Reimagining gaming beyond capitalist frameworks | 2026
We are a research institute dedicated to exploring, developing, and promoting gaming models that transcend capitalist frameworks. Through cooperative design, alternative economies, and community-driven development, we envision a future where games serve as platforms for social transformation.
Explore Our WorkFounded in 2023, the Institute of Post-Capitalist Gaming has become a leading center for research into alternative gaming economies, cooperative design methodologies, and the social impact of games beyond commercial frameworks.
The Institute of Post-Capitalist Gaming (IPCG) is dedicated to the research, development, and advocacy of gaming models that transcend traditional capitalist frameworks. We believe games have the potential to be more than entertainment commodities—they can be tools for social transformation, platforms for cooperative creativity, and spaces for exploring alternative economic and social systems.
Our interdisciplinary team of researchers, designers, economists, and community organizers work collaboratively to develop new paradigms for game design, distribution, and community governance that prioritize cooperation over competition, accessibility over profit, and communal ownership over corporate control.
Our research spans multiple disciplines, united by the common goal of reimagining gaming outside capitalist paradigms.
Developing and studying in-game economies based on mutual aid, resource sharing, and needs-based distribution rather than accumulation and competition.
Current projects include cooperative resource management systems, reputation-based economies, and games without currency.
Creating frameworks for game development that prioritize collective decision-making, democratic ownership, and community participation throughout the design process.
We're developing tools for consensus-based design and studying successful cooperative game studios.
Researching how games can model and promote post-capitalist social structures, ecological awareness, and community resilience.
This includes serious games for political education and simulations of alternative economic systems.
Advancing models for game development and distribution based on open-source principles, digital commons, and anti-enclosure practices.
We maintain several open-source game engines and advocate for Creative Commons in gaming.
Studying how gaming communities can self-organize through democratic, horizontal, and consensus-based governance models.
We document case studies and develop tools for community self-governance.
Identifying and cataloging game mechanics, narratives, and systems that inherently challenge or exist outside capitalist paradigms.
Creating a comprehensive pattern library for designers interested in post-capitalist approaches.
Our latest research papers, articles, and reports on post-capitalist gaming (2025-2026)
This paper proposes a framework for in-game reward systems that prioritize community benefit over individual accumulation, with case studies from three experimental games.
A practical guide for establishing and maintaining cooperative game studios, based on three years of research with 12 studios across four continents.
Exploration of legal structures (like the Cooperative Commons License) and technical systems that enable games to be developed and maintained as digital commons.
Comprehensive analysis of trends, challenges, and breakthroughs in post-capitalist gaming throughout 2025, with projections for 2026-2030.
Conferences, workshops, and community gatherings scheduled for 2026
Annual festival showcasing games developed outside traditional capitalist frameworks. Featuring exhibitions, workshops, and talks from cooperative studios worldwide.
Location: Virtual & Barcelona Hub
Gathering of designers, developers, and researchers focused on cooperative methodologies in game development. Hands-on workshops and collaborative design sessions.
Location: Berlin Cooperative Center
Academic symposium on alternative gaming economies, with papers, panels, and experimental game demonstrations exploring post-capitalist economic models.
Location: University of Toronto & Virtual
Focus on open-source tools, digital commons, and anti-enclosure practices in game development. Technical workshops on open game engines and asset commons.
Location: Amsterdam Digital Commons Institute
IPCG's annual gathering where all members participate in decision-making about the institute's direction, budget allocation, and research priorities for 2027.
Location: Virtual (Global Participation)
The interdisciplinary researchers, designers, and organizers driving our work forward
Former game economist specializing in alternative economic models. Leads our gaming economies research.
Game designer with 15 years experience. Founder of two cooperative game studios before joining IPCG.
Researcher in decentralized governance models. Studies how gaming communities self-organize.
Legal scholar focusing on digital commons and alternative intellectual property models for games.
Software engineer developing open-source tools for cooperative game development and distribution.
Designer and researcher creating games that model post-capitalist social and economic systems.
Facilitates connections between researchers, designers, and gaming communities worldwide.
Cultural theorist studying how games can tell stories beyond capitalist ideologies and values.
Get in touch to collaborate, learn more about our work, or join our community
The Institute of Post-Capitalist Gaming welcomes collaboration with researchers, designers, community organizers, and anyone interested in the future of gaming beyond capitalism.
Virtual-first organization with research hubs in Berlin, Toronto, and Tokyo
Weekly open calls every Thursday 3-5PM UTC
Monthly research seminars - check events for schedule