Australian stem gaming competition to cease due to generative AI complicating judging

The Australian STEM Electronic Gaming Challenge, which has hosted 12 editions, will hold its final event in 2026. The organizing body cited the widespread availability of generative AI as the primary reason for discontinuing the competition, noting that it has made it increasingly difficult for judges to verify if submitted works were genuinely created by the students. The challenge, established in 2014, is a free event allowing students in grades 3 through 12 to participate either individually or in teams of up to four to develop their own games. ACER, the Australian Education Research Commission, stated that generative AI has significantly increased the complexity of judging submissions and caused the contest to deviate from its original objectives. While the competition is not an outright ban on AI, official rules permit students to utilize AI for minor coding assistance or debugging. However, participants are required to meticulously document all AI usage, specifying the tools employed and the exact nature of the AI's contribution. Submissions must include the final game, source code, and a video recording of the game lasting between one and five minutes.