The Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF) 2025, and the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) 2025, have both taken place at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, United States, with a host of well-deserving games and developers being celebrated.
During the IGF Awards, upcoming slice-of-life game Consume Me took out a range of accolades for its unique exploration of food, and the pressure facing young women growing up. At the GDC Awards, Balatro earned a range of awards, including Game of the Year, while game development pioneers Lucas Pope and Sam Lake were honoured with achievement awards.
Across both shows, it was fantastic to see games celebrated, with a vast of array of winners crowned, from mainstream AAA hits to compelling, unique indie games which should certainly be on your radar, if they aren’t already.
Read: The GDC Awards will honour Sam Lake and Lucas Pope
Here’s the full list of winners from both annual award shows.
Independent Games Festival (IGF) 2025 Award Winners
Best Student Game
- A Dual Ascent (Mountain Toad Entertainment / Rubika Supinfogame)
- DisplaceMen (Eversea Club / leafaleaves)
- Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission into the Afterhours of a Miscalculation (Games for my Computer)
- Slot Waste (Vinny Roca / pickpanpuck productions) – [WINNER]
- The WereCleaner (Howlin’ Hugs / USC Games)
- Year Unknown (Julian Heuser)
Audience Award
- The WereCleaner (Howlin’ Hugs / USC Games) – [WINNER]
alt.ctrl.GDC Award
- ChromaCorp (Art Center) – [WINNER]
Excellence in Audio
- Anger Foot (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
- Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) – [WINNER]
- INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
- ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
- Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
- Utopia Must Fall (Pixeljam)
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) – [WINNER]
Excellence in Narrative
- Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games) – [WINNER]
- 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)
Excellence in Visual Arts
- 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) – [WINNER]
- Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya)
- Nine Sols (RedCandleGames)
- Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
Nuovo Award
- Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder) – [WINNER]
- Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
- Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity (Sam Atlas)
- Ginger (Kevin Du / lizu ktap)
- individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware rant manifesto (alienmelon)
- Starship Home (Creature)
- tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut/moochi (with help from plunderludics working group))
- The Exit 8 (KOTAKE CREATE / Active Gaming Media Inc)
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) – [WINNER]
- Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
- INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
- Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
- UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Game Developers Choice (GDCA) 2025 Award Winners
Best Audio
- Animal Well
- Astro Bot – [WINNER]
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Best Debut
- 1000xRESIST
- Animal Well
- Balatro – [WINNER]
- Pacific Drive
- Tiny Glade
Best Design
- Animal Well
- Astro Bot
- Balatro – [WINNER]
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Innovation Award
- Animal Well
- Astro Bot
- Balatro – [WINNER]
- Black Myth: Wukong
- UFO 50
Best Narrative
- 1000xRESIST
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio – [WINNER]
- Mouthwashing
Best Technology
- Astro Bot – [WINNER]
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Helldivers 2
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
- Tiny Glade
Best Visual Art
- Animal Well
- Astro Bot
- Black Myth: Wukong – [WINNER]
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Neva
Social Impact
- 1000xRESIST
- Astro Bot
- Frostpunk 2
- Life is Strange: Double Exposure – [WINNER]
- Neva
Game of the Year
- Astro Bot
- Balatro – [WINNER]
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Helldivers 2
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Audience Award
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – [WINNER]
Pioneer Award
- Lucas Pope
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Sam Lake
