Ludum Dare has canceled its scheduled 2025 events with organizer Mike Kasprzak explaining he needs to take a break and reset.
Two events had been placed in the diary for 2025: Ludum Dare 57 in April and Ludum Dare 58 in October. Both have now been scrapped.
Kasprzak explained the long-running event, billed as the “world’s largest online game jam,” isn’t dead but merely on hiatus.
“I’ve decided to cancel our scheduled 2025 events. That doesn’t mean Ludum Dare is dead, but I wont be running any events this year, nor will I be able to assist with things related to it (not for several months),” wrote Kasprzak in a post on the Ludum Dare website.
“Without getting into the weeds, I made this decision due to a number of financial, medical, family, and health reasons. I value my privacy, but I will say that financially I’m in a bad place, and I need to find work ASAP.”
Kasprzak explained he’s been looking for work since 2024 but has been “screwed over” by the drawn out hiring processes of several companies and his own attempts to secure concessions from prospective employers in order continue supporting Ludum Dare.
“To be honest, I’m not sure when I’ll have everything sorted. It could be six weeks, it could be six months, I don’t know. It’s a lot, I’m a bit scared, but I do know I’ll be able to handle it better with fewer things on my plate,” he continued. “I sincerely apologize for having to do this, but I need to take care of myself and my family right now.”
Kasprzak encouraged the Ludum Dare community to follow the event’s official Bluesky account to stay in the loop moving forward.