Are you a gamer? Programmer? Designer? Or just enjoy creating a virtual world? If so, the 2014 Global Game Jam could be for you.

The University of Missouri–St. Louis will be a host site for the 48-hour gaming challenge expected to bring as many as 10,000 people across the globe in more than 44 countries together to create thousands of video games Jan. 24-26.

The Global Game Jam, now in its sixth year, allows students, hobbyists and professionals to team up and create complete, playable games over the course of a single weekend. The Game Jam provides an opportunity to showcase talent, learn about and become part of the region’s dynamic-game development industry and community. Its growing popularity underscores St. Louis’s growth as an important technology and game development hub in the country. Past participants have gone on to create startup companies to further develop their games and are involved with gaming communities such as Happy Badger Studio’s “Something Fragile” and Butterscotch Shenanigan’s “Towelfight 2.”

At each site, participants gather, form small groups, develop ideas, create new and innovative games and present them to their peers and the global community, all in the course of a weekend.

The Game Jam will be hosted by UMSL’s Department of Information Systems in the College of Business Administration. The event is free and open to all ages. Onsite registration will begin at 4 p.m. on Jan. 24 in 222 Social Science & Business Building on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). The keynote and game theme announcement will start at 6 p.m. The event will run for a continuous 48-hours, culminating in a closing ceremony and presentation of the games by the teams at 5 p.m. on Jan. 26.

This is the third year UMSL has been a host site. Last year’s UMSL site attracted 130 participants, making St. Louis the 18th largest Game Jam site in the world and 5th largest in the U.S.

Click here for a look at the 2012 Global Game Jam at UMSL.