February 2026 Update
Happy February, Indies!
January closed out with a super busy week and a half of socials, co-working, business panels, Writer’s Room, and Global Game Jam. Our 11th annual GGJ site saw 270 jammers registered, 150 people came to DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond to create 52 brand new game prototypes, teams, friendships and memories over the weekend of Jan 30-Feb 1. Check out and play all of the games made here or watch the final presentation stream.
Thanks to DigiPen for hosting us for the third year in a row and for providing food for our jammers onsite, AIE Seattle for serving as a secondary site for people to jam in Seattle, Unity for providing pizzas and all of the volunteers, organizers, and mentors who gave their time to make it an amazing experience for everyone involved! Check out some great photos of the event from Darrell Porcher; Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.
We’re already a full month into 2026 and conference season is starting here in the US. The annual DICE Summit is happening in Las Vegas this month and GDC is coming up a month later in San Francisco. Seattle Indies will have representation at both events and we’re excited to be a part of the new GDC Partner program where we’ll be featuring three games from our community at our kiosk on the show floor.
Locally we’ll be bringing over 25 games to the WA State Gaming Expo/Anime Washington the weekend of Feb 6-8, 2026 at the WA State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA. We’ll also be joining our friends at Emerald City LANFest at the Seattle Home & Garden Show with games for guests to play, stay tuned for details on that.
Speaking of GDC we’ll be hosting our second annual International Delegation of game developers and executives for Slice of SLICE (SoS) – The International Executive Summit from March 4-6, 2026. We’ll be welcoming delegates from across Europe, Latin America, Canada and more for 2 days of networking events, meetings, and a chance to make connections with local companies and indie studios looking to expand their businesses overseas. More details to follow in the coming weeks as events get finalized.
At the end of February we’ll be hosting the rescheduled WILA Games and Education Industry Collider on Thursday February 26, 2026. This will be an electric evening bringing game developers and educators together for a panel discussion, roundtable discussions, a mini expo floor and a fireside chat with Portal creator Kim Swift. Thanks to foundry10 for sponsoring the event and Cornish Institute of the Arts at Seattle U for hosting, we hope to see you there!
Our website got a behind the scenes makeover to make it a lot more stable, usable and updatable so we’ll be posting a lot more content on the site to keep you updated with everything happening. Our very active Discord just passed 8,000 members so you can always find someone there to answer any questions, give you feedback, playtest your games or fill up your wallet with Yerms…
Read on to find out more about major events happening in the industry, local events and local game releases.
Thanks to our friends at Diversion for sponsoring this month’s Seattle Social on Feb 17 @ Stoup Brewing Cap Hill!
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The Games for Blind Gamers Game Jam kicked off during the weekend of Jan 30 and goes until March 1, 2026. The goal of this jam is to make games for blind players and build awareness of blind gaming and accessibility in general. We welcome developers of all types and experiences (beginners and veterans, sighted and blind, etc.) and encourage them to learn about blind gamers and accessibility to create interesting and creative games! Seattle Indies hosted a prep event for this at the Washington Braille and Talking Book Library in January and will be hosting a live stream on Thursday February 5, 2026 with a panel of experts to give people more perspective on making games for blind gamers.
Seattle Indies will be appearing at WA State Gaming Expo 2026 for the third consecutive year with our biggest showing yet of over 25 games from our community!
More information about WA State Gaming Expo and ticketing information can be found here https://wagamingexpo.com/
This year they are combining the event with Anime Washington and it is a bit earlier than previous years on Feb 6-8, 2026 at the Washington State Fair and Events Center in Puyallup, WA
DICE Summit 2026: Feb 10-12, 2026, Las Vegas, NV
DICE2026 Theme: The Story Ahead
Games have always thrived on the leading edge of possibility. This year, we gather to celebrate visionary voices — uniting creativity, conscience and collaboration to chart tomorrow’s course. Together, we will explore a future where technology elevates rather than eclipses, where diverse voices redefine narrative and play. and where resilience and ingenuity transform business and cultural headwinds into creative breakthroughs — so we can build worlds that awaken wonder, move hearts and live beyond tomorrow.
IndieGameBusiness® is hosting the next installment of our long running Sessions series on February 18, 2026. Get ready to learn how to craft standout pitch decks and investor winning stories in expert led sessions designed to sharpen your pitching skills.
IndieGameBusiness® Sessions: From Pitch to Partnership
On February 18th, IGB will host the next installment of its long-running Sessions series, offering an event packed with insightful presentations and discussions. Industry experts will cover a range of essential topics related to perfecting your pitch. As the industry’s longest-running video game conference for publishers and developers, this event is a must-attend for anyone looking to stay ahead in the world of game development and publishing. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn and connect!
Save the Date:
📅| February 18, 2026
🌐| Online – YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn
🕘| 9am – 5pm Eastern
Don’t miss out! Register Now and help your game reach its full potential!
Are you interested in speaking? We are always looking for speakers for future events. Each speaker receives a stipend. You can apply here.
The Games and Education Industry Collider returns Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 6:00 PM at our new venue Cornish Playhouse (just across Seattle Center from PacSci). The Washington Interactive Learning Alliance (WILA) co-founded by Seattle Indies, Seattle EdTech Meetup, foundry10, and Perfect Day Games, is teaming up to bring you a classic Collider evening event featuring a fireside chat with Portal creator Kim Swift, a panel discussion with industry leaders in the space, breakout roundtable sessions and our usual expo floor.
PAX East is coming up on Mar 26 – 29, 2026 in Boston! Go Read all about it here!
GDC Festival of Gaming 2026: The Industry’s Bold New Era Begins
TEXT: GDC 2026 transforms the iconic event at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center to meet today’s broader, interconnected games industry. We bring together game developers, publishers, distributors, investors, founders, technologists, toolmakers, marketers, educators, and media in a single week of game-changing connection, discovery, and learning this March 9-13, 2026.
Informed and inspired by feedback from our community, our simplified pass structure, starting at $649 for five days of unlimited content and connections, makes GDC 2026 45% more affordable than last year’s event. GDC Festival of Gaming is more than a game development conference: It’s an industry celebration.
“In a time of great change, we can build walls or build bridges—and the game industry has always thrived by coming together,” said Mark DeLoura, GDC’s Executive Director of Innovation and Growth. “The GDC Festival of Gaming strengthens those connections, celebrating creativity and supporting everyone who brings games to life, from napkin sketch to global launch.”
JOIN US AT THE FESTIVAL OF GAMING
Grab Your Pass: https://gdc.informafestivals.com/2026/registrations/Attendee?_mc=barter_gdcsf_gdcsf_le_x_partner_2026
If you want to get a list of all upcoming game event shows and get ready early, The Indie House has published this fantastic list of upcoming festival that’s exactly that. Well worth a bookmark!
This Month’s feature is Brandon Orden, creator of Towerbolt.
Bio: Hi folks, my name is Brandon Orden. I’ve been working in the games industry professionally for 11 years, the majority of which I’ve worked as a 3D artist and environment artist for various PC and VR games. The largest well known project I’ve worked on was Kerbal Space Program 2, which I was primarily an environment and planet artist on. I’m also a self taught pixel artist and right now, I’m a solo game dev. Nowadays, I’m very busy working on shipping my first solo game project Towerbolt, a fast paced vertical platformer set in the year 239X, which comes out soon on February 18th!
What inspired you to become a game developer?
Back around 2013, I started hearing more about games entirely made by one developer. I was influenced by games made this way and by their respective devs: Papers Please (Lucas Pope), Undertale (Toby Fox), and Stardew Valley (Eric Barone). Each of these games had a very distinct personality and flavor, like you could really feel the spirit of the person who worked on it, and I found that really special. Working primarily as an artist in games at the time, I always had aspirations to break more into learning the other disciplines of game development, and after seeing such amazing games made by just one person, it really imprinted this blueprint that I could also do this, that I could make games on my own and have total creative control of every piece of it. Kind of like how a lot of games were made back for early consoles in the 80s.
It’s been a dream of mine to make a game entirely on my own, and in my mind, these devs were showing me the way to do it. From then, I started taking baby steps of teaching myself all the other game dev disciplines, wanting to hopefully one day create something the same way those indie dev giants I was inspired by did as well.
What is one important lesson you have learned in your time as a game developer?
It’s okay to make something that is entirely imperfect or clunky at first, especially if you’re still learning a particular skill. Coming from mainly an art background, I was very self-conscious about my coding practices and not programming something the smartest way, or cleanest way. The lesson I’ve learned is to not let that kind of perfection anxiety get in the way of actually making the thing. Code or draw it messy first as long as it helps get the mechanic explored or gets paint on the canvas. That forward progress and getting started matters more than getting it done right on the first try, but also, you can always perfect and clean up the thing later.
What is the one piece of advice you would share today with your younger self before you started your career as a game developer?
Mental health is super important and should not be overlooked as part of how you carry yourself on a day to day. It’s very easy to dive into a big project but not quite understand the toll it will take on you if you don’t take care of yourself. Making a game is a *lot* of work and can drain you physically and mentally too. Taking breaks, getting support from friends, and taking time to breathe is really important, not just for being at your best when you do your work, but it’ll just help you stay happy and will also keep you from burning out too. Also, it’s okay when you don’t have a productive day, and it’s okay for things to take time. As someone that’s suffered from burnout before, I’m hoping that my advice can help someone out there avoid that if they can!
How has the game developer community had an impact on your career?
Having the game dev community around has given me support in many ways more than one throughout my career. I’ve been thankful that I’m never far from someone who I can ask for help or advice about a problem I’m having or a complex game decision I have to make. Getting feedback on my work from game devs is also invaluable, as they understand how games are made and can step into my shoes when talking things out. I’ve gotten to learn a lot, both from passive osmosis from the local dev community, as well as directly from folks when I ask for help. Lastly, my favorite point of impact is that I’ve made quite a few friends in my time of making stuff, and it’s great and energizing to have folks around that share my passion for making games. Having the support of those friends helps me a lot. It matters especially when I need to commiserate about how hard it can be to make games in general, haha.
What is something interesting and unexpected that people would be surprised to learn about you?
Most folks usually don’t know this about me, but I’m half Filipino. Some of my favorite foods and things to cook are foods I grew up with: lumpia, siopao and just about anything ube flavored. I cook a mean siopao and love cooking batches of it for parties! As a kid growing up, on my birthdays I’d always request dozens of lumpia alongside cake and ice cream, so it’s a nostalgic birthday food that’s close to my heart.
How can people follow you and your work?
If folks want to follow my work, I post most of the progress on my projects on my Bluesky (@bordenary). I also post my personal pixel art there on occasion. If you want to follow my work on Towerbolt specifically, I do post on my Bluesky about it, but I also have a discord dedicated to it as well!
Links:
Towerbolt Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2559220/Towerbolt/
Towerbolt Discord: https://discord.com/invite/f7NQz6RMvV
My Portfolio: https://www.brandonorden.com/
My Game Jam Games: bordenary.itch.io
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bordenary.bsky.social
Here’s our Meetup Page with all future upcoming events.
The Pierce County Social is happening on Monday February 2nd in Tacoma at 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom.Join us at 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom in the main taproom every 1st Monday of every month to chat about game development, games, or just hang out! Kids are welcome until 8pm as long as they are within arm’s length. Main tap room is first come, first served. Pinball machines and shuffleboard on site. This event happens every first Monday of the month in Tacoma.
The Seattle Blender User Group is happening on Feb. 7, 10am to 1pm at Academy of Interactive Entertainment – Seattle Center Armory – Suite 405 (305 Harrison St, Suite 405 · Seattle, WA). Seabug’s goals are to help beginners learn Blender, create Blender opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, showcase advanced Blender tools and projects, and celebrate open source graphics in all forms.
The East Side Meetup is happening on Feb. 10, 6:30pm to 9:30pm at Pint & Pie Public House, located on 7858 Leary Way NE , Redmond, WA. Let’s put down our controllers and keyboards, get together, and enjoy some good conversation in person. We can’t wait to hear your stories and connect with new faces!
The In-Person Writer’s Group will take place at Hugo House on Feb. 11 at 6:30 PM. For anyone interested or working on projects in game writing, narrative design, voice acting or more– swing by Seattle Indies’ In-Person Writer’s Group! Bring your narrative games, scripts, flowcharts, character bibles or any other story materials for sharing and feedback.
The Northside Social takes place Feb. 12, 6pm-9pm at Watershed Pub & Kitchen (10104 3rd Ave NE · Seattle, WA). It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for some food, a drink, and some good conversation!
Diversity Collective+ is happening on Feb. 15, 12pm-2pm at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks who identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome.
The monthly Seattle Indies Social will take place on Feb. 17, 7pm-10pm at Stoup Brewing – Capitol Hill located on 1158 Broadway, Seattle, WA. Join us for some well-deserved mingling, drinks, and socialization! Make some new friends, catch up with old ones, and find out what the community’s up to.
The Game Club will take place on Feb. 18 at 7pm right on our Discord, focusing on The Banner Saga. What a book club is to discussion of literature, this event is to a discussion of game design. Every month, we agree to play a game, then meet to discuss and analyze its design and presentation.
The SnoCo Social is happening on Feb. 20, 6pm at Zulu’s Board Game Cafe (5116 196th St SW Suite 203, Lynnwood, WA). Hang out at a local game store with fellow Snohomish Co and adjacent folks over food, drinks, engaging conversations, and maybe some board gaming!
The Southside Social has moved to a new venue, the Community Convention Center in Auburn, WA at The Outlet Collection Seattle (next to Burlington). Come join us on the last Monday of every month to chat about games, game development, or show off what you’ve been working on!
The Playtesting Club is scheduled take place on Feb 25 at 8pm at Stoup Brewery on 1158 Broadway. Looking for feedback on your game? Only had other game developers try it? Playtesting Club is for you!
Indie Co-working Support Group in-person will take place every Saturday, from 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM PST, at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Seattle Center wifi will be available for use. Please bring everything you need to be productive. We will be meeting every Saturday of the month at AIE going forward. We have also added a Co-working voice channel in Discord for people to use any time they want a quiet space to work alongside their peers.
Seabug Study Hall takes place every week on Thursday, 9pm to 11pm, right on our Discord! Join others from the Seattle Blender User Group for a lo-fi chill out online study hall. Bring a project, just chat, and have a good time with some unstructured project sharing and Q&A.
Bilgem Cakir of Clay Token Game Studio:
Launched a demo for Steel Swarm: SURVIVOR a fast-paced roguelite survivors game where you obliterate swarms with your drones. Set up formations, upgrade your drones, and overwhelm hordes of metal in each run. Take on enemy waves solo or in multiplayer co-op! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4307100/Steel_Swarm_SURVIVOR/
Danielle Osterman:
I recently released MONSTER GUTS 2e, an action-focused tabletop roleplaying game inspired by monster hunting videogames. You play as scavengers in an ecologically ravaged Pacific Northwest, hunting bio-engineered behemoths for their guts to enhance your arsenal and sustain your community. You can check it out here: https://dubdubpub.itch.io/monster-guts-2e
Adam (BandsWithLegends):
Rogueliker has announced BroomSweeper’s Release Date!
Many of you know that BroomSweeper is coming out soon, but how soon?
January 19th soon. As we prepare for release, please make sure you have wishlisted the game at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3473250/BroomSweeper/
Kirill (Fairy Circle)
Hi! We created a server for a Fairy Circle game. I will appreciate if you will join it
On our server we have a form to sign up for beta test that is coming this month. Link to a server:
CrittervilleDev
Hello All! Not really asking for promotion, but IGN recently covered our game, “Critterville Goes Bankrupt” and I wanted to share it here! https://youtu.be/dbFu3hbXBUA?si=SmDl_MOzAO7UVFCl
Sam Reinhart
Our steam page just went live! Trying to get done in time for Valentine’s. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4236840/Yorin_Love_With_Me/
Sharp
Hey guys, after 3 years (while working a day job and taking care of 2 babies) I finally have a decent Demo for my VR game and was hoping I could get some feedback on it. Its free! Also if you don’t have time to play, feedback on the store page, the concept as a whole, and trailer is nice too! Does it interest you? If not or if it does what made you think that? Game Link: https://vr.meta.me/s/27wTUbWHIbfH3uz https://store.steampowered.com/app/2455930/SwingHard_VR/ Trailer: https://youtu.be/7BpAk_wbJ4A
fllr
I’m so excited to be able to talk about our game out in the open. It’s called Fireflies Meadows, runs fully and exclusively on web and we’re looking for Beta Testers. 🙂 DM me if interested: https://youtube.com/shorts/3qdvpxSMOus
Ken (Holo)
Major update to the Seas of Raesenia playtest! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3677720/view/530994244863657991
Jay Lam [Studio Blue Jay]
MassDiGI Summer Innovation Program (SIP) is an eleven-week program that includes mentoring, guidance, awards (aka stipends), and support to help student teams finalize an original game and prepare it for launch.
This program is on-site at Worcester, MA!
I highly recommend this program for students (undergraduates and graduates), and recent grads!
You’ll work together in a group to create a mobile game throughout the summer! At the end of the program, you will have a published game out officially on iOS and Android!
This is a great opportunity to meet an amazing network of fellow game developers!
Expressions of interest are due by February 27, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET.
https://www.massdigi.org/programs-services/2026-summer-innovation-program
Per (Pear) Kohlstaedt
Hi! I’ve been building a website for a good while and I’m finally going public with it! I’m really proud of what I’ve made so give it a look if interested!
https://pearspinon.nekoweb.org
Carlos C.
My latest Paizo work just got announced!
https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-society-scenario-7-21-the-home-of-empty-breath
Brandon O.
My game Towerbolt just got a release date, February 18th! Wishlist the game on Steam and spread the word!
Launch Date Announcement Trailer: https://youtu.be/mMpv-1kOq-I
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2559220/Towerbolt/
BoltFromTheGreen
Steam has a Board Game Fest going on this week. And I have a board game on Steam participating in it. (With a free demo, too!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3862550/Bonapartes_Bluff
Roy
I released my first game! Wanderling is a no-combat roguelike platformer about exploration. SI has been with me since the start of development, and I’m excited that I can finally share the finished version here.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2859530/Wanderling
Hexadis (Chris)
My studio has been working on our debut game for a little while now and we’re finally at a point where we are ready to share with a broader audience. Our steam page went live this weekend and it’s a very exciting moment for us! Thanks again for all the advice and feedback from the amazing people in the writer’s room!
Alarial’s Blessing is the tragic tale of three wandering mercenaries and the lonely goddess who wouldn’t let them die. It’s a fresh take on the JRPG genre for mature audiences.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4327490/Alarials_Blessing
YodaVapes
I am releasing a new game this year, Orbrix! It’s a breakout clone with incremental/idle tower defense mechanics. I really enjoy making games that are chaotic yet mesmerizing to watch.
Harassment Policy, AAPI, Black Lives Matter, and Resources
Seattle Indies stands with the AAPI community. We are here for our members who have been affected by the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes both locally and nationally. For further resources to educate yourself on the issue and how to take action, here is a useful link: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/
Seattle Indies believes the stories of the victims of sexual harassment and assault in the games industry that have been shared. We strongly condemn the actions by people in power preying on the dreams of vulnerable people trying to make their way in the industry. We strive to build an inclusive community that welcomes all minorities to provide a safe environment and a better vision for the game industry.
While our code of conduct states a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind, we are especially sensitive to the daily challenges faced by womxn due to the ingrained sexism that has existed in the structure of the games industry for far too long. We are actively working to build a better community of game developers, and we all need to do better.
Additionally, Board Member Angel Mero has offered to be a personal resource for anyone who needs help, someone to talk to or some guidance on next steps if you have experienced harassment in the industry either at our events or elsewhere. She can be reached at angel@seattleindies.org.
Our friends at Take This Org have compiled valuable resources for anyone in immediate need of professional help for their situation.
Lastly, Seattle Indies and Diversity Collective+ support Black Lives Matter. Here are some resources compiled by Diversity Collective+ for how you can offer support, whether this is financial, contributing to petitions, preparing for protests, or getting informed. If you have additional resources, comment below and we will add them.
As always, keep an eye on our Discord for any last-minute news and discussion, and let us know about any projects you’re working on that you’d like shared on our Steam or Itch collections or follow us on all of our social media platforms.
If you want to join our mailing list to get this update sent to your inbox monthly you can Subscribe on LinkedIn.