The Serious Games Showcase & Challenge Returns in 2021 After 2020

SGS&C is the serious games competition held with the NTSA's Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Florida. The challenge's own history says it began in 2005, when Team Orlando leaders felt a strong need to stimulate industry creativity, and that the first contest was held at I/ITSEC 2006.

In 2020 the traditional competition and exhibition were paused. The virtual I/ITSEC offered an on-demand, video-based commemoration of 15 years of serious games, and the challenge's history page confirms that no awards were given that year. For 2021 the organizers announced that the challenge was back, under the leadership of Meagan French of BetterLesson and LCDR Devin Corrigan of the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). The current page for the 2021 edition also names Capt Lauren McCann (MARCORSYSCOM) and Jenn McNamara of BreakAway Games on the leadership team.

The committee reviews each edition after the awards ceremony, and for 2021 it changed some rules on the basis of feedback from the previous year's committee, evaluators, sponsors and game developers. The changes covered submission procedures, video demonstrations and attendance at I/ITSEC.

French had joined the challenge's planning team in 2019 after attending the challenge to show Martha Madison, a game from Second Avenue Learning. She works in partnerships at BetterLesson, a provider of professional development for K-12 school districts.

The 2021 edition produced 13 finalists and awards in six categories, which the challenge lists on its 2021 page. The Innovation, People's Choice, Best Student Developed, Best XR, Best Business Developed and Best Government Developed awards each had a winner, and two games shared People's Choice.

The structure changed again the following year. According to the challenge's history page, in 2022 the awards were re-categorized by intended end user, and the awards page now lists Best General Audience Game and Best Government Audience Game from 2022, next to the Innovation Award, People's Choice Award, Best Student Developed Game, Best XR and the Students' Choice Award.

The challenge's website shows a 2026 edition. Its banner reads that SGS&C 2026 submissions are now closed, after a submission window from May 1 to September 11, 2026. Finalists were to be notified on September 30, 2026. The live showcase runs at I/ITSEC in Orlando from November 30 to December 3, 2026, with the SGS&C at Booth 2281 in the Exhibit Hall and an awards ceremony on December 3 at 1300 at the EcosySTEM of Learning Pavilion.