The Games for Change APAC 2025 team has revealed the event’s full program slate, detailing featured games and speakers for the annual conference, which returns to Melbourne, Australia from 7-9 October 2025. This three-day event will shine a spotlight on the ‘transformative power’ of video games, with a particular focus on their benefits for education, health, empathy, understanding, and social change.
‘Australian game developers are creating games that help us better understand neurodiversity, mental health and reproductive health options; to experience little known parts of the world, and to explore issues like over-consumption and the impact of plastics in our waterways,’ the team said in a press release.
An array of games will be discussed and/or playable during the event, with developers on board to talk about their importance, and impact overall. Here’s the major headliners, as recently announced.
Games for Change APAC 2025: Major games featured
- The Hotline (Kasey Gambling) – ‘The Hotline allows players to explore anecdotes on reproductive healthcare via a simulated phone menu, with each user creating their own choose-your-own-adventure style narrative. Satirising anti-choice pregnancy helplines and including verbatim interviews of people’s lived experience, The Hotline reveals how patriarchal medicine disproportionately impacts people with reproductive health issues around hysterectomy, menopause and gender-affirming healthcare.’
- In Deep Water (Deb Polson) – ‘In Deep Water invites players to understand the impacts of plastic pollution in our oceans through an artfully sculpted digital marine world inspired by Aotearoa New Zealand’s fragile aquatic ecosystems. Blending rigorous scientific research from real-world marine researchers with delightful, exploratory gameplay it enables meaningful public engagement with ecological research, contributing to broader awareness of the urgent challenges facing marine biodiversity.’
- BraveCart (Hojo Studio) – ‘BraveCart is a narrative-driven, eco-focused puzzle adventure game that satirises duopoly, consumerism and waste. Currently in development with Clean Up Australia, it tells the story of a loyal, but abandoned shopping trolley who defies two empires and sparks a revolution, highlighting society’s obsession with disposability and recruiting players worldwide to take steps towards making a meaningful contribution to our natural environment.’
- The Last Werewolf (Unnatural Freaks Studio) – ‘The Last Werewolf mirrors the real-world experiences of navigating a complex mental health condition, challenging players to find balance and acceptance. In this story-driven game, players follow Lachie’s journey of self-discovery as she confronts her new identity as a werewolf, which serves as a powerful allegory for Bipolar Disorder.’
Games for Change APAC 2025 will also feature Bobarista, a cosy game that allows players to run their own bubble tea shop. This game has been developed by Dr Michelle Chen and Emma Losin, and is backed by evidence-based research into the mental health benefits of wholesome games.
You can also expect talks from Jess Rawlings, who will focus on how video games enable collaboration amongst neurodivergent players without masking, Dr Vasileios Stavropoulos, who will discuss how to encourage healthier gaming behaviours for kids that may support balanced, active lifestyles, and plenty more besides. The aim is to underscore the vast impact video games can have, well beyond entertainment, with an array of talks offered to illuminate and educate.
As noted by Daniel Teitelbaum, Festival Director, this is the fifth annual Games for Change showcase, and it aims to live up to the legacy of its predecessors: ‘This year’s line up is another one full of intelligent, experienced, heartfelt developers and researchers presenting the cutting edge of games around themes in mental health, education, accessibility, representation, behavioural change, sustainability, and empathy.’
Those keen to take part in the conference, to learn more about the impact of video games and the positive changes they may influence, can head to the Games for Change APAC website for more details.
