Choose Wisely Festival 2025
Presented by Studio Ephua
The Choose Wisely Festival is a choice-based narrative games celebration, focused on featuring the delightful craft of branching narratives!
The Choose Wisely Festival will be taking place on Steam December 2025. Join us on the event page and explore a curated selection of discounted classics, up and coming demos, and broadcasts!Expect to find your favourites as well as find new ones. Don't forget to wishlist!
Be sure to follow us on Bluesky, X, or join our Mailing List and Discord if you haven't already, to keep up with Studio Ephua news!
Spread the word with #ChooseWiselyFestival
General
What is the Choose Wisely Festival?
The Choose Wisely Festival is a new festival celebrating classic, upcoming, and recently released choice-based narrative games.
When is the event?
The first ever festival will take place early to mid December 2025. Exact dates to be announced shortly.
What game demos can I play?
A range of game demos will be available! There will be a section dedicated to this on the event page.
Which studios are participating?
We will be highlighting participating studios closer to the event time.
Can I participate with my Game?
Submissions for 2025 closed on August 24th.
I'm a journalist or content creator. How can I cover this event or be involved?We'd love for you to get involved! (Interest form will be added in the upcoming days.)If you'd like an interview about the festival, please email fest[at]studioephua[dot]com.
Submissions
What are the benefits of participating?
Festivals are a great way to put your game in front of strangers and see what other developers like you are working on! By participating in a festival, there's a lot of buzz around the event, so the pressure isn't all on you!The event takes place on Steam, one of the biggest plaforms for PC gaming.Game development can sometimes feel like you're screaming into an abyss! Participating in events reminds everyone that you're working on something, gives you a marketing beat to share, and builds a public track record.Lastly, festivals are one of the best ways to gain wishlists.
Is this event curated?
Yes! The Choose Wisely Festival is curated. We list various requirements that are considered when looking at submissions.
Other aspects that may prevent your game from being included are:- The use of generative AI or NFTs.
- The focus of the game being explicit adult content. (Games that have NSFW content are accepted, as long as it isn't the majority of the gameplay.)
What happens if my game gets selected?
You'll recieve a confirmation email, as well as next steps. Hopefully at this point, we will know whether or not we will have Steam featuring, also.- Released games are expected to provide a discount during the sale period, unless they are free or recently launched titles.
- Unreleased games are encouraged to have a playable demo available prior to the event.
- We strongly reccomend a developer livestream or broadcast during the event.
When do applicants hear back?
For the 2025 edition, successful participants will be confirmed by the end of September.
My game has tons of choices in it! Why wasn't I selected?
Although choices are a large part of the festival. Preference is given to games that have strong, branching narrative with significant, impactful story choices. We prioritise games that make this potential clear. As opposed to games with many options and dialogue without lasting consequences.