2025-2026
Calling All LGBTQ+ Student Game Creators!
Ready to change the world through video games?
Maven Youth invites you to join our special online LGBTQ+ cohort in the 2026 Games for Change Student Challenge — a competition that teaches students about game design, computer programming, and social impact.
(Open to students in grades 9-12 & university age students - no prior experience required!)
2025-2026 Maven Youth Games for Change Cohort Program
Teams Form
Teams will form based on roles — Coder, Artist, or Game Writer — to develop a social good video game for the competition. You'll work closely with your teammates throughout the program to bring your ideas to life!
Video Game Dev Trainings
Together, you will receive online game development workshops. These comprehensive trainings will ensure your team is equipped to create a standout game for the G4C competition!
Creating/Support
Teams will collaborate to develop their video game with coaching from our youth trainers. Hosted "open labs" will offer additional assistance for drop-in questions and technical support.
Enter Competition
After months of development and game testing, teams will submit their video game in April, aiming to win the Game of the Year award and a $10,000 scholarship.
What is the Games for Change Student Challenge?
In this competition, you'll team up to create an original video game centered around one of this summer's compelling themes. Your creation could earn recognition, win prizes, and offer you the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the world!
2026 Social Impact Themes
Where do you connect to nature —perhaps a nearby park, garden, or forest? These beautiful spaces grow food, support wildlife, and empower communities, yet they need our care. This year’s challenge asks you to explore how local ecosystems, urban or rural, feed global food systems and how protecting them builds a resilient, equitable, and hopeful world.
Road safety isn’t just about rules — it’s about lives. Millions are injured or killed annually, and car crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths. We think we can change that. From ineffective urban planning to distracted or impaired driving, unsafe roads demand action! Help promote safe habits and cut risky behavior to create safer communities.
Draw inspiration from a nearby reef or rainforest, a dream destination, or an imagined habitat. Identify its vulnerabilities and consider historical grassroots solutions that have succeeded in addressing them. Design a game that lets players feel a reef’s wonder or a rainforest’s pulse, showcasing how people can unite to protect ecosystems under threat.
Why Participate?
Where else can you find a community of LGBTQ+ youth passionate about video games and eager to co-create in a safe, supportive space?
Join our queer youth creators to showcase the power of queer leadership and innovation! Express your identity through the exciting world of game design while gaining valuable skills in coding, art, storytelling, and teamwork. Connect with other LGBTQ+ youth who share your passion for gaming and social change, and compete for amazing prizes, including a $10,000 scholarship! Don’t miss this chance to make your mark in the gaming community!
Key Details
Open to students in grades 9-12 & university-age students
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Teams consist of up to 4 students, each responsible for a different aspect of the game development process.
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No prior experience required! Come open to learning and we will support you in unlocking your creativity as a team.​
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Youth will be from around the US.
Tools of the trade
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Games will be built in Ren’Py, a visual novel game engine, with the potential for alternative submissions using other free platforms (e.g. Scratch, Unity, or Twine).
Online cohort experience
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The program will kick off in November 2025 with monthly workshops and team-building activities. Teams will form in January and collaborate on their video game until April 2026, when they will submit their game to the competition. We ask all students to expect to be part of the program for 5 months.