Game Changer was created as an original show for the streaming service
Dropout, in response to internal pressure to create more inexpensive, unscripted content compared to
CollegeHumor's previous output. Early in development, the show was titled
What the What and based loosely on the party game "
Scissors". The third season of the show was recorded via
video conference to comply with
lockdown restrictions in
California during the
COVID-19 pandemic; the show returned to being recorded in the studio for its fourth season. Originally, nine episodes were announced as being a part of the fifth season ahead of the season premiere in November 2022, with a 10th episode being a cut-for-time special. However, in March 2023, a special 4-part season finale titled "Game Changer: Battle Royale" was announced, with the mini-series being a sequel to season4's
Survivor-style season finale. Beginning with the fifth season, behind-the-scenes videos are uploaded for each episode the week after their release. Seasons 4 and 5 each concluded with "cut for time" specials featuring moments that were cut from the episodes; these moments were later integrated into the behind-the-scenes videos from season6 onward. During the
2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, production on the sixth season of
Game Changer as well as most Dropout programming shut down, as the show fell "under SAG's Electronic Media contract". In July 2023, Sam Reich stated that as Dropout is not "associated with the
AMPTP, it's possible we may be able to reach an interim agreement with SAG that allows us to continue to produce content during the strike. But we'll only do that, obviously, if we get the blessing of the union and the buy-in of our performers. If not, we have enough content in the can to last us a little past the end of the year". In August 2023, Reich announced that all Dropout shows had resumed production, as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually a non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract.
Game Changer editor Sam Geer, who also directed season6's episodes, was promoted to executive producer in 2024. The set was expanded for the filming of season7. Reich commented that one of the production limitations of the previous set was the stage curtain entrance so this set expansion featured a new "grand entrance" to "wheel the most elaborate stuff out onto that stage". Reich stated, "the open play space and the distance between the cameras and us are so massive that to be on the stage this season, it felt a little bit like there weren't cameras in the room.... I think that contributed to a bit of just how free we felt as performers". Edwards highlighted a challenge in "One Year Later" which "involved creating the most profitable piece of Dropout merchandise, something fans only realized while watching the episode", the live audience for "Crowd Control", and the goal of creating the most
viral videos in "Fool's Gold" where the "viewers will be able to keep affecting the episode's outcome" in the month after the episode aired. The game was solved by fans within 48 hours, ultimately unlocking the final episode of the season, one which had been planned by
Brennan Lee Mulligan and other Dropout cast and crew members in secret to surprise Reich following the end of production on the other episodes. The season is scheduled to premiere on May 18, 2026. On February 23, 2026, it was revealed that
The Rookie would air an episode crossing over with
Game Changer. The episode, "
Fun and Games", aired on March 2, 2026, featuring Reich, Vic Michaelis, Jacob Wysocki, Zac Oyama, and Anna Garcia.
Spin-offs Episodes of
Game Changer have become the basis for a number of other shows on Dropout. In 2022, Dropout produced three spin-offs based on previous episodes:
Dirty Laundry, a panel game about guessing each other's secret facts based on the season3 episode "Never Have I Ever";
Make Some Noise, a short form improv show based on the season1 episode and recurring game of the same name; and
Play It by Ear, a musical improv show based on the season4 episode "The Official Cast Recording." In 2025, Dropout premiered
Crowd Control, a stand-up crowd work series based on the season7 episode of the same name.
Home media On February 6, 2026, Reich announced that the first two seasons would be available for purchase on
Blu-ray, as a
physical media release by Dropout. ==Episodes==