Last updated January 23rd 2025
1.1. The Game Development World Championship ("GDWC") is organized by Ace Lagoon Oy ("Organizer").
1.2. There may be multiple separate Competitions or Championships organized under GDWC, including but not lmited to, Game Development World Championship Seasons. All of these shall be jointly referred to as "Championships" or individually as a "Championship".
1.3. These rules apply to all Championships organized under GDWC unless otherwise specified.
1.4. Separately highlighted Summary sections in these rules are only for intended as a guide, and do not constitute a part of these rules themselves.
Ace Lagoon Oy is the organizer. These rules apply to all competitions and categories in GDWC by default.
2.1. Championships have one or more Award Categories.
2.2. Organizer matches games into each Award Category based on the information provided by developer, unless otherwise stated.
2.3. Award Category Nominees are selected by Organizer or 3rd party appointed by Organizer
2.4. Award Category Winner or Winners, and Finalists are selected by a Jury appointed by Organizer or by 3rd party.
2.5. Award Category may have prizes set by a 3rd party. Organizer is not responsible for prizes set by a 3rd party.
2.6. 3rd party may change or cancel prizes set by them from an Award Category at their discretion.
2.7. Organizer or 3rd party may cancel an Award Category at any time due to a too low participation.
There can be multiple categories or competitions going on at GDWC at the same time. Organizer or Jury picks winners.
3.1. Submitting a team and game into the GDWC platform is free.
3.2. GDWC 2025 Summer Season opens for submissions on January 29th 2025.
3.3. GDWC 2025 Summer Season submission time ends on May 31st at 23:59:59 Finnish Time (EEST / UTC+3)
3.4. Individual categories or Championships may differ from stated opening and closing times if so stated in the category pages.
3.5. Organizer reserves the right to change the season opening and closing times.
3.6. Enrolling into any of the Championships is free, unless otherwise stated.
3.7. Participant does not submit game into any specific Award Category, unless otherwise stated. Games are selected into best matching Award Categories by Organizer.
3.8. Participant agrees that their game and team may be picked into any Championship or Award Category.
3.9. Participant fills up all required submission forms with genuine information.
3.10. Participant agrees that information on the enrolment form can be forwarded to 3rd parties as is required to fullfill the Championship and Award Category processes.
3.11. Organizer reserves the right to refuse an application or remove a game, team, or participant from any Award Category or Championship at any point for any reason, including but not limited to fraudulent participation information, inappropriate or unsuitable content, missing crucial game submission information or content, or any other breach of these Rules or the general Terms of Service by the participant.
3.12. Each individual or team can compete with any number of games on any of the accepted platforms if they wish.
3.13. The game and the peripherals needed to play must either be portable with reasonable cost or be emulated with a PC or a handheld device such as a tablet.
3.14. Team members can be replaced, added or removed during the competition.
3.15. Any material, assets or work that has been outsourced by the team must be clearly documented and this information sent alongside the application.
3.16. By registering for the competition, the participant allows the Organizer to contact the participant via e-mail about matters related to the competition.
3.17. By registering for the competition, the participant represents that they are age 18 or older, or that they have a parental or legal guardian consent, and are capable of understanding and agreeing in these rules.
3.18. By registering for the competition, the participant represents that they have read and accepted these rules and regulations.
3.19. Participant may at any time remove their game from the Championships and Award Categories by removing their game from the platform.
3.20. By removing their game from the platform, participant understand and agrees that they forfeit their position in the Championships and Award Categories and any rewards or prizes they may have earned.
3.21. Organizer reserves the right to retain certain public information provided by the participant, after removal of game from the platform, in cases where game has already earned a victory, finalist position, or other highlight on the Championships, Award Categories, or otherwise.
3.22. By registering for the competition, the participant understands that their game may be reviewed and game's installation and any other files downloaded and viewed by GDWC Jury members, and that the Organizer does not control the environment in which the game and its files are viewed or accessed, or the persons who access the game and its files, and thus the Organizer is not liable in any way for any actions of GDWC Jury members or any issues that may arise from these circumstances.
Enrolling is free. For some categories you must select to participate yourself and you may have to provide additional information. For some categories the Organizer selects games into based on the available information (So fill out your game info properly!). To participate you are either 18 or older, or have parent permission. You also agree to these rules.
4.1. Game eligibility depends on specific Award Category of Championships.
4.2. Unless otherwise stated, games fully released in after May 31st 2024, are eligible to participate in the GDWC 2025 Summer Season categories.
4.3. Unless otherwise stated, games still in development, including Early Access title, Soft Launch titles, open Betas and Alphas, etc., are eligible to participate in the GDWC 2025 Summer Season categories.
4.4. All games are eligible to be added to the GDWC.
4.5. Released games, Games in development, Games in Early Access, Games in Soft Launch, Games in Alpha or Beta, and games in any other development phase may be added to GDWC
4.6. DLC, Mods, Remakes, Remasters, Re-Releases, Platform Ports, and Fan Games may be added to the GDWC.
4.7. Game being eligible to be added to GDWC does not guarantee that it is eligible to any Championships or Award Categories.
4.8. Mature content is accepted within reasonable limits and if such content is not the sole content and/or purpose of the submitted game.
4.9. Games with mature content must be marked properly during submission. Failure to do so may result in submission being rejected. The Organizer reserves the right to remove or reject any submission deemed inappropriate.
Pretty much any game can be submitted to the GDWC, but this does not guarantee that the game gets nominated into any category.
5.1. Only entries with finalized submission done before the closing date of a given Championship or Award Category are eligible to be picked for the Championships or Award Category.
5.2. Access to the game for the Organizer and Championship Judges must be provided. Either as a working downloadable build of the game, or as an activation code, key, coupon, or equivalent for acquiring the game on the platform which it is available on.
5.3. If activation keys of any type are required to access the game:
5.4. If any special instructions are required to play the game, these must be provided.
5.5. Minimum number of screenshots for the game must be provided, as instructed in the game submission form.
5.6. Basic information for the game, such as name, short elevator pitch, description etc. must be provided.
5.7. Trailer or gameplay video is not required, but it is HIGHLY recommended.
5.8. The team owns full rights to their game. The team will accept full responsibility for any claims represented to the Organizer by Third Parties regarding the game or any other material submitted by the team.
5.9. The Organizer reserves the right to use images, video and text material of the game, team and entry submission for the purposes of marketing the competition and the games. The Organizer also reserves the right to make new content from the games included but not limited to, streaming gameplay and recording gameplay footage, without any compensation to the development team.
5.10. Organizer will not share activation keys, closed beta builds or similar with 3rd parties, except in the extent that is required for judging process, and in cases where developer has given permission to share them with influencers or other members of media.
5.11. The game must be able to run on a Windows or Mac computer, generally accessible game console, Android or iOS portable device, or internet browser either natively or via emulation.
5.12. If specialized emulation software is required to run the game, the developer must either provide said emulation software or give clear and easy instructions to access said emulation software.
5.13. Teams can submit a game using existing technologies such as engines, frameworks and models. Teams must own full rights or have required licenses to use those technologies.
5.14. Teams can submit a game using existing content and materials. Teams must own full rights or have required licenses to use those assets.
5.15. Teams must ensure that their games do not break the Finnish law.
You need to add at least basic details, some screenshots, and a playable version of the game to compete.
6.1. Award Categories and Championships have their own criteria for games and/or teams that are eligible to participate.
6.2. Organizer selects games into Championships and Award Categories based on the information available on the game submission page as provided by developer, and on the participation criteria set for each Award Category and Championship.
6.3. Organizer does not guarantee any team or game a spot in any Award Category or Championship.
6.4. The Organizer does not guarantee that any submitted game, game download, activation key, or other entry is played or otherwise accessed by the Organizer, the Organizer staff or affiliates, or the Championship Judges.
6.5. Award Categories and Championships follow the GDWC JUDGEMENT CRITERIA, unless otherwise stated.
6.6. Award Categories and Championships may add additional criteria to the GDWC JUDGEMENT CRITERIA.
6.7. GDWC JUDGEMENT CRITERIA:
Each Category has own requirements for participation. GDWC Judgement Criteria is used as a basis for evaluating games. Organizer cannot guarantee that all submitted games are playtested.
7.1. Organizer reserves the right to make changes to these rules at any point without prior notice. As a participant it is your responsibility to stay up to date with these rules and any possible changes.
7.2. Rewards cannot be changed to money or other rewards or passed to another recipient by reward recipient's request.
7.3. If the Organizer can't reach a winning participant within a reasonable time, determined by the Organizer or 3rd party providing the reward, or a winning participant is disqualified for any other reason, the Organizer can either promote the next runner-up participant to receive the reward, or leave the reward unallocated.
7.4. Organizer reserves the right to change the rewards in any category.
7.5. Rewards may be subject to international trade sanctions, embargos, or other legal limitations which prevent reward from being provided to the recipient. In such cases the reward shall not be replaced.
7.6. If a winning or other prize receiving participant is under the age of 18 or their local legal adulthood, the reward will be paid to the legal guardian or representative.
7.7. Winner and any other possible prize recipients are responsible for any taxes, tolls, or other charges applied to their prize or prizes by their local laws.
7.8. In case of cash money prizes and unless otherwise stated, the prize money will be paid to the bank account announced by the receiver of the prize. The Organizer will enquire the account information from the receivers.
7.9. Organizer is not responsible or liable for any neglect, ommission, or failure to deliver on promises or responsibilities made to participants or other users directly or via Organizer by sponsors or other 3rd parties.
Rewards cannot be changed and they must be claimed within reasonable time. Rewards may also be subjectible to limitations depending where you are.
8.1. Voting for games in the Game Discovery voting page, in any Championships or Award Category, or any other voting event in the GDWC site is open to all participants and page visitors, and does not require registering an account unless otherwise specified.
8.2. All voters can cast a single vote in any individual vote or voting event, unless otherwise specified.
8.3. Using any methods, automated or otherwise, to circumvent the voting rules will result in any votes given via such fraudulent methods, to be disqualified.
8.4. The Organizer may disqualify the whole game and remove all of its votes if there is a reason to believe that the participant or participants who submitted the game have knowingly engaged in voting fraud.
Voting is open to everyone and does not require an account by default.
9.1. Some categories may require agreeing on 3rd party rules, terms of service, or other agreement, or to register on a 3rd party service to compete in.
9.2. Only games using procedural generation in some form can participate in the Proceduralism Award. Participation in the Proceduralism Award does not require using Houdini or other SideFX tools.
9.3. Only games using SideFX Houdini can compete for the Bonus Prize in the Proceduralism Award.
9.4. Entries submitted for the Best Discord Game category must:
Some categories may have category-specific custom rules or may require you to agree on 3rd party terms or rules, or to sign up to 3rd party services to compete.
