Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions unveils Solarpunk Jam with Anima Interactive

Day Zero Productions, the Los Angeles-based production company founded by Trevor Noah, is launching a new game jam with Anima Interactive and Cinereach.

Indie video game studio Anima Interactive has teamed up with Day Zero to unveil the inaugural video game competition — Day Zero Games: Solarpunk Jam — a climate-themed global game jam awarding a $10,000 grand prize.

The initiative is sponsored by Cinereach, a not-for-profit story lab behind Academy Award nominated films Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Beasts of the Southern Wild. It is also supported by community partners within the global game development ecosystem, including International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Black in Gaming Foundation, Latinx in Gaming, and Games for Change. 

Following Day Zero’s recent announcement of its investment in gaming startup Midsummer Studios, the game jam signals the company’s growing commitment to supporting innovative storytelling and indie creators in the gaming space. 

“Indie games are fertile environments to push creative boundaries in our industry”, remarks Dan Zubrzycki, head of games at Day Zero, in a statement. “Our team’s name, Day Zero, has its roots in the climate conversation. It’s an issue close to Trevor’s heart. With this Solarpunk Game Jam, we’re tapping into that spirit to reimagine the climate conversation — not with fear, but with creativity, resilience, and joy. The future needs more than warnings; it needs worldbuilders brave enough to imagine a better tomorrow.”

Day Zero Productions takes its name from the water shortage crisis in Cape Town, South Africa that occurred between 2015 and 2018 — an origin that reflects the studio’s climate consciousness. Day Zero Games: Solarpunk Jam invites developers around the world to imagine hopeful and optimistic climate futures inspired by the solarpunk literary and art movement.

Last year, Anima Interactive and Cinereach hosted Just Play, an initiative that encouraged creators to explore different lenses of justice through interactive media. These game jams culminated in showcases at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and the Hollywood Climate Summit.

“Game jams offer a safe space and playground to experiment and take risks that might not be possible within more structured studio environments,” said Anima Interactive’s creative director Karla Reyes, in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with Day Zero on this solarpunk-themed jam. During a time when our Earth is fragile, it’s more important than ever for art and activism to converge and inspire a brighter future. It should be electrifying.”

Reyes will be a speaker at our upcoming GamesBeat Summit 2025 event on May 19-20 in Los Angeles. Anima Interactive previously ran the Just Play game jam for justice in 2023.

Launching on Earth Day (April 22, 2025) and running through May 10, 2025, the jam challenges creators to make original video game prototypes that bring climate visibility to the forefront. A narrative toolkit created by Cinereach in partnership with Good Energy will be provided to participants, offering insights and climate research to inform and inspire their projects.

“We’re thrilled to team up with Day Zero Productions on our third game jam with Anima Interactive,” said Cinereach’s chief creative officer, Candice McFarlane, in a statement. “We can’t wait to see our narrative blueprints—shaped by representatives of impacted communities and climate professionals—transformed into playable worlds with the power to inspire alternative futures. What developers create here might just be the seeds from which a new reality can emerge.”

With more than three billion gamers globally, and an industry growing faster than film, television and music combined, video games have become one of the most powerful platforms for social commentary and cultural impact. Day Zero Game Jams harnesses this potential to reshape how creators and audiences engage with one of the most urgent issues of our time: the future of our planet. 

Submissions for creators open on Earth Day, April 22, 2025 on itch.io.

Day Zero Productions is a joint venture between Trevor Noah and Paramount Global. Its gaming division collaborates closely with the company’s film and television projects to take a 360-degree approach to storytelling. In addition to trans-media initiatives, DZP produces original interactive experiences like JokeNite with Epic Games, and supports the broader industry through strategic investments, including a seed round in Midsummer Studios, founded by Firaxis veteran and XCOM creator Jake Solomon.

Anima Interactive is a new socially conscious independent games and immersive media studio that blends art and technology to ignite positive cultural change. The company is currently developing Take Us North, a narrative adventure that immerses players in the poignant journeys of migrants and asylum seekers on their way to cross the US-Mexico border.

Cinereach is a not-for-profit story lab advancing stories that spark curiosity, empathy and agency. We are working to revolutionize the narrative process, improving how stories are made and consumed, and bridging the gap between social impact storytelling and popular entertainment in film, television, and emerging media. Originally founded in 2006 as a film foundation and production company, Cinereach has supported more than 200 beloved and acclaimed films, including Academy Award Best Picture-nominees Beasts of the Southern Wild and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.