Australian STEM video game challenge discontinued due to AI
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The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has confirmed that the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will hold its final edition in 2026 and be discontinued afterward. Cathy Zemaitis, head of ACER's Student Learning and Progress division, told PC Gamer that the rapid and complex rise of generative AI in game development has made it difficult for judges to determine what students did themselves, causing the project to deviate from its original purpose. This student-facing competition centers on developing video games, and the decision to discontinue it stems directly from the impact of AI-generated works on judging.
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- Hacker News AIEducational game dev program cancelled because submitted games were made with AI
The Australian STEM Videogame Challenge, a free national videogame development competition for students, has confirmed that its 2026 event will be the last, with the Australian Council for Educational Research citing the rapid and complex rise of generative AI in game development as the reason. ACER's Cathy Zemaitis said the technology makes it harder to judge what students made themselves and moves the program away from its original purpose, and organizers have no plans to pursue alternative options for delivering the challenge.
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