A weekend of pride, creativity and nostalgia

The 7th annual Pride Game Jam HKI wrapped up on Sunday 28 June 2026 after three days of creativity, community and self‑expression. Our jammers and participants gathered at the Netflix, Next Games office in central Helsinki and online via Discord to celebrate LGBTQIA+ experiences through game creation. The jam is part of Helsinki Pride Week and is organised by Finnish Game Jam ry in partnership with Netflix, Next Games, Ubisoft Redlyx and Fingersoft.

This year’s theme was “Oldie but Goldy”, encouraging jammers to revisit classics, mechanics, aesthetics or stories and give them a fresh, queer twist. The result was a charming mix of nostalgia and innovation, with games referencing vintage dress‑up, vampire masquerades, fish‑feeding love stories and PS1‑style rhythm action.

A safe space to create and be yourself

Pride Game Jam HKI is more than a typical game jam, it’s a celebration of LGBTQIA+ voices and experiences. Forty-five (45) on‑site jammers, together with online participants, produced ten inventive games. Highlights included Goldie’s Boutique, a vintage dress‑up visual novel; Fish Tank Lovers, a playful dating sim where you romance aquarium dwellers; and Disco the Platypus, a PS1‑style rhythm game where a platypus revives disco. Other entries ranged from vampire masquerade adventures to puzzle-based spell‑casting. You can find all the games created here

https://itch.io/jam/pride-game-jam-hki-2026

Looking Ahead

Finnish Game Jam ry warmly thanks all jammers, volunteers, speakers, partners, and community members who helped make the 7th Pride Game Jam HKI a welcoming and inspiring weekend. Led by main organiser Irina Kekman, with Eduardo Reyes supporting community and PR on site, the event once again showed the power of games as a space for creativity, self-expression, and belonging. We hope to see everyone again next year.