IUT students become only Bangladeshi finalists in GameJam+ 2025-26

Team Malorian Arms, comprising three students from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), has qualified for the global final round of the 2025-26 session of GameJam+, also known as the World Cup of Game Development. This is a yearly competition where game developers around the world develop their games and fight to win the championship. This is the first time Bangladesh has taken part in this event, and as such, Team Malorian Arms is the first Bangladeshi team to reach the final stage. They are the only team from South Asia as well.

According to Md Nazmus Sadiq, one of the designers and programmers from Malorian Arms, GameJam+ is organised every year by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and each year it has five rounds. In the first round, the submission phase, around 392 games were submitted worldwide. In the second round, known as the incubation phase, these were further developed. Those qualified in the incubation phase moved to the third round, known as the Continental Semifinals. In this round, the best game from each region is revealed, and 90 teams move to the fourth round, known as the Acceleration phase. The acceleration phase focuses on the business pitches made by the developers, and finally, the 74 contestants get to the global finals. The competition started in October 2025, with initial rounds being organised by local organisers in different regions, and the final would take place on May 14 in Brasilia, Brazil.

“The game is based on the famous battle of Plassey, hence the name Palashi – Sword and Betrayal,” describes Shahir Awlad, the 3D artist behind the game. “We wanted to recreate and revisit one of the most defining moments of our history – the fight between Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula and Robert Clive. I have always loved historically themed games such as Assassin’s Creed, so we decided, why not give it a Bengali spin? Gamers love narrative-based historical games, and we wanted to put our own history on that map as well.”

“The game can be played through multiple perspectives, both from the side of the nawab and the British. The game unfolds with different narrative arcs for differently chosen characters, allowing the gamer to feel the constant political struggles and dilemmas each character had to face. I believe the gamers would be thrilled to play the game. We have tried to replicate the weights of each decision taken by the characters so that the gamer would indeed feel that the fate of Bengal is in their hands,” explains Sadman Rahman Sahil, one of the architects of the game. The game was built with Unreal Engine, Blender, Mixamo, and Fab.

“We never really expected to land this far, especially competing with game developers around the world. It was our first time taking part in an international competition, and we gave as much as we could. We are proud to represent Bangladesh on a global stage,” says Sadiq. Battery Low Interactive arranged the local rounds of the event, and IGDA Bangladesh provided the participants with mentors to guide them.

“The toughest battle is still not over,” says Sadman. “We will be representing Bangladesh in Brazil, and we hope to give our best. May everyone’s wishes come true, and we return home with the trophy.”

Their game can be played from this website as well: nazmussadiq.itch.io/palashi-sword-and-betrayal

Sadman Ahmed Siam is a student of the Islamic University of Technology. Reach him at: siamahmed09944@gmail.com