Square Enix has officially launched the website for its Game Contest 2026, a competition open to game creators based in Japan. The contest is looking for original, unreleased games that stand out in novelty, originality, entertainment value, and overall polish.

The contest is described as a platform for creators to bring their game ideas to life and potentially get full publishing support from Square Enix. The company says it is looking for games driven by genuine passion and creativity, with the goal of finding titles that can surprise and excite players in ways that have not been done before.

There are three award tiers up for grabs:

The Grand Prize, awarded to one winner, comes with 300 million yen in prize money. Square Enix will cover publishing, distribution, and marketing, and the winner will also receive royalties based on sales.

The Best Works Award goes to four entries, each receiving 100 million yen along with the same publishing support and royalties.

The Excellence Award covers ten works, each earning 30 million yen, again with full publishing support and sales royalties included.

Square Enix has confirmed that winners will be selected for every prize tier. There will be no situation where an award goes unclaimed. Entries are open to individuals, groups, and legal entities currently residing in Japan. Applicants must be 18 or older, or have written consent from a parent or guardian if they are under 18.

Submission and Rules

Games must be completely original and must not have previously won awards in other contests. However, works that have been shared on social media or portfolio sites are still eligible, as long as they have not been commercially sold or distributed. VR works are not accepted in this contest with target platforms limited to mobile and PC.

Applications open on December 15, 2026, and the deadline is March 15, 2027. Winners will be announced on June 30, 2027. Submissions require three things: a project proposal in PDF format, a gameplay video uploaded to YouTube with limited access (up to 20 minutes long), and an executable file in ZIP format.

Judging happens in three rounds. The first round looks at the project proposal and gameplay video. The second round involves actually playing the game through the executable file. The final stage is an interview.

Square Enix has acknowledged the growing use of AI in game development and says it respects creators using technology to expand their work. At the same time, the company requires full transparency. Applicants must disclose any AI tools used and confirm they hold the rights to all content submitted.

If a winning game moves toward commercial release, any AI-generated sections will need to be manually rewritten or restructured as needed. Specific AI usage guidelines are set to be published soon on the contest website.