This year’s slate features 12 selections that exemplify potential in phenomenal storytelling and innovation through interactive experiences. Each selection is eligible for the Tribeca Games Award, which honors an unreleased game for excellence in artistic storytelling. The games gallery will host free playable demos of this year’s selections exclusively at Pier 57, which will be open to the public from June 10-14.
This year’s program features several world premieres, including There Are No Ghosts At The Grand, a musical mystery inviting players to uncover supernatural secrets while restoring a crumbling hotel; and LOFSÖNG, a stunning art-driven narrative where players build a bridge between what once was and what may still come while exploring vast brutalist landscapes.
Casey Baron will lead this year’s Games Program as a Senior Programmer. Casey has been a programmer for the Festival since 2022, and brings more than a decade of experience across the games and film industries, along with ongoing support of the broader creative community through roles with the American Documentary Artist Emergency Fund, Austin Film Society Grant for Short Films, The Rainin Fellowship from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and the NYU Game Center Incubator.
“It’s an honor to step into this role during such a landmark year for Tribeca,” said Casey Baron, Tribeca Festival Senior Programmer, Film & Games. “Over the years, the games program has been an early champion of titles that have gone on to critical acclaim and deeply resonate with players. This year’s selections reflect that legacy, showcasing the incredible breadth and ambition of storytelling in games today. I’m excited to continue to grow that vision in this new capacity.”
Festival attendees can also look forward to special talks and events, including “Luminaries: Dan Houser’s Absurd Ventures,” in which Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser and his longtime writing partner Lazlow will provide their insights into the evolution of storytelling beyond video games alongside partners from Dark Horse and Smilegate. The program continues with “CONTROL Resonant: Beyond the Oldest House,” featuring an in-depth discussion between Mikael Kasurinen, creative director of the highly anticipated CONTROL Resonant, and Tribeca alumna Nia DaCosta, who won Tribeca’s lauded Nora Ephron Prize in 2018 for her directorial debut, Little Woods. This year’s Festival also includes an Immersive project, Escape The Internet: Part 2, from legendary director and alum Lucas Rizzotto, which blends cinema and gaming through live audience interaction to create a new genre of live entertainment.
The Tribeca Festival Official Selections for Games have served as a marker of excellence in the industry, with previous selections including award-winning titles, such as Blue Prince, Dispatch, Despelote, Venba, Sable, NORCO, Mixtape and many more. In the past five years alone, participating titles have received 165 nominations and 35 wins across major industry awards, reinforcing Tribeca’s role as a launching pad for games creatives worldwide.
The Tribeca Festival 2026 games selections include:
2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL GAMES SELECTION
Milktooth Project, (Developer: Milktooth / Publisher: PopAgenda) World Premiere. Milktooth is a UK-based independent games studio built on a shared ambition: to make you laugh before breaking your heart. The studio is currently developing its unannounced debut title.
Demi and the Fractured Dream, (Developer: Yarn Owl / Publisher: Annapurna Interactive) - New York Premiere. In this enchanting action adventure, play as Demi and venture through the world of Somnus. Tackle dungeons filled with environmental puzzles, use your wide arsenal of attacks, spells, and tools to vanquish void monsters, and defeat the three Accursed Beasts of legend.
Drifted, (Developer & Publisher: UrbanFox) - North American Premiere. A paper airplane ventures into a vast world of darkness. DRIFTED is a narrative-driven platformer.
Forever Ago, (Developer: Third Shift / Publisher: Annapurna Interactive) - New York Premiere. Following a tragic stroke of fate, Alfred embarks on a journey north in search of redemption. In this single-player road trip adventure, you'll travel to beautiful places, capture memories with your camera, meet interesting people, and even make some new friends.
Kidbash: Super Legend, (Developers: Authentic Remixes, Fat Raccoon / Publisher: Acclaim Games) - North American Premiere. In this nostalgic roguelike action-platformer, awaken in a world of forgotten game characters as a hero with no memory of his past. After failing to save a nearby village from destruction, can you rise, rebuild, and rediscover the true meaning of being a hero?
LOFSÖNG, (Developer: UNRELATED GAMES) - World Premiere. LOFSÖNG is a stunning art-driven narrative adventure game across deep time ages. Explore vast brutalist landscapes to uncover traces of meaning left in stone and sound, and build a bridge between what once was and what may still come.
Rebounder, (Developer: ThirtyThree / Publisher: Aggro Crab Games) - World Premiere. Rebounder is a precision platformer set in a four-ink, pulp-print world. Grab, throw, bounce through an off-world worksite with trick-shot ricochets and fast retries. May induce speedrunning mania.
Rivage, (Developer: Exnilo Studio / Publisher: Raw Fury) - New York Premiere. Rivage is an immersive sci-fi puzzle adventure set aboard the A.R.E.S. space station. Wake up as Miranda, forced to explore and solve intricate puzzles to unravel the fate of your missing crew.
ROCKBEASTS, (Developer: Lichthund S.A. / Publisher: Team17) - New York Premiere. ROCKBEASTS is a rock & roll management RPG set in an alternative 90s America. This comedy-drama puts you behind the scenes of the music industry's brutal reality, where every choice shapes your band's journey from garage obscurity to stardom.
There Are No Ghosts At The Grand, (Developer & Publisher: Friday Sundae) - World Premiere. Inherit a crumbling English hotel and restore it by day—while battling ghosts by night. With a sardonic cat, a talking power tool, and a twisting supernatural plot, this is a musical mystery unlike any other.
Truck-Kun Is Supporting Me From Another World?!, (Developer & Publisher: Strange Scaffold) - New York Premiere. Inspired by the anime and manga subgenre of Isekai, Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! revels in absurdism while simultaneously grounding itself with sharp satire that reflects real life. Smash through objects at high speed to power up the corporate ladder climber in a dangerous medieval fantasy world.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer, (Developers: Selkie Harbour, Deconstructeam / Publisher: Devolver Digital) - New York Premiere. In Virtue and a Sledgehammer, explore the remains of your hometown haunted by the android ghosts of your digitized neighbors. There won't always be a clear path, so create your own by knocking down any structures that stand in your way.
2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL IMMERSIVE PROJECT
Escape The Internet: Part 2, (United States of America, Brazil) - World Premiere. From legendary creator Lucas Rizzotto, Escape The Internet is a new genre of gaming that shatters the 4th wall and brings audience interaction to the next level as you and hundreds of strangers must work together with your phones to escape the A.I. apocalypse. Experience wild interactive set pieces, uncover the secrets of the people sitting next to you and evade monsters in a deep mystery full of colorful characters. Time is of the essence: every audience member is infected with terminal brainrot and can be possessed by an algorithmic demon at any moment. Your future, and the future of the entire internet, is at stake.
Location: AMC 19th St. East 6 - AMC 02
Date/Time: Thursday, June 4 at 5:30pm | Sunday, June 14 at 2:30pm
2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL GAMES SPECIAL EVENTS
BOLD CHOICES: THE RISE OF MAXIMALIST AESTHETICS - Following years of a minimalist wave threaded through different industries and artistic mediums, maximalism feels abundant again. There will always be space for all the forms, but how do bold and distinct aesthetic decisions create a singular tone? What does that mean for the kind of art and experiences we explore?
Location: Storytelling Summit - Tribeca Festival Hub at Spring Studios
Date/Time: Friday, June 12 at 5:00pm
CONTROL RESONANT - BEYOND THE OLDEST HOUSE - After Jesse Faden goes missing following the events at The Oldest House, her younger brother Dylan takes center stage wielding the Aberrant and shouldering the burden of saving a twisted Manhattan. Join Creative Director Mikael Kasurinen (QUANTUM BREAK, CONTROL) in conversation with Tribeca alum Nia DaCosta (HEDDA, 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE) as they discuss the craft, mechanics, explorations, and inspirations poised to make another breathtaking experience in the highly anticipated CONTROL Resonant.
Location: SVA Theatre
Date/Time: Friday, June 12 at 8:30pm
WORLDBUILDING THROUGH SOUND AND DESIGN - Whether a blood pumping metal guitar crescendo adds shockwaves to a boss battle, or the quick theme highlights a new buff or collectable, music and sound design takes entertainment to new heights. Join representatives from the Tribeca 2026 Games Official Selections to discuss the intricacies of implementing sound alongside design and gamebreaking interaction to create visceral experiences.
Location: Storytelling Summit - Tribeca Festival Hub at Spring Studios
Date/Time: Saturday, June 13 at 11:00am
LUMINARIES: DAN HOUSER’S ABSURD VENTURES - Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and the creative force behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, now leads the storytelling-driven company Absurd Ventures. Since its launch, Absurd has expanded across mediums with projects including the chart-topping audio series A Better Paradise, the bestselling comic American Caper, and new animation and video game worlds in development. In this conversation, Dan Houser and his longtime writing partner Lazlow explore their approach to worldbuilding and the evolution of storytelling beyond video games alongside several of Absurd’s key partners from Dark Horse, Smilegate, and more.
Location: Storytelling Summit - Tribeca Festival Hub at Spring Studios
Date/Time: Saturday, June 13 at 3:00pm