The IGF & Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 winners and nominees

Published , by Sam Chandler

The Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards for 2025 occurred tonight with many excellent games earning their laurels. These awards seek to honor the incredible games released in 2024 and the people that make such titles possible. Below you’ll find all of the nominees and winners for the IGF and the GDC Awards. Please, check it out!

The Independent Games Festival Awards 2025

Best Student Game winner: Slot Waste


Source: Vinny Roca & pickpanpuck productions

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Cards of Heart (GoodMind Games), Duck Paradox (Magic Games / Midwest Games), Lost Garden (​​Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), Perfect World (Michael Overton Brown), Timeworks (Starworks Studios)

Excellence in Audio winner: despelote


Source: Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena & Panic

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive),  Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Excellence in Design winner: Tactical Breach Wizards


Source: Suspicious Developments

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi), UFO 50 (Mossmouth), LOK Digital (Letibus Design, Icedrop Games / Draknek and Friends), Eigengrau (Martin Mauersics), The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack)

Excellence in Narrative winner: Caves of Qud


Source: Freehold Games & Kitfox Games

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments), Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper / Panic), The Thaumaturge (Fool's Theory / 11 bit studios)

Excellence in Visual Arts winner: Hauntii


Source: Moonloop Games & Firestoke

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Crow Country (SFB Games), Death of the Reprobate (Joe Richardson), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive) 

Nuovo Award winner:  Consume Me


Source: Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Arctic Eggs (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX) , Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya), Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Project Y (Project_Y Production Committee), Refind Self: The Personality TestGame (Lizardry / PLAYISM)

Seumas McNally Grand Prize winner: Consume Me


Source: Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Nine Sols (RedCandleGames) , Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

The Game Developer Choice Awards 2025

Game of the Year winner: Balatro


Source: LocalThunk & Playstack

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Audio winner: Astro Bot


Source: Team ASOBI & Sony Interactive Entertainment

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI)

Best Debut winner: Balatro


Source: LocalThunk & Playstack

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)

Best Design winner: Balatro


Source: LocalThunk & Playstack

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Innovation Award winner: Balatro


Source: LocalThunk & Playstack

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)

Best Narrative winner: Metaphor: ReFantazio


Source: ATLUS, SEGA & Studio Zero

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)

Best Technology winner: Astro Bot


Source: Team ASOBI & Sony Interactive Entertainment

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Best Visual Art winner: Black Myth: Wukong


Source: Game Science

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)

Social Impact winner: Life is Strange: Double Exposure


Source: Deck Nine Games & Square Enix

Nominees:

Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts)

Audience Award winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)


Source: Square Enix

Pioneer Award winner: Lucas Pope

Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Sam Lake

Those are your winners for all of the categories in the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards for 2025. There are a ton of fantastic games released in 2024 and more coming this year. So stay tuned to the Shacknews 2025 Video Game Release Date Calendar to see what’s coming out and what might be featured in the 26th annual GDCA show.