Sign up for the Games [4Diversity] Jam 2026 | Let’s Talk About Sex

Feb 23, 2026

Nijmegen, The Netherlands, March 4, 2026 & San Francisco, USA, March 10, 2026

“We don’t need more [media] about sex workers being ‘saved’ by rich clients, nor do we need more sex workers dying in the first act. We’re tired of tropes: it’s time for change.” RTÉ 2026.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, Games [4Diversity] organises the Games [4Diversity] Jam during the InScience Festival in Nijmegen. Under the theme Let’s Talk About Sex, participants will gather at Studio LUX to create new games that challenge stereotypical portrayals of sex workers in media and games.

In games, sex workers are often reduced to background characters, quest givers, victims, or disposable figures. Rarely are they portrayed as complex professionals with agency and lived experience. This jam aims to change that.

Over the course of eight intensive hours, students, game developers, sex workers, researchers, and creative professionals will collaborate to build playable prototypes. Working directly with professionals from the field, participants will explore how the realities and expertise of sex work can be translated into meaningful gameplay.

Selected prototypes will continue their journey beyond the jam. Dr. Menno Deen will bring several of the prototypes to the Games [4Diversity] Showcase on March 10, 2026, in San Francisco, held alongside the Game Developers Conference. There, the work will be presented to an international audience of developers, publishers, and industry professionals, extending the dialogue from Nijmegen to the global game industry.

Rather than debating about sex work, the jam focuses on listening, co-creation, and perspective. How can games move beyond cliché? How can interaction create understanding instead of reinforcing stigma? The result will be experimental prototypes that open up new narratives within game culture.

Jam details
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Location: Studio LUX, Mariënburg 26, 6511 PS Nijmegen
Registration fee: €10
Sign up: https://courage.events/games-4diversity-jam/

Showcase details
Date: Tuesday, March 10th, 2026
Location: PawnShop, 993 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States
Registration fee: $10
Sign up: https://courage.events/games-4diversity-showcase/