licence is your choice; open source is encouraged, not required.
- AI use is allowed. AI-assisted development is permitted, and the submission form asks how you used it so players understand how the game was made.
- Be creative, respectful and fun.
Which engine should you use for a browser entry?
Any engine is allowed. GitHub’s own list of examples includes Godot, Unity, Unreal Engine, Phaser, Pygame, Bevy, LÖVE, Flame, Ebitengine, Defold, libGDX, HaxeFlixel, raylib, PICO-8 and TIC-80. If you want people to play your game without downloading anything, choose a tool you already know that exports to the web.
| Engine | Language | Good fit for a jam if… |
|---|---|---|
| Godot | GDScript, C# | You want 2D and light 3D with a full editor and HTML5 export |
| Phaser | JavaScript / TypeScript | You are a web developer and want a tiny, fast-loading 2D game |
| Unity | C# | You already use it daily and know its WebGL build settings |
| Defold | Lua | You want small web builds and a 2D-first workflow |
| PICO-8 / TIC-80 | Lua | You love tight limits: small screen, small palette, small code |
| raylib / Ebitengine / Bevy | C, Go, Rust | You enjoy coding without an editor and can handle the web build yourself |
The rule of thumb is simple: a jam is the wrong time to learn a new engine. Spend the month on the game, not the toolchain.
What last year’s winners teach us
Game Off 2025 had the theme WAVES and received more than 700 submissions. The ten winners were picked by participant ratings, and six of them were made in Godot while four used Unity. Several of the top entries — including Evaw, Where the Water Flows, Tidal Town and Ooqo — list HTML5 on their itch.io pages, so players could try them in one click.
Where the Water Flows, second place, is a calm isometric puzzle where you raise and lower the sea to reveal paths. It shows how far a single, clear mechanic can carry a jam game.
Evaw, the overall winner, is a moody platformer built around light waves, sound waves and radio signals. Ooqo, eighth, is an arcade score-chaser where gliding across fish builds combos — proof that a short, replayable loop can score as well as a big adventure.
The common thread: one mechanic tied tightly to the theme, readable visuals, and a game that runs in seconds.
A 30-day plan to finish a web game
- Days 1–3 — Idea and prototype. Write the one-sentence pitch. Build the core action with grey boxes and make sure it is fun on its own.
- Days 4–10 — The loop. Add a goal, a fail state and a restart. Test a web build now, not at the end — loading, audio unlocking and screen sizes cause the most last-minute surprises.
- Days 11–20 — Content. Make 5–10 short levels or one well-tuned endless mode. Add sound effects early; the Audio category is rated too.
- Days 21–26 — Polish. Title screen, simple tutorial, settings for volume, and clear feedback for every action.
- Days 27–29 — Ship early. Upload to itch.io, fill in the page, screenshots and AI-use answers, and push the final code to GitHub.
- Day 30 — Buffer. Keep the last day free for fixes. The deadline is exact: 13:37 PST.
How voting works
After submissions close, participants play and rate each other’s games in six categories: Overall, Gameplay, Graphics, Audio, Innovation and Theme interpretation. Voting runs until 1 January 2027, and GitHub announces the winners on its blog and social channels shortly after. Because players are other jammers with many games to try, a browser build, a short tutorial and a game that can be understood in a minute give you a real advantage.
Frequently asked questions
Is Game Off 2026 free to join?
Yes. You only need a free GitHub account and an itch.io account, which you can create by signing in with GitHub.
Can I use AI tools in Game Off 2026?
Yes. AI-assisted development is allowed. The submission form asks how you used AI so other players can see how the game was made.
Do I need to make a browser game?
No. Any platform and engine is allowed. A web build simply makes it easier for voters to try your game.
Can I work in a team?
Yes. You can work alone or in a team, and there is no team size limit.
Can I use assets I did not make?
Yes. Open-source, commercial, commissioned or original assets are all allowed. Just respect each asset’s licence.
Where do I ask questions or find teammates?
Use the official Game Off 2026 community page on itch.io. The full rules are on the Game Off 2026 jam page and in GitHub’s theme announcement.
