They updated the rules huzzah!
Last updated: October 26, 2026. Updated the Restricted Jurisdictions (removed Brazil, Russia and Turkey)
Thanks!
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@Flak Quick licensing question before the jam. Epic’s own Paragon heroes, Game Animation Sample and Zebra Sample are tagged NoAI on Fab, and the Content License (section 17) bars using NoAI content “as inputs to Generative AI Programs”.
For the AI MegaJam, can an entry use these assets (listed as sourced) if an AI agent retargets them, works with their data and reviews screenshots of them in-game? If not, is it OK if the agent only runs the import/retarget scripts and a human does all the visual checks?
In regards to the Glass Box Dev log modifier, is this something that can be uploaded later or is that also due at submission? It’d be fun to try and record the process along the way, but to actually be able to go through and edit that before the deadline too seems unfeasible.
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@Flak A quick question on §15(d) before the jam.
§15(d) says a Submission can’t show any trademark or logo except the Unreal Engine logo. Does that also cover a team’s own studio logo, one we designed and own? Specifically:
- Our studio logo on a splash screen or in the credits of the build.
- Our studio logo in the gameplay video.
- Our studio logo in the intro and outro of our devlog videos, which are linked from the entry for the Glass Box. Does a linked devlog count as part of the Submission?
If the answer is no, we’ll use plain-text title cards. Thanks.
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They changed the rules, we from Brazil are able to participate, but we can’t receive any cash prizes =D
Hi everyone, quick rules question for the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam (Unreal Engine track).
Our game would use an LLM for in-game dialogue. Since API keys can’t be shipped inside a packaged build, we plan to write a small relay server DURING the jam (Nov 12-15) that receives messages from the game and calls the LLM API. We would declare it in our submission and include the code and version history if asked.
Is it allowed for a UE submission to depend on an external server we build during the jam, as long as it is declared?
Also, as I read Rule 7(h), we can prepare AI tools, agent configs, MCP settings, prompt libraries and scripts before Nov 12, while all gameplay, levels and art must be created during the jam. Is that correct?
Thanks!
Hi @rhyan.smith , @flak and Epic team,
- For Pocket Powerhouse submissions, if we want to send along iOS/iPadOS delivery, what format do you expect? A TestFlight public link on the itch page, an .ipa file, or something else? Ad Hoc builds would need the judges’ device UDIDs, so I’m assuming TestFlight, but I’d like to confirm.
- TestFlight review timing: external TestFlight links need Apple’s Beta App Review, which can take a day or more. If a build is uploaded and submitted for review before the 8:59 PM ET deadline on Nov 15 but approved afterwards, does it still count? Or would it be better to use the same app record and a TestFlight group set up before the jam (with no game content until Nov 12)?
- Can a single itch.io submission include Windows, macOS, Android and iOS (via link) downloads together, or should mobile be handled another way?
Thanks!
-Rob
Know that you do not have to use Claude Opus 5.5 for the MCP coding, like everyone seems to be doing. I started with that in my current project and it uses the tokens very fast. I switched by accident to a much cheaper model and it works just as well for the C++ stuff and everything else I am making it do.
Maybe test this before the jam, so you can know if you can use Claude for free.
Hi! Quick question about the Render Royalty modifier: is it open to UEFN entries? The itch.io prize table lists it as “(Unreal Engine)”, but section 10 of the Official Rules describes it without any engine restriction, the same way as Solo Driver, Best Team and Glass Box, which are open to both. Thanks!
Hi! I’m planning to enter the Unreal Engine track solo and would like to clarify a few points in the Official Rules (October 26 version). Thanks in advance for any official guidance.
Judging and submission
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Section 12: The rules say: “Sponsor and the information contained on Sponsor’s servers relating to dates, times, and gameplay statistics shall be the sole determiner of the Winning Entrant(s).” For Unreal Engine submissions judged under the seven criteria, do player or gameplay statistics affect the result, or does this only refer to records such as submission timestamps?
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itch.io page visibility: Does the game’s itch project page have to be Public for judging, or can it stay Draft or Restricted while still being a valid jam submission?
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Build configuration: The jam page says “(development build)”, but I could not find this requirement in the Official Rules. Is a Windows Shipping build accepted, or must the submission use the Development configuration?
Work done before the jam
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Self-made assets: Section 7(h) says “All other game content, including gameplay, levels, and art assets (other than noted sourced assets), must be created during the Contest Period.” The FAQ also asks entrants to declare anything made before the jam. May I use individual assets I made myself before the jam if I declare them as sourced assets, knowing they will not be scored? Or should all self-made content be created during the jam?
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Scripts: Section 7(h) allows preparing “AI tools, agent configurations, Model Context Protocol (“MCP”) settings, prompt libraries, and scripts” before the Contest Period. Does “scripts” mean only tooling and pipeline scripts, such as build and packaging automation, or can it also include gameplay code used in the final game?
Dev log
- Glass Box format: The rules say the dev log “must be submitted together with the Submission during the Contest Period”, but I could not find a required format. Is an itch devlog post linked from the submission acceptable? Can the dev log be a video, or a written post with embedded video? Is there a length limit, and does it have to be in English?
After the jam
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Selling an expanded version: May I sell an expanded version of my game on Steam, either before or after the winners are announced? The submitted jam build itself would stay unchanged.
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Keeping the jam build online: If my itch page has to be public during the contest and my game is not selected, may I remove the page and build from itch after the winners are announced? If it is selected, how long must the jam build stay available?
Thank you!
Hi! Is there a way for developers based in Italy (a restricted jurisdiction) to show their game on the jam page out of competition, with no prizes and no judging? Thanks!
Hello,
I’m Pablo, entering the Epic AI MegaJam 2026 (Unreal Engine) as solo. I want to check that my setup complies with §7(h)
before the Contest Period starts, and to learn how you want it declared.
**What I will have built before Nov 12, and will freeze on Nov 9:**
1. **AI tooling**: a staged generator that calls Claude (design, module composition, UI, audio and art prompts), spec validators, and scripts that
create the UE 5.8 project, build levels from the spec, import generated 3D models and sounds, run a bot-played test match, and package the
build. This is clearly “AI tools, prompt libraries, and scripts”.
2. **A generic runtime** (~4,200 lines of C++ in a UE plugin): a data-driven HUD/menu renderer, VFX and projectile primitives, an event bus and
the loader for the generated spec. It contains no game rules.
3. **A library of parametrized gameplay modules** (~6,600 lines of C++ in the same plugin, plus ~2,250 lines of automated tests): two families.
Round-based arena: round cycle, teams and score, health and damage, abilities and resources, waves, capture zone, and bot AI. Room puzzles:
room sequence, pressure plates and doors, hazards, interactables, player respawn, roaming creatures, and mechanisms (levers, keys, pushable
blocks, moving platforms); first-, third-person and top-down cameras. The spec generated during the jam selects the modules and sets every parameter. No
module is a game by itself, and none contains levels, art, audio, theme or text.
**What will be created during the jam (Nov 12–15):** the game design and spec derived from the theme, the module selection and all parameters,
the levels, all in-game text, all 3D models and sounds, any new gameplay mechanic the theme needs, the UE project, the packaged build, the video
and the dev log. The repository and its complete git history are available for verification.
**My questions:**
1. Does item 3 (pre-written, content-free, parametrized gameplay code) count as part of the pre-jam tooling allowed by §7(h)?
2. If not, is it acceptable to keep the module source in the tooling repository as templates, and have my scripts generate and compile the
gameplay code inside the Contest Period?
3. If neither is acceptable, please tell me what would be, so I can adapt before the tool freeze on Nov 9.
I will declare everything built beforehand in my submission. If it’s easier, I can send the repo link and the module list privately.
Thank you,
Pablo — itch: s4pv
@Flak Two quick questions on §7(h) and §15(c), about reference photos used as inputs to AI tools.
Our workflow during the Contest Period: we write a prompt and attach a real-world reference photo (for example a photo of a real axolotl, so the AI gets the anatomy and proportions right), and an AI image tool generates new concept art of our own character (a stylized fire axolotl with our own design, colours and features). We then turn that new art into a 3D model with an image-to-3D tool. The reference photo never appears in the game; only the character we generated does.
- May we use real-world reference photos this way during Nov 12-15? Does the photo’s licence matter: (a) CC0 or public domain, (b) licensed stock, (c) a photo found online with no licence stated?
- Should those reference photos be listed like third-party assets, even though they never appear in the build? And may we collect them before Nov 12 alongside our prompt library, as long as nothing is generated from them until the jam starts?
If only some of these are fine, we’ll keep to those, or to our own photos and text-only prompts.
Also, when you have a moment: my §15(d) question in post #25 (our own studio logo) is still open. Thanks!
@Flak One more on §7(h), building on your FAQ (“Declare any prompts, scripts, or assets you made before the jam”): before November 12 we made some 3D character models with AI tools for a practice project. May we use those models in our jam game as long as we declare them, or must every art asset in the entry be created during Nov 12-15? If it’s the latter, we’ll keep only the prompts and scripts, declare them, and regenerate every model during the jam. Thanks!
You can use any Epic tool of your choosing.
This is correct. Residents of Brazil can participate in the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam! Due to local regulations, they aren’t eligible to receive cash prizes, but can still win non-cash prizes where available. See Section 5 of the Official Rules for details.
Yes 
You can join from Türkiye and you’re eligible for prizes, as long as you meet the other eligibility requirements in Section 5 of the Official Rules. You can find the latest Official Rules, including a Turkish translation here: Box
The Glass Box dev log is due with your submission, before the deadline on 2026-11-16T01:59:00Z. It can’t be added after the jam.
It doesn’t need to be heavily edited, though. The prize is for the dev log that best shows how you built your game. Capturing your process (including notes, screenshots, and short clips) as you go and putting it together can work well.
Yes, that is correct.
In Section 15.D of the Official Rules, we say:
Submissions may not feature any trademarks (including logos), except (i) in the case of UE Submissions, the Unreal Engine logo, and (ii) in the case of UEFN Submissions, the Developed in Fortnite logo, in each case as described in Sponsor’s Branding Guidelines (UE: https://www.unrealengine.com/branding; UEFN:
Epicgames)
Yes, that is correct. You may prepare your AI tools, agent configs, MCP settings, prompt libraries and scripts before Nov 12, while all gameplay, levels and art must be created during the jam.