GDC & IGF Awards 2025 | Game of the Year winners

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire

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The 2025 GDC Awards

Game of the Year

  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC)
  • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
  • Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)
  • 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

  • Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (Square Enix)
  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
  • 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

  • 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
  • Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
  • Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
  • 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​

  • Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Lorelai and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive)
  • 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

  • Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
  • 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

  • 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA)
  • Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)
  • Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / Critical Reflex)
  • 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

  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC)
  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
  • Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
  • 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

  • Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
  • Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)
  • Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
  • 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

  • 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
  • Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios)
  • Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
  • Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
  • 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)



The 2025 IGF Awards

Excellence In Audio​

  • Anger Foot (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
  • Utopia Must Fall (Datasette/Pixeljam / Pixeljam)
  • Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive), The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Excellence In Design​

  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
  • Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
  • Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)
  • 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​

  • Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
  • Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi)
  • 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 Art​

  • Children of the Sun (René Rother / Devolver Digital)
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)
  • Judero (Talha & Jack Co.)
  • Nine Sols (RedCandleGames)
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
  • 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​

  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
  • Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity (Sam Atlas)
  • Ginger (Kevin Du)
  • individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware manifesto (alienmelon)
  • Starship Home (Creature)
  • tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut / moochi)
  • The Exit 8 (KOTAKE CREATE / PLAYISM)
  • Honorable Mentions: Arctic Eggs (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX), Judero (Talha & Jack Co.), Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Project_Y: Working Title (Project_Y Production Committee), Refind Self: The Personality Test Game (Lizardry / PLAYISM)

Seumas Mcnally Grand Prize​

  • Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
  • UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
  • 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)

Wings Award​

  • Caravan Sandwitch (Plane Toast / Dear Villagers)
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
  • Tavern Talk (Gentle Troll Entertainment)
  • The Crush House (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
  • Urban Myth Dissolution Center (Hakababunko / SHUEISHA GAMES)

Best Student Game​

  • A Dual Ascent (Mountain Toad Entertainment / Rubika Supinfogame)
  • DisplaceMen (Eversea Club)
  • Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission into the Afterhours of a Miscalculation (Games for my Computer)
  • Slot Waste (Vinny Roca)
  • The WereCleaner (The WereCleaner Team / USC Games)
  • Year Unknown (Julian Heuser)
  • 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)
Source - Polygon
 
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