Since 2018, game developers have participated in Jam Manifesto. A recurring game jam that also provides an opportunity for independent creators and zinesters to get rid of a few things. Needless to say, in 2026, there will be no shortage of difficult discussions and hard truths to unearth. So far in his third release, the most popular submissions are proving to be particularly bitter pills for an independent artist to swallow.
“I’m tired of takeaways and I’m tired of talking about games and never diving below the surface,” writes this year’s host, Cécile Richard, in the Manifesto Jam manifesto. “The manifesto, in my imagined alternative, is the ugly stain on the polished surfaces of conference speeches, aspirational #bizdev posts, and ready-made portfolio pieces. The manifesto is clumsy, clumsy, impractical, confronting, uncompromising, provocative: all adjectives are undesirable in an increasingly professionalized and corporatized game-making ecosystem. It is these traits that make the manifesto beautiful.”
As of this writing, notable indie developers such as Rami Ismail, Robert Yang, droqen, and Anna Anthropy have already uploaded their entries. Richard’s own entrance, Against gratitudetakes umbrage with the algorithm and the rituals of humiliation that one will do to prune one’s own art for an imaginary audience. The most popular manifestos so far take similarly hostile approaches to the magical thinking that surrounds models of game creation and digital publishing. The one who does the most laps is Mike Cook’s NOBODY IS GOING TO BUY YOUR GAMEa smug page that posits that nothing stifles the medium as much as the illusion of success.
Not all entries are intended to monetize your hobbies. A number of entries this year attempt to pick apart the tendency to label everything “slop”, e.g. boyfriendthe decline in quality and the contradictory nomenclature around the trend. Elsewhere, one of my favorites is a quick zine that’s all about comfort. in the wisdom of Coach McGuirkJon Benjamin’s surly football coach from Home movies.
Manifesto Jam runs until June 14. You have one day to set up your soap box and whistle a little honesty to change the world. But not me. I write for Kotaku. I can do this any weekend I want.
