Battlecode is a free annual AI programming competition organized by MIT, held each January. Participants write autonomous AI players — bots that control robot armies in a real-time strategy game involving pathfinding, distributed algorithms, and team coordination — and compete in automated tournaments against other teams worldwide.
The competition runs multiple brackets: Sprint Tournaments (open to anyone), a dedicated High School Tournament (all team members must be current high school students), a US Qualifier (US college students), an International Qualifier (non-US college students), and an MIT Newbie Tournament for first-time MIT competitors. High school teams compete for their own bracket and appear at the main finals event. Over $20,000 in total prize money is available, distributed across tournament winners.
The 2026 competition ran throughout January 2026. The 2027 competition is expected to follow the same January schedule; dates are typically announced in late fall.