In this issue:

What’s on | Highlights of upcoming events.

Chapter Events | Meetups, talks, and other events we’re hosting.

#NYMakesGames News | Game launches and other updates from local creators.

Around Town | A community calendar of events from across the city.

Jobs & Opportunities | The latest posts from our notice boards.

IGDA Resources | Discounts and other benefits for IGDA members.

Chapter Resources | Where to go for more info.

What’s On This Month

NarraScope 2025 will be taking place in Philadelphia at Drexel University from Friday June 20th to Sunday June 22nd! Talks will be streamed online via Discord for remote attendees.

The 22nd Annual Games for Change Festival will be happening June 26th to 27th! Under the theme “Designing for Tomorrow,” the festival will explore how games and immersive media can foster collaboration across generations, perspectives, and sectors.

The Archway Arcade, presented by GUMBO and the DUMBO Improvement District is on June 27th! Starting at 6pm in Dumbo under the Brooklyn Bridge Archway, expect plenty of games in one of NYC’s most vibrant public spaces!

This pride month, join Boshi’s Place in celebrating some stellar narrative games, about trans stories told across a range of genres and formats! Including semi-auto biographical, fantasy, sci-fi, tumblr posts, chat logs, and bar tables. Proceeds go to Metro Inclusive Health of Florida, an organization providing transgender healthcare in a place where it’s increasingly difficult to get.

On The Horizon

• The Long Island Retro Gaming Expo returns to the historic Cradle of Aviation Museum August 8th-10th! Experience over 50 years of video game history across three exciting days.

• Play NYC will be back, for its 10th anniversary show at Anime NYC August 21st-24th! Click HERE to sign up for an info packet detailing exhibitor logistics, booth costs and everything in between. [Booth applications end on July 15th!]

• The Game Devs of Color Expo returns September 16-19th! Being part of the IGDA NYC community, you get 10% off tickets! Additional news specifically for NYC devs: Game Devs of Color is awarding up to $15K in grant funding to 1-2 devs/teams based in New York City thanks to the support of NYC MOME. To be considered for a grant, submit your game to GDoCExpo 2025, and state New York City as your location in the application form. Grant recipients will be chosen from the accepted games!

• XR Motion Conference at NYU Tandon @ The Yard will be a day filled with all things XR and motion technology. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone interested in the future of immersive experiences.

IGDA Foundation Alumni Weekend is back! Join us for a special two-day online event celebrating the incredible talent of the IGDA Foundation alumni community. Whether you’re here to listen, learn, or connect, everyone is welcome.

Level Up Tuesdays with Coexist!

*RSVP required to waive $20 entry fee*
Coexist Gamehouse

Tue, May. 20th @ 6:00pm

Join us at the Coexist Gamehouse for your go-to space to connect, learn, and grow with fellow game developers in NYC!

This month’s speaker will be Robert Lopez, who will lead a discussion on LGBTQIA+ communities throughout gaming, the importance of intersectional representation, and exploring ways to increase inclusion and safer spaces across gaming.

RSVP required for free entry!

Interested in participating?

Each month, we feature two playable games from local indie devs during the event. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, fill out our submission form HERE!

If you have interest in being a speaker and sharing your expertise, fill out our interest form HERE.

Share your NY game news here or Bluesky #NYMakesGames.
Section Editor: Mattia Sicuro

Making Waves

• The most recent Unity NYC Meetup Video is up! CLICK HERE to see “Graphics Programming in Unity 6 – Shaders & Render Pipelines”

• One Million Stars and Blastodrome are now set up for Wondercab and PICO-8 residencies at Wonderville. Nightmare Kart has released it’s own arcade cabinet!

• High Tide, a cozy two-player tabletop stacking strategy game is featured on the Boardgamegeek “Gen Con preview list“. CLICK HERE for a blog post from lead Designer, Marceline Leiman!

• CLICK HERE for the very first GUMBO Scoop, a trailer showcase celebrating work from the collective.

• Missed the sale? No worries! CLICK HERE to check out all the games and demos from the Games in New York Steam Event!

• Streamers! CLICK HERE to help support the 10th annual GDoCExpo, in the Squad Up Solidarity Stream happening June 14th to 28th!

Crowdfund

• Tournament Arc by Nile Matsuda, is an easy-to-learn and quick-to-play sports anime card game, featuring 40 lovable characters you can draft and train to win the ultimate competition!

Demos

• Bubblegum Galaxy, by Smarto Club, is a cozy narrative building game about rebuilding the galaxy tile by tile.

• Petrichor, by Llammergeiier, Phyrex, and Dusty is Forever. Settle easy into Petrichor, Michigan, where reality washes like paint and everyone hates you.

• Load Shed, by Coexist Gaming. Players are thrust into the high-stakes world of power grid management, where the balance of four critical generators determines the fate of a bustling city. 

• Steel Carnelian, by Catbird Soft, is a 3D anime-influenced shoot-em-up where you play as Cass, a mercenary with a mech suit and a loyal crew at her side.

• Particle Hearts, by Underwater Fire. Explore a world made entirely of particles. Use special abilities to manipulate those particles, solve puzzles, avoid detection, and uncover the role you play in this sinister and beautiful land.

• Consume Me, by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder. “Did you feel stupid, fat, lazy, and ugly in high school? well i did…but at least i made a life-simulation RPG about it!”

• Skate & Date, by Gensuta, is a roller derby rhythm ga(y)me where you play as Maggie, the lead jammer of the Rockin Rollergirls!

• Demon Tides, by Fabraz. Explore the open seas and uncover the kingdom’s dark secrets as you expressively platform your way across dozens of locales, upgrading your gear every step of the way!

Pre-Order/Wishlist

• Stars of Icarus, by Muse Games, is the latest starship combat game from the team behind Guns of Icarus. In the outer reaches of space, teamwork is all you can rely on. Form a ragtag crew with friends and strangers to face off against each other in this nail-biting online PvP ship-based combat game.

• Discone (a videogame), by Pondlife, is an exploration of videogames beyond gameness: beyond designed rules and designer-defined objectives. we, as designers, create a physics, a space, some characters. as players, you create the play.

• Coalescent || tidal rapture, by Hatim Benhsain and Hanwen Xu, is a hypnagogic 3D swimming/sex adventure game about harmonizing and want. Dive into a world of merpeople who are transforming and discovering casual relationships through the eyes of a floater who’s just been dumped and refuses to evolve.

• Whistle Pig, by Soren Greenwood, is a narrative action adventure, where you experience both the beauty and the brutality of the natural world through the eyes of a mother groundhog on a quest for revenge.

• The Longest Tale, by Dev Null Productions. Uncover a forgotten legend as you venture through mythical realms. Explore ancient ruins, outsmart deadly foes and solve arcane puzzles. Each path you take reveals a piece of The Longest Tale.

• Unparalleled: Zero, by Joseph Silberstein. SMASH into year 2313 as an unemployed rock giant fighting against an evil mega corporation in this physics-y action-rpg with turn based combat. Insta-kill foes by pushing them off ledges. Stack stone to ascend to glory.

• Back to Save the Universe, by Clay Peterson, is a 4X strategy game where you start by hatching a single egg and eventually build a galactic empire to rival the greats. Craft resources, navigate politics, and shape the future of the universe in this unique space sandbox.

Launched

• Puzzmo, the daily puzzle site, is now available on IOS!

Ongoing Initiatives

• Applications to join GUMBO are open! GUMBO is a non-profit collective of indie game creators located in Dumbo, Brooklyn formed to inspire and motivate each other, stay current in the indie game makers community, and expand an already amazing skill-sharing network.

• In support of Wonderville, consider becoming a member on WithFriends to help to keep the arcades working and pay for parts and maintenance!

• ANNY Exchange is a Talent Connect Initiative for Animation Nights New York. Want to participate and be added to the database of Animation Talent from all around the world? More info here

• Animation Nights New York (ANNY) is always accepting submissions for Animated Short Films, AR Animation Experiences, VR animation Experiences, and Interactive Media (including Video Games). More info here

• Coexist Gaming is a subscription-based gaming lifestyle company that provides an inclusive ecosystem for community, culture, connection and opportunity. Including a gaming lounge, optimized networking experiences and accessible resources for Devs, find out more and become a member here!

• Support the Game Devs of Color Expo’s mission to uplift marginalized voices in game development by signing up for their monthly Ko-fi subscription! Your support ensures ongoing grants, events, and community programs.

• Support GUMBO on Patreon for exclusive digital content, free event access, and more!

• The New York State Digital Game Development Program is designed to accelerate and attract economic development by offsetting some production costs associated with producing digital games in New York State.

• Urban Arts teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career by offering after-school programs, career prep, school partnerships and more. Learn about their various programs for students and teachers here!

• The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment “Made in NY” Logo Program provides qualified digital gaming companies with the ability to use the City’s “Made in NY” logo in their game’s packaging, title screen and/or game website.

Unless otherwise noted, events are (probably!) free to attend. Follow @GameDevNYC for event alerts. Contact nyc@igda.org to add your org’s events.

Friday, June 13th

Take Us North Kickstarter Launch Event & Exhibition – Celebrate the Tribeca showcase, and Kickstarter launch with an exhibition of handcrafted embroidery from migrants in the Casa de la Misericordia migrant shelter in Nogales, Mexico, and more!

Saturday, June 14th

Monthly 2 Hr GameJam Club: Inform 7 – This month join Wonderville in using Inform 7 to make text adventures in under 2 hours!

Monday, June 16th

NYC Handmade Meetup – Part of the NYC group of the Handmade Cities meetups, come co-work and demo your work!

Wednesday, June 18th

Building and Using Virtual Reality in Education – Connect with educators, developers and others in creating effective ways of developing and implementing VR in education!

Thursday, June 19th

NOSTAGAIN’s memorabilia.mp4 – A live online webseries featuring artists, scholars, & nostalgia enthusiasts in 1 hour episodes with Q&A.

Sunday, June 22nd

NYC 2025 Next-Gen Summit – FREE and open for public high school students in the tri-state area, participants will explore different modes for creating games and meet and greet with game industry professionals.

Tuesday, June 24th

The Animation Project 2025 Showcase – Celebrate the animated work of participants from SVA’s TAP programs!

Thursday, June 26th

NYC Indie Dev Night with Playcrafting – Indie devs, gamers, publishers, industry vets and students – this is the place to come meet others in the community, network and talk shop – and check out what games NYC is cookin’ up!

Brooklyn Experimental Electronic Music Group – Join the local electronic music community for a showcase featuring an eclectic mix of New York City artists working in a variety of styles.

Wednesday, July 2nd

NYC Indie Games Social – A monthly gathering for indie game devs of all stripes to mix and mingle in a casual, relaxed setting.

Wednesday, July 9th

NYVR July Meetup – Join a community of product developers, investors, entrepreneurs interested in the development and application of VR!

Saturday, July 12th

Unlocking C++ in Unreal Engine – In this intensive day you’ll configure a full C++ toolchain for Unreal Engine 5.5, learn when native code outshines visual scripting, and discover how AI code copilots can super-charge your workflow.

Monthly 2 Hr GameJam Club: OHRRPGCE – Join Wonderville in using OHRRPGCE to make RPGs in under 2 hours!

Friday, July 18th

Puff Puff Playtest – Part of a series of unique cannabis-themed Game Night events featuring Made-in-NYC indie games, in conjunction with locally licensed cannabis dispensaries.

View or submit a listing for free.

Jobs

• Heart Machine – Gameplay Animator
• Heart Machine – Lead/Senior Designer

Exhibit/Speak/Publish

• Applications for the GDoCExpo Direct and the GDoCExpo Steam Sale are open. Additionally for NYC devs: Game Devs of Color is awarding up to $15K in grant funding to 1-2 devs/teams based in New York City thanks to the support of NYC MOME. To be considered for a grant, submit your game to GDoCExpo 2025, and state New York City as your location in the application form. [Deadline June 13th]

• Do you know an LGBTQ+ STEAM professional or student with an inspiring story? LGBT Tech’s PATHS Program is looking for a diverse range of interviewees within the LGBTQ+ STEAM community for season 6 of PATHS. Interviews will focus on telling each person’s story in the hopes of inspiring future generations to pursue STEAM careers. Submit a nomination form here!

Funding/Programs/Contests

• Applications for the EGD Collective Game Studio Fellowship & Transitional Program are open! This is a free, potentially college credit-bearing professional games industry career prep program based out of Harlem, open to all current college students and recent graduates that can make the commute. CUNY Students can get 3 credits per semester after completing their first semester, and non-CUNY students can register this as an independent study or internship with their department.

• The first Unity x IGA Game Jam! CLICK HERE to compete for prizes like Community Champion, Best Pitch, and The Unity Choice Award, which includes Unity Pro Subscriptions and more. [From June 13th to June 18th]

• Urban Arts is seeking rising 10-12th graders for its free, college-prep game dev summer program. CLICK HERE to apply!

Benefits for IGDA members.

Join here. Log in for all member discount codes and details.

• Event discounts: IGDA Members save 10% on tickets to GI Live: Online – visit the Discounts page for details!

• Education discounts: 10% off all General Assembly classes and workshops. Browse NYC classes.

• Software discounts: 20% off Buildbox. Details.

• IGDA Career Center: Job listings open to all; early access for members. Careers.igda.org

• IGDA Crowdfunding Collection: Member projects featured on Kickstarter. Submit.

Follow us for updates:

• @IGDANYC on Twitter
• Facebook page

Connect with the community:

• Discord server
• Facebook group
• Meetup group
• LinkedIn group

Visit our Jobs and Opportunities board to view or post listings for free.

Want to help us do things?

Learn about volunteering with the chapter.

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