The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will end after its 2026 edition, bringing the national student game development competition to a close after 12 years. Organiser Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has confirmed that the growing use of generative AI made it increasingly difficult for judges to determine how much of each submitted game was created by students themselves.
The decision was confirmed by Cathy Zemaitis, Head of ACER’s Student Learning and Progress division, in a statement provided to PC Gamer. Zemaitis explained that the rapid development of generative AI tools had complicated the assessment of original student work and shifted the competition away from its educational purpose.
The competition was designed to encourage Australian students to develop practical skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through video game creation. Participants could work individually or in teams of up to four students, designing and developing playable games around an annual theme.
Entries were evaluated by teachers and industry experts, with students expected to demonstrate their creativity, technical understanding and development process. The 2026 competition used the theme “Ocean,” with submissions closing on September 9 and judging beginning on September 18.
Generative AI was not completely prohibited under the competition’s rules. ACER explicitly permitted students to use AI tools for certain development tasks, provided they documented and explained that assistance in their Game Design Document.
Acceptable examples included incorporating small portions of AI-generated code into larger sections of student-written programming and using AI to identify or resolve bugs during testing. Participants were expected to acknowledge AI-generated material, explain how they used it and describe any modifications they made. Screenshots documenting AI assistance were also encouraged.
However, the expanding capabilities of generative AI made it harder to distinguish these permitted forms of assistance from work substantially generated by AI systems. The problem was particularly significant for a competition intended to evaluate students’ own development skills rather than simply the quality of a finished game.
The extent of the issue became a topic of discussion after individuals identifying themselves as competition judges discussed the cancellation on Reddit. One commenter claimed that some participants had submitted games generated entirely using AI, raising questions about how such entries could be assessed fairly.
Those claims have not been independently quantified by ACER. The organisation’s confirmed explanation focuses on the broader difficulty of evaluating students’ original contributions, rather than establishing how many submissions were predominantly or entirely AI-generated.
ACER has also ruled out continuing the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge in a revised format. Zemaitis confirmed that there are no plans for an alternative version of the competition, although the organisation remains interested in working with schools and educational partners on other learning initiatives.
The cancellation comes as generative AI use becomes increasingly visible across game development. A study examining generative AI disclosures among Steam releases found that nearly half of the games released in October 2026 disclosed some form of AI use, illustrating how widespread the technology has become.
The distinction between limited AI assistance and original development work has also prompted debate within professional game development. The developers of Big Walk recently clarified their use of AI-assisted coding amid discussions about generative AI and eligibility for Independent Games Festival recognition.
For the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, the central issue was whether judges could reliably assess the programming, design and problem-solving skills students were meant to demonstrate. With no replacement competition announced, the 2026 edition marks the end of the programme’s 12-year history.
