Floodlight: Gaming in the Public Interest!

In August, 2025, we launched the Floodlight Investigative Journalism Game Jam, which gave game developers across the globe access to investigative reporting about organized crime and corruption to adapt into interactive media experiences.

Topics included tracking a ruthless gang across the Americas, revealing how a crew of Romanian criminals conquered the world of ATM skimming, and how an undercover journalist in Ghana went behind enemy lines to expose a cocoa smuggling network.

Developers were able to directly ask the reporters behind the stories questions throughout the development process and a jury of experts chose five finalists. 

“Hunting the Hunter” by Berlin-based Greenwave Games won the top prize and they received $5,000 and a spot in SpielFabrique’s Launchpad Program, which offers individualized mentoring and support.

The winning game is based on an investigation by Anas Aremeyaw Anas from Ghana, “Hunting the Hunter: Infiltrating the Cocoa Smuggling Underworld of Ghana’s Western Border.” Anas went undercover to expose a deep-rooted network that sabotaged Ghana’s economy, deprived farmers, and threatened national security.

We are also working on further development with game jam runner-up Polyvale Studios, who created “Dark Money,” based on OCCRP’s Laundromat investigations by hundreds of investigative reporters across OCCRP’s global network. A laundromat is a massive financial vehicle that uses offshores to move money across international borders. Through these systems, money stolen from some of the world’s most vulnerable people is laundered for political influence and personal enrichment.

The winner was announced at the inaugural Floodlight Investigative Journalism Gaming Summit, held in Amsterdam on September 24 and live-streamed online. The Summit featured highlights from the game jam finalists as well as discussions between game developers and investigative journalists about storytelling and the crossover between the two industries.

About Floodlight

Floodlight Gaming is an arm of Floodlight: Fiction in the Public Interest, which connects investigative reporting with the film and television industries for adaptations into rich stories.

Created by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the world’s largest investigative journalism organization, and the Gabo Foundation, founded by Gabriel García Márquez to promote journalism and literature, Floodlight is a new approach to storytelling.

Floodlight sources the best investigations from across OCCRP’s global network of journalists and the world to deliver to the film and gaming industries to create entertainment that brings these stories to light for mass audiences.

Thank you to Floodlight’s Gaming Partners:

Anima Interactive is a socially conscious games and immersive media studio that blends art and technology to ignite positive cultural impact.

V-Ventures is the investment arm of Stichting Veronica, which initiates and/or invests in innovative models, people, and instruments that build a vibrant media sector and contribute to a free, flourishing, and pluralistic society.

Good Game Generation fosters a new generation of gamers who embrace conscious and healthy entertainment. GGGen seeks to create social spaces where the passion for video games is shared in a constructive and enriching way.

And our Community Partners:

Global Game Jam empowers all individuals worldwide to learn, experiment, and create together through the medium of games in a safe and welcoming environment. GGJ holds the world’s largest game creation event, The Global Game Jam, and directly serves 40,000 game creators every year in 100+ countries.

SpielFabrique creates international acceleration and mentoring programs for indie game studios, and brings together all industry stakeholders to create greater understanding, knowledge, and collaboration.

International Game Developers Association is the world’s largest nonprofit membership organization serving all individuals who create games.

Floodlight Gaming is extremely grateful to be supported by the Siros Foundation.