Vietnamese game design contest – Road to Essen – returns for its second edition

Road to Essen, a Vietnam-based game design contest run by Everjoy Publishing, is returning for a second year.

Designers in Vietnam have until October to submit, and monthly workshops are available to help budding game creators bolster their skills across everything from building game mechanics to theming.

20 finalists will go on to receive more support through 1:1 mentoring sessions with the judging panel, before submitting their revised and polished entries. In December, the top five will then have nearly five weeks to develop and print their official prototypes – preparing for their final showcase at the Award Ceremony in January 2027.

The winner will receive full sponsorship to showcase their game at SPIEL Essen 2027 in Germany.

Last year’s contest had over 160 applications, while the awards ceremony held at Hobby Horizon welcomed more than 1,000 attendees.

Road To Essen is organized by Everjoy Publishing and Everjoy Global, in collaboration with AHK Vietnam, the Postgraduate Department at Vietnam University of Fine Arts, and community partners SPIEL ESSEN an Hobby Horizon.

Registration information andupdates about the competition will be announced on Everjoy Publishing’s official communication channels.

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