The digital gaming industry stands on the brink of an unprecedented revolution—one driven by artificial intelligence. Over the past decade, this industry has experienced remarkable growth, and it is projected that its global revenue will surpass $300 billion by 2030.

Today, artificial intelligence has brought about a dramatic transformation in game development. AI has not only revolutionized the behavior of non-player characters (NPCs), but also redefined the boundaries of creativity through the creation of dynamic worlds, procedural content generation (PCG), and the personalization of player experiences. In this context, AI Game Jam 1404, as a prelude to the International Artificial Intelligence Conference, offers a unique opportunity for student teams, professional and novice game developers, and AI researchers to harness AI tools, rapidly turn ideas into prototypes, and showcase their achievements to the industry. Organized in collaboration with the Game Lab of the School of Engineering and Computer Science, this specialized game jam will play a pivotal role in fostering synergy between research, industry, and creative game design.

The AI Game Jam, scheduled to be held in January 2026, will consist of two main parts. The first part will focus on training in AI for games and the fundamentals of game design and development. The second part will be dedicated to building, evaluating, and judging the games. Topics in the training section will include: fundamentals of game design and development, an introduction to AI in games, team and project management for entering the gaming industry, pathfinding algorithms in game development, behavior and decision-making algorithms, procedural content generation, language models and their applications in game development, game idea prototyping, and game economics—all presented by experienced game development instructors and AI specialists.

Participating teams will have two weeks to develop a game based on the competition’s assigned themes. During this time, they will benefit from mentorship and expert guidance. At the end of this period, the games will be evaluated by a panel of judges in a closing ceremony. As part of the rewards, the top five teams will receive special discounts to showcase their projects at the International Artificial Intelligence Conference Exhibition. The results will be officially announced during the conference’s closing ceremony, which will also include awards, investment opportunities, and avenues for further support.