It's time to make history at the industry's premier independent games event. Submissions are now open for the 2026 Independent Games Festival.
The 2026 Game Developers Conference—celebrating its 40th iteration—is now accepting submissions for the 28th annual Independent Games Festival. It's the longest-running festival, summit, and awards showcase celebrating independent games and their creators. Game developers and studios have until Wednesday, October 8 at 11:59pm PT to enter in all categories for the coveted IGF Awards.
Head Here for the IGF 2026 Submissions Page
The Independent Games Festival will nominate six finalist standout titles in each of these categories: Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, and Best Student Game. The Nuovo Award, which honors the title that “makes the jurors think differently about games as a medium,” will have eight finalists.
Six finalists will be selected to compete for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, named in honor of independent developer and previous Grand Prize winner Seumas McNally (Tread Marks). Finalists will also be selected for the 2026 Wings Award, which "highlights outstanding games where women and other gender-marginalized developers hold key positions." The IGF Audience Award will be decided by a public poll that features all the competition's finalists.
IGF 2026 will also see the return of the alt.ctrl.GDC Award presented onstage during the ceremony. alt.ctrl.GDC showcases some of the most unique, offbeat, and innovative controllers in modern games, and GDC attendees are invited to try out the games and vote for their favorite at the Expo Floor exhibit.
Finalists will be selected by hundreds of industry peers across game development and media, with specially selected juries picking the winners of each award. Last year, Consume Me, developed by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P and Ken "coda" Snyder, won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, the Nuovo Award, and the Wings Award. Consume Me is a darkly humorous personal game about creator Jenny Jiao Hsia's relationship with food, drawing from her past experiences with dieting and disordered eating.
For those making interesting or experimental works who, because of the entry fee, might otherwise not enter the contest, you can apply for a waiver on the $75 entry fee by Friday, October 10. If you're interested in becoming a judge for the 2026 IGF Awards, applications will open on September 17. More information coming soon.
IGF is part of GDC 2026, which will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center from March 9 to March 13, 2026.
Entries will be accepted through Monday, September 30 at 11:59pm PT, with finalists announced in January 2026. Submission applications are available here. For more information on the 2026 Independent Games Festival, including submission specifics, rules, and frequently asked questions, please visit the IGF website.