jam · online

Eclipse Publishing $500 Game Jam

When it actually closes

Safe cutoff

jam page

Stated: “October 5, 2026, 1:00 PM ET (5:00 PM UTC)”
Printed zone: ET
IANA zone: America/New_York
UTC: 2026-10-05T17:00:00Z
Your time: Mon Oct 5, 5:00 PM UTC (loading your time zone…)

Prizes

$500 cash · 4 slots

1st: $300. 2nd: $50 plus 'free software for 1 year' (the software is not named). 3rd: $50. 'Best game using ThinkTea': $100. The rules do not say whether the ThinkTea prize can be won alongside a placement. Every entrant gets written feedback from an Eclipse reviewer. Winners are also featured on Eclipse's channels and get an open invitation to pitch the full version to Eclipse.

1st place
cash
$300
2nd place
cash
$50
Also includes one year of an unnamed free software subscription
3rd place
cash
$50
Best game using ThinkTea
cash
$100
"ThinkTea" is undefined on the jam page or the host's site

Eligibility

Individuals: eligible

Open worldwide. Entrants under 18 need a parent or guardian to claim any prize.

Checked for one adult entering alone from Nevada, USA. Rules can differ by country, so read the rule quoted here for where you live.

Entry cost

Free to enter

Payout

mixed

PayPal or bank transfer, per the page. All winners will be contacted only through the host's Discord server, per the rules and the host's 'important news' post. The page does not mention KYC or tax paperwork.

Rights — what you give up

entrant-keeps

Entrants keep 100% ownership. Eclipse only gets permission to show footage, screenshots and the game's name in jam coverage, recap videos and social posts. It claims no publishing rights, no right of first refusal and no equity.

Gotchas

Prize eligibility for AI-heavy entries: undisclosed AI content means disqualification, and 'Entries that are substantially AI-generated end-to-end aren't eligible for prizes.' An AI-assisted build must still be mostly human-directed and disclosed by type.
Winners are contacted only on Discord, so an entrant must join discord.gg/9W2cNscVb2 or may miss the prize notice.
The host has no track record. The itch account was registered Sep 22, 2025, has hosted only this jam, and the studio's website says its first game is not out yet. It is a small Buffalo, NY studio that also builds websites and bookkeeping software.
'ThinkTea' ($100 prize) is not defined on the jam page, the host's site or in web results. Ask the host what it is before counting on that prize.