The ultimate celebration of NYC Game Devs is back on October 18th – Don’t miss Game-A-Palooza!
The Game Devs of Color Expo returns for an exciting 10th year!!
And as always plenty of games, local events and more to check out and kick off the Fall season!!!

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.

What’s On This Month

On The Horizon

• XR Motion Conference at NYU Tandon @ The Yard will be a day filled with all things XR and motion technology, perfect for anyone interested in the future of immersive experiences. Happening October 25th!

Experience the biggest celebration of NYC’s indie game developers at Game-A-Palooza – Fall 2025 on Saturday, October 18th at Hana House in Brooklyn! This one-day festival features 50+ local developers showcasing their newest and unreleased games.

Whether you want to play the games first, showcase your own creation, or gain exclusive VIP access as a publisher, investor, press professional, or content creator, Game-A-Palooza is your front-row seat to NYC’s indie game and game developer community!

Sign up or learn more below:

Level Up Tuesdays with Coexist!

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

Tue, Sept 16th @ 6:00pm

This Month’s Speakers are Ryan Campbell, Edward Baxter, Marcus Todd Strong, & Matthew Vernace

New York based attorneys and consultants will be providing their insights on intellectual property and video games, covering copyright rights in realistic gaming, laws in video games, creators/influencers, and more in their discussion, “Legal Geekery“!

Scramble Star Crossing and Ragnar by Kevin Lopez will be part of our featured showcase!

RSVP required for free entry!

Interested in participating?

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

Making Waves

• The latest webinar for game developers from Empire State Development, Funding Avenues: Overview is now available on Youtube! Stay tuned for the next webinar featuring a case study on working with publishers for funding!

• Empire State Development has shared a dedicated video outlining the updates on the New York State Digital Game Development Tax Credit Program, detailing recent enhancements and providing a visual walkthrough of the application process!

• Missed out on Narrascope 2025? Want to revisit your favorite conversations? Now’s your chance! All 55 talks from this year’s event have been posted to their YouTube channel!

• The lastest talk from last year’s Game Devs of Color Expo, Puzzle People: Making Games at the NYT is now on YouTube!

Crowdfund

• ENCLAVE: Aspirant by Robby Howell is a new expansion to the diceless TTRPG with minimal barrier to entry and a remarkable amount of mechanical depth.

• The Deck of Many Rations introduces an immersive and enriching card-based food experience into your tabletop roleplaying games.

• [Coming Soon] CYBRLICH and the Death Cult of Labor by CYBRLICH Studios – An adrenaline fueled FPS/boomer shooter about a buff barbarian hacker taking down an evil undead corporate overlord

Demos

• FOOTSLOG by Aaron Pastor, Alex Choate, Matthew Hulse, Nicholas Perell & Sodafungi is a first-person boomer shooter with a unique interactive reloading mechanic.

• Summit Drive by Luke Kim is a driving game where you play as an anthropomorphic bird who must make their way up to the mountain summit for a view like none other.

• Stonk Pets by Sunshineshiney is a stock market creature collecting game using real stock tickers, where each stock is a creature you can collect and evolve!

• Ailia by IceToad Studio LLC – Manipulate the mirrors and guide Ail through this world where reflections intersect reality. And discover the truth in the mirror.

• Consume Me by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder is a slice-of-life role-playing game!

• Moves of the Diamond Hand by Cosmo D, is a first-person urban RPG, powered by dice and intrigue. Along the way, you might even shape the fate of a city.

Launched

• Unidentified Feline Obliterators by Shattered Journal Games is a multiplayer arcade space shooter where you play as cats shooting deadly balls of matter in space! Now available on Steam!

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.

Tuesday, September 16th

Animation Nights New York (ANNY) at The Gutter Spare Room! – ANNY is a monthly screening event and annual festival featuring a curated program of animated short films from all around the world.

Kick Kick Boom Wondercab Launch Party – This game doesn’t exist anywhere else outside of the laptop it was built on, so come out to celebrate, blow up your friends, and win prizes in a tournament!

Level Up Tuesdays with IGDA NYC – This months discussion “Legal Geekery” features insights on intellectual property and video games, plus TWO showcase games to play from the NYC indie community.

Wednesday, September 17th

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

Thursday, September 18th

NYC Handmade Meetup – Part of the NYC group of the Handmade Cities meetups, stop by for coworking and demos!

Sunday, September 21st

Animation Nights New York (ANNY) Virtual Events – ANNY is a monthly screening event and annual festival featuring a curated program of animated short films from all around the world.

Thursday, September 25th

How to Play the Sondheim Way – A Lecture & Workshop with Barry Joseph – Join the NYU Game Center for a lecture and workshop with Barry Joseph, games educator and author of How to Play the Sondheim Way!

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!

XR Motion Meetup! – Gather around enthusiasts, professionals, and experts in all things XR!

Tuesday, September 30th

Wonderville’s Last Tuesday of the month PLAYTEST – Come to Wonderville to playtest in production games! If you’re a developer, bring your game! No signups required.

Wednesday, October 1st

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

Thursday, October 2nd

Skillshare Thursdays: Optimization in Unity 6 – Join Unity in walking through how to optimize a scene, analyze performance bottlenecks, break down the render pipeline and more!

NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Zeke Virant – Join Game Center MFA alum and lead game designer at MachineGames for a talk on developing a first-person game focused on simulating hands-on experiences and adventure over action.

Friday, October 3rd

WikiGameJam NYC – A creative hackathon for developers, designers, and Wikipedia enthusiasts to come together to make playful games inspired and powered by the world’s largest free encyclopedia!

Saturday, October 4th

WIA NYC Animation Festival – Connect with fellow animation enthusiasts and industry professionals with screenings, workshops, and networking opportunities!

Wednesday, October 8th

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

Thursday, October 9th

The State of NYC Indie: Developing a Better Games Community – This meeting of the minds will discuss why NYC is a great place to make games, the ways we can better support NYC game developers, and how we can mend community fractures.

Saturday, October 11th

Monthly 2 Hr GameJam Club: Doom Builder 2 – Join Wonderville in using Doom Builder 2 to make Doom levels in under 2 hours! Great for beginners and experts.

Saturday, October 18th

IGDA NYC presents: Game-A-Palooza – A one day expo featuring over 50 games from local developers, celebrating the creativity and diversity of the NYC metro game community!

Saturday, October 25th

Open Tables: A playtesting space for tabletop game designers – Play and test your games! Only a handful of tables will be open for testing, be they RPGs, board games, card games, or any other physical games media.