Global Game Jam and Lagos Games Week Announce Partnership for Pan-African Game Jam Ahead of Lagos Games Week 2026

Key Takeaways

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The PanAfrican Jam 2026 is a virtual game jam event uniting African game developers, happening from April 24 to May 11, 2026.
The initiative encourages collaboration, creativity, and innovation within the African game development community, with cash prizes totaling $2,500 along with additional awards.
The event is open to participants from any African country, with registration opening in early April on the Global Game Jam website ().
The jam is part of a broader program during Lagos Games Week 2026, which focuses on supporting the growth of the African gaming ecosystem and features participation from international publishers and studios like Focus Entertainment, Oceanview Group, and Ubisoft.

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The Global Game Jam (GGJ) and Lagos Games Week have partnered to present the PanAfrican Jam 2026, a virtual game jam designed to unite game developers from across Africa. Organized as part of the preparatory programming for Lagos Games Week, the initiative encourages collaboration and creativity under the theme “Play Without Borders.” The PanAfrican Jam 2026 aims to stimulate innovation, foster cooperation among African nations, and showcase the continent’s growing presence in game development. It also seeks to strengthen the community surrounding Lagos Games Week and increase its visibility. The event takes place virtually from April 24 to May 11, 2026. Winners will be announced on May 25, 2026, following a two-week evaluation. The event is open to participants from any African country. A total of $2,500 in cash prizes, along with additional awards, will be distributed. Award categories include Overall Winner, Best UEFN Game, Best Board Game, and Best Mobile Game. The event will also recognize the best game from each participating country, as well as the best inter-African collaborative team.

The jam commences on April 24 with a live stream featuring teams from Lagos Games Week and GGJ. Further details regarding jam-specific programming will be shared in April. Coordination and project submissions will be managed through Itch.io and the Global Game Jam Discord server. While teams can include international members, at least 75% of participants must reside on the African continent. The jam is open to solo developers over 18 years of age. Registration opens in early April, and interested individuals can sign up for notifications on the GGJ website: https://globalgamejam.org/panafricanjam2026. Maria Burns Ortiz, Executive Director of Global Game Jam, stated, “Every year, we witness the incredible talent and creativity of African participants during the annual Global Game Jam. This collaboration with Lagos Games Week allows us to further expand support and visibility for game development ecosystems on the continent, extending our impact far beyond a single weekend.” Bukola Akingbade from Lagos Games Week added, “Our partnership with the Global Game Jam is about encouraging experimentation and fostering the habit of prototyping. We’re excited to see creators solving problems, iterating, and completing projects—essential steps for the next generation of game developers in Africa.”

The PanAfrican Jam is part of a broader program during Lagos Games Week 2026, scheduled for June 18–19, 2026, at the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria. The winning team will be recognized during Lagos Games Week and have the opportunity to showcase their games in person. Lagos Games Week, now in its third year, is an annual fair held in Lagos, Nigeria, dedicated to video games. The event focuses on supporting the growth of the African gaming ecosystem through talent development, local market activation, expansion of external development capacity, and creation of original intellectual properties. The 2026 edition will also include: Participation from international publishers and studios like Focus Entertainment, Oceanview Group, and Ubisoft. The Next Gen Summit, an initiative aimed at teaching, inspiring, and empowering high school students about careers in gaming, storytelling, and interactive tech. Increased support from the French Embassy in Nigeria. Submissions opening in April for the Pitch Stage and Indie Games Showcase. More information about Lagos Games Week can be found at https://lagosgamesweek.com.

Pan-Global Game Releases and Local Jam Collaboration Highlights April 2026 Gaming Landscape

In other gaming news, the Global Game Jam (GGJ), organized by a nonprofit, took place worldwide over the weekend of April 13, 2026, with the goal of bringing people together to learn, tinker, and create using games as the medium. Additionally, several new games have recently been released: The Fortune Seller, an addictive hidden object game, launched on April 7; Annulus, a tactical RPG, became available on April 8; Narin: The Orange Room, a supernatural school horror game, also arrived on Steam on April 8; and Darts VR2: Bullseye entered early access on April 10 for Quest, PSVR 2, and SteamVR.