Experimental Games Showcase

SUBMIT YOUR GAME TO THE

AT GDC 2026

What is the Experimental Games Showcase?

The Experimental Games Showcase (ExGS), formerly known as the Experimental Game Workshop, is a session of about a dozen curated microtalks where developers of experimental games talk about their own design process and creative expression. The session has been a yearly tradition at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco since 2002 . Over its long history, ExGS has featured a wide assortment of presentations on games of all types, shapes and sizes.

Our goal for this session is to showcase work that extends the boundaries of games as a creative medium. This might be through exploration of unusual and deep interactive experiences through play, novel and innovative mechanics, or a diversity in game types, creators, subcultures, narrative representations, and the use of new mediums. ExGS is designed to be a venue for creative people around games to share their ideas with an audience of other like-minded souls out there. By showcasing this work, we hope to leave any attendees of the session excited and inspired about the future possibilities of games as a dynamic, continually expanding creative medium!

What is an experimental game?

An experimental game is a game that takes an unusual or novel creative approach and challenges existing ideas about what can be done in an interactive medium. Some specific types of experimentation that ExGS showcases include:

Unique or novel mechanical exploration
Aesthetic, narrative or gamefeel experimentation
Generative or emergent gameplay that encourages player experimentation
Personal or philosophical statements that explore underrepresented experiences
New interaction methods / models / devices / experiences
And more! Stuff we can’t define! Show us the weird stuff you've got!

What kind of work is accepted?

We look for work that demonstrates a deep and consistent exploration with a game’s mechanics, themes, and/or motifs. We accept presentations on both finished games and playable prototypes. Finished games may be from the past, as long as the concepts still feel fresh in the current landscape.

Projects can be in any stage of development and made for any medium connected to games (videogame, tabletop, alternative controller, installation, etc), so long as the aspects that make the game experimental are playable. The submission also doesn't need to be fun, but the idea behind it has to be compelling and clearly communicated. We’re more interested in celebrating the process of experimentation over showcasing fully polished and successful results.

You can find more information about what we’re looking for on the submission form.

About the ExGS Community

For many, the ExGS is a first chance to go to the Game Developers Conference to share their work and learn from other developers. We strongly encourage designers from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and underrepresented communities to apply. We have a Discord server of recent ExGS participants who are interested in sharing their projects and processes with each other around the conference. We’re actively looking for suggestions on how to grow and support this community at GDC, online, and beyond.

By making a submission, we will extend you an invitation to participate in our community - regardless of whether your game or presentation is selected for this year’s GDC showcase. We’re excited to see what you’re working on!