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About the Develop:Star Awards

Bringing together the game dev community to celebrate the very best games and talent.

The Develop:Star Awards recognise the very best games and talent within the industry with categories that enable studios of every size to shine. These awards are all about the game dev community celebrating the creative excellence of the game makers behind the best games of the previous 12 months.

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The Develop:Star Awards winners will be announced during Develop:Brighton at a ceremony at The Dome on the evening of Wednesday 9 July.

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The Stars Schedule

  • 3 February - Nominations open
  • 4 April - Entry deadline
  • 7 April to 2 May - Judging for the shortlist
  • W/c 12 May - Shortlist announced and online voting for the winners opens
  • 30 May - Voting closes
  • 4 June - Early Bird Deadline
  • 9 July - Winners announced at the Awards ceremony

Develop:Star Awards Party

The Develop:Star Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 9 July during Develop:Brighton.

Venue:

Brighton Dome
New Road
Brighton
BN1 1UG

Party Timings:

  • 19:00 Drinks
  • 19:45 Awards Presentation
  • 20:30 Dinner
  • 21.45 Awards Presentation
  • 22.30 After Party

Develop:Star Awards Tickets

Premium Table of 10
Ticket includes access to the pre-dinner drinks reception, prime table location, your logo displayed on your table, dinner and access to the after party.

  • Early Bird Rate (by 4 June): £3,350 (+ VAT)
  • Full Rate (after 4 June): £3,750 (+ VAT)


Standard Table of 10

Ticket includes access to the pre-dinner drinks reception, dinner and access to the after party.

  • Early Bird Rate (by 4 June): £3,000 (+ VAT)
  • Full Rate (after 4 June): £3,400 (+ VAT)


Single Seat at a Table

Ticket includes access to the pre-dinner drinks reception, dinner and access to the after party.

  • Early Bird Rate (by 4 June): £300 (+VAT)
  • Full Rate (after 4 June): £340 (+VAT)


Single Seat at a Table Micro Indie Rate
(Dev studios with 4 or fewer employees only)
Ticket includes access to the pre-dinner drinks reception, dinner and access to the after party.

  • Early Bird Rate (by 4 June): £190 (+VAT)
  • Full Rate (after 4 June): £235 (+VAT)


Please note:
If you've booked a ticket for the Awards you'll need a wristband to get in, which you can collect from the Develop:Brighton Registration desk in the lobby of the Hilton Metropole Hotel between 2pm and 6.30pm on that Wednesday.

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Develop:Star Awards Categories

Best Game Design

Recognising a team that has achieved exceptional game design that exhibits innovation, creativity and technical achievement in a specific game.

Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

Finalists:

  • Astro Bot
  • Expelled!
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here!
  • Two Point Museum
Best Audio

Recognising a team that has demonstrated distinction in the use of sound and/or music to improve or enhance the player experience for a specific game.

Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

Finalists:

  • Astro Bot
  • Atomfall
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Monument Valley 3
  • Tales Of Kenzera: Zau
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Best Original IP

Recognising a team that has achieved exceptional creative, commercial and critical results with a brand-new intellectual property.

Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Paper Trail
  • Stellar Blade
  • Still Wakes the Deep
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here!
  • Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop
  • Vampire Therapist
Best Visual Art

Recognising a team that has demonstrated exceptional achievement in visual art and animation in a specific game.

Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

Finalists:

  • Dungeons of Hinterberg
  • Harold Halibut
  • Neva
  • Paper Trail
  • Songs of Silence
  • Still Wakes the Deep
Best Narrative

Recognising a team that has demonstrated exceptional achievement in storytelling to create an outstanding player experience – through innovative or ground-breaking writing.

Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

Finalists:

  • Closer the Distance
  • Expelled!
  • FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
  • Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Best Technical Innovation

Recognising an exceptional technical innovation across video game software, hardware and engines, that demonstrates a fresh approach, unique thinking and/or addresses a particular need in the market.

Entries must be for a specific software or hardware innovation, the creation of which can be attributed to a company or companies.

Qualifying entries must have come to market in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Astro Bot
  • Code Wizards Group
  • Harold Halibut
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Lego Horizon Adventures
  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Best EDI Initiative

Recognising an exceptional initiative that has had a positive impact on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within a video game company or the wider industry.

Qualifying initiatives must have launched or shown demonstrable results during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Brainspark Games
  • Ensemble (part of London Games Festival)
  • Limit Break Mentorship
  • Out Making Games
  • Playground Games
  • Women in Games
Best Marketing Campaign

Recognising an exceptional marketing campaign for a video game or video game hardware that has demonstrated outstanding results during the qualifying period.

Campaigns must have been activated in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Qualifying campaigns can be in support of products released outside of the qualifying period but must support new content or a significant new update to that product.

Finalists:

  • Animal Well
  • Dungeons of Hinterberg
  • FuturLab - PowerWash Simulator
  • HITMAN World of Assassination
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Monument Valley 3
  • PlanetPlay’s Make Green Moves
Supporting Star

Recognising the outstanding work of a company supporting the game development community, including providers of creative audio-visual assets, QA and localisation, law, accountancy and production, but not recruitment.

Qualifying entries must include evidence of success that first occurred during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Airship Interactive
  • GG Insurance Services
  • Green Man Gaming
  • PitStop Productions
  • Room 8 Group
  • Side
  • Tanglewood Games
  • Unreal Engine
Talent & Recruitment Star

Recognising an in-house team or external company or agency for exceptional work in the fields of talent acquisition, retention and development.

Qualifying companies must be able to provide evidence of outstanding approaches, practices and results that fall within the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Aardvark Swift
  • Amiqus
  • Datascope Recruitment
  • Playground Games Recruitment Team
  • Skillsearch
Tomorrow's Star

Recognising outstanding new and emerging talent within the games industry.

Qualifying entrants must be in a position below senior management or director level at the time the submission is made.

All supporting evidence for the entry must fall within the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Emma Marshall-Newson, Sumo Digital
  • Francesca White, Behaviour Interactive
  • Gurvinder Bisran, BOM
  • Marco Ng, Otterweave Game Studio
  • Melodie Showell, Side
  • Summer Davies, BLAST
  • Valeriya Lakhtikova, Dovetail Games
Best In-Game Accessibility

Recognising outstanding achievement in the development and application of accessibility features that are wide-ranging, impactful and show exceptional craft.

Qualifying entries must be for accessibility features in specific games released in the UK during the qualifying period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

Finalists:

  • Atomfall
  • Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island
  • Paper Trail
  • Sea Of Thieves – Custom Text Overlay
  • Silent Hill 2
  • Trash Goblin
Publishing Star

Recognising an organisation that has shown outstanding support helping developers get their game published. This can include via funding, discoverability, research or anything else that helped secure a successful route to market for new games.

    Qualifying publishers must have published at least one game or significant content update for a game during the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025 in the UK.

    Finalists:

    • Curve Games
    • Fireshine Games
    • No More Robots
    • Playstack
    • Raw Fury
    • Secret Mode
    • Team17
    Best Mobile Game

    Recognising the stand-out game available on mobile phone or tablet devices that has excelled in all aspects of game development to achieve creative, commercial and critical success.

    Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

    Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

    Finalists:

    • A Little to the Left
    • Maid of Sker
    • Monument Valley 3
    • Paper Trail
    • PBJ – The Musical
    • Sniper Elite 4
    Best Game

    Recognising the game on any platform that stands out above all others, excelling in all aspects of game development to achieve creative, commercial and critical success.

    Qualifying games must have been released in the UK during the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

    Only significant expansions and DLC for existing games will be considered for this category.

    Finalists:

    • Astro Bot
    • Atomfall
    • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
    • Split Fiction
    • Still Wakes the Deep
    • Thank Goodness You’re Here!
    Best Small Studio

    Recognising a studio with ten or fewer employees that has achieved exceptional critical and commercial success during the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

    Entrants must have released a game or significant content update for a game in the UK and during that period.

    Finalists:

    • Coal Supper
    • Cyberwave
    • Newfangled Games
    • Polygon Treehouse
    • Shared Memory
    • Spilt Milk Studios
    Best Studio

    Recognising a studio with eleven or more full-time employees that has achieved exceptional critical and commercial success during the qualifying period - 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025.

    Entrants must have released a game or significant content update for a game in the UK and during that period. 

    Finalists:

    • Facepunch Studios
    • FuturLab
    • Hazelight Studios
    • Larian Studios
    • Rebellion
    • Team Asobi
    • The Chinese Room

    The Develop:Star Award 2025 - Sam Lake, Remedy Entertainment


    Sam Lake has been a key creative force in dreaming up Remedy’s acclaimed catalogue of games: Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control. Lake famously even provided the likeness for the title character in the first Max Payne game. His passion lies in deep, layered storytelling and melding together different mediums to create unique interactive experiences.


    Sponsorship

    The Develop:Star Awards offer a range of sponsorship opportunities to help you achieve your marketing & promotional goals. Whatever your aims, there’s something to suit every pocket - all designed to maximise your exposure.

    To find out how you can get involved contact us at:

    E: [email protected]
    T: +44 (0)20 3927 6440