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The full details of the shortlisted entries can be found below. Once you've taken a look through the shortlisted entries, scroll to the bottom of this page to cast your vote.
Please note: You don't have to vote for every category.
Recognising a team that has demonstrated exceptional achievement in visual art and animation in a specific game.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s unique approach of blending realistic environments with artistically unique, painted, thematic motifs give the audience a beautiful landscape to look at, while also weaving in subtle foreshadowing to the game’s ultimate story twists and turns. This layered approach to art design permeates the entire artistic vision of the game, rewarding thoughtful players with clues and secrets that help flesh out the meta story beyond the game’s writing alone.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH marries imaginative artistry and technological excellence, bringing to life an environment that takes the breath away, immersing players in a vibrant and lifelike world. Each setting has been meticulously researched, photographed during on-location visits, and translated with passion to the screen.
Dispatch
When Dispatch launched, it immediately received praise from critics and players alike for its beautiful, striking, and unique visual art. With its appealing characters, hand crafted matte paintings, and visually arresting cinematography, Dispatch channels visual art techniques used in traditional animation and pushes it into the modern era with its unique 2D/3D hybrid look.
Ghost of Yōtei
Ghost of Yōtei transports players to 17th century Japan, bringing the far North to life. Based on multiple research trips to Hokkaido to study various natural and manmade landmarks, the art team worked to make the region evoke the feeling of the real world while crafting their own fictionalized version. From masks to flowing cloaks to samurai armor, every outfit in the game was meticulously crafted with a combination of real-world reference and original creations to add even more expression.
Mafia: The Old Country
The artistic vision of Mafia: The Old Country is grounded in historical authenticity and a gritty realism that does not shy away from the darker aspects of Sicilian life in the early 20th Century and its criminal underworld. From the painterly quality of the 3D still life scene featured on the main menu, to the meticulous research done by the world artists - the game's stunning visuals allow its painstaking recreation of Sicily to become a character in and of itself.
The Midnight Walk
The Midnight Walk stuns with a world made in real clay and cardboard, where every model is sculpted, hand-painted, and the 3D-scanned into the game. Huge, thrifted objects loom over the player, making them feel part of a giant miniature set, blending beauty with unease. Its animation mimics stop motion - mixing smooth movement with animation on twos - while hand-drawn illustrations quietly expand the lore, creating an unforgettable atmosphere.
Recognising a team that has demonstrated exceptional achievement in storytelling to create an outstanding player experience – through innovative or ground-breaking writing.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The narrative of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a deeply personal story created by Guillaume Broche and Jennifer Svedberg-Yen. With a profound story premise, centered around loss and overcoming insurmountable odds, the duo refined the story together to develop the world and setting players know today. What starts as a simple objective to destroy the Paintress evolves into a story of complex family dynamics, grief, and an exploration on how we, as humans, process loss.
Dispatch
The narrative of Dispatch lives in the spaces between the big moments, where conversation becomes connection, and choices actually cost something. Romances, arguments, confessions, the kind of small moments that make everything else matter. Dialogue is where they start -- getting players to care about the characters, so they’ll care about the relationships that connect them.
Ghost of Yōtei
Ghost of Yōtei follows the tragic tale of Atsu, whose family was murdered in front of her as a child, an event that inspired a years-long thirst for revenge. Her desire to avenge her fallen family is the throughline of every part of the game, and we watch her experience the highs and lows of her obsession with revenge. While she starts as a lone wolf, the Wolf Pack Atsu builds throughout Ghost of Yōtei highlights that (just like her family’s resilient ginkgo tree) she can recover, rebuild, and look toward a future she never thought was possible.
Mafia: The Old Country
The concept for Mafia: The Old Country was never simply to tell a gangster story, but to trace the origins of the Mafia itself - to return to the place and time where legend and history first converged. Heavily inspired by classic crime cinema, the game crafts a story of real human drama - a grounded, character-driven narrative set against a backdrop of social upheaval and change.
The Alters
The Alters tells a human story through sci-fi language - but its narrative excellence lies not just in what it says, but in how it’s told: a blend of authored story and player-driven consequence that uses interactivity as a narrative tool, not just a delivery system.
TR-49
inkle's approach to narrative is always experimental, and this non-linear "database thriller" is no exception. Telling a tight, gripping storyline across six hours in front of a single, old computer interface, it blends family drama, war-time secrets, quantum mechanics and academic, using superb voice acting and best-in-class writing to draw players in and keep them hooked.
Recognising a team that has achieved exceptional game design that exhibits innovation, creativity and technical achievement in a specific game.
9 Kings
9 Kings has been a viral success with over 1 million copies sold to date. Its smart, quick gameplay loop excels at sucking in players for long runs and allows for a near-endless amount of replayability – combining minimalism with a mechanical depth that makes the strategy genre approachable and engaging for fans and new players alike.
Blue Prince
Blue Prince elegantly weaves its literary narrative with meticulously designed gameplay mechanics, pulling together elements of roguelikes, puzzle games, and architectural design to construct something much greater than the sum of its parts. Its innovative blue-print-based system makes every run feel fresh and keeps players engrossed until they’ve unearthed the last of the game’s many mysteries.
Cairn
Cairn is the first game with a procedural climbing system that is pushed to such an extent - players are free to choose their own route and climb everywhere and everything. A strong emphasis has been put on developing simple and intuitive controls, but also a strong variety of feedbacks that effectively replace a HUD and enhance immersion. It's not only a traversal tool, it becomes the very core of the gameplay.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 blends classic, turn-based combat with highly reactive real-time elements. Throughout its thoughtfully designed combat, players utilize cinematic and powerful attacks - and whether magically inclined or weapons-based, every single action feels weighty and impactful.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Building on its predecessor, DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH gives players new tools and abilities with which to strategise for each mission - allowing action to be tackled in three distinct styles. Whether that be approaching combat head-on, stealthing around enemy NPCs, or even avoiding some of the action entirely. An expansive skill tree enables players to further customise their gameplay experience, and experimentation is encouraged.
Ghost of Yōtei
Ghost of Yōtei is a game designed to reward player curiosity. The world isn’t just the setting, but a guide to help direct you to interesting content. A smoke plume might lead to a campsite with a mysterious stranger, fireflies buzzing around a tree might introduce a fox waiting to guide you to a shrine, a strange-shaped tree might bring you to a wolf in need of your help.
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.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been brought to life through the expert work of Sandfall Interactive’s audio design team. The game, which has been praised by many across the industry, uses sound design and incredible audio to enhance all elements of the game’s design and world to create a soundscape that delivers an unforgettable gaming experience for players.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH showcases a remarkable collaboration of talented audio experts from Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Punctuating every step of the player journey is a rich tapestry of sound; a seamless woven experience of hyper realistic ambient sound, crisp dialogue, and dynamic melodies.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
DOOM: The Dark Ages’ audio design is meticulously crafted to amplify the emotional intensity and power fantasy central to the player experience, as envisioned by id Software’s Game Director, Hugo Martin. Rather than focusing on horror, the audio supports the thrill and aggression of The Doom Slayer battling through hordes of demons, balancing raw brutality with an underlying sense of fun.
Jurassic World Evolution 3
Jurassic World Evolution 3 presented the formidable audio challenges inherent to Construction and Management Simulation (CMS) games. The audio team’s ambition was to deliver the best-sounding CMS game ever made, and to infuse every camera angle, from top-down to first-person with rich, sonic detail created from over 140,000 sounds and thousands of emitters.
Let Them Come: Onslaught
Let Them Come: Onslaught’s sound design is everything you would want from a gritty Survivors-like. The crowning glory of Tuatara’s game is its music: a pulse-pounding synthwave score by acclaimed artist Cartridge1987 that keeps the adrenaline pumping as you battle your way through the never-ending hordes.
TR-49
TR-49 was designed to mix learnings from audio drama into a deductive game loop. That approach comes into play in three places - the voice acting that tells the main story; the voice clips unearthed as you delve through the archive; and the foley work that brings the WWII computer at the heart of the game to life, with cranks, groans, clatters and grumbles all carefully synced to the machine's operational parts. The result is a holistic audio experience which, combined with Laurence Chapman's original score, defines the game.
Recognising a team that has achieved exceptional creative, commercial and critical results with a brand-new intellectual property.
Date Everything!
Date Everything! is a lovingly crafted narrative dating game created for fans. It brings one hundred everyday objects to life as romantic interests, each fully voiced and entirely unique. It is a testament to the passion of those involved in games from a different angle, their devotion to creating something unique, and allowing space for people to express themselves without judgement.
Dispatch
Dispatch was Ad Hoc Studios’ quiet rebellion against the idea that originality and commercial success can’t coexist. Its heroes aren’t gods (mostly); they’re people with jobs, paperwork, and HR meetings. Dispatch is a satire of hero culture, but also a love letter to collaboration - to teams trying to do something good, even when the world doesn’t make it easy.
Ghost Town
Ghost Town represents Fireproof Games’ first new IP in almost a decade and is a significant step up for the studio in every way. Featuring their first fully motion captured and voiced characters in a game, Ghost Town takes place in 1980s London and sees players stepping into the boots of Edith Penrose, an Irish witch running a small business exorcising restless spirits who haunt the city.
PEAK
PEAK is about working together. Its mechanics are simple, but players are forced to communicate, improvise and trust and help each other. Every run is different and creates memorable moments that have been widely shared across social media and streaming platforms, leading to the game selling over 19 million copies on Steam alone.
Pieced Together
Pieced Together is a brand-new original IP from Norfolk-based studio Glowfrog Games, centred on two girls growing up in London, the friendship they shared, and one of them looking back years later as she considers getting back in touch. Central to the IP are the scrapbook mechanics, with players piecing together memories in a way that reflects the act of looking back – all wrapped up in a beautiful, distinctive, hand-drawn art style.
The Alters
The Alters represents what games can achieve when design, narrative, and thematic intent are completely unified. In a year dominated by sequels and franchise extensions, it stands as a fully original, authored work. Every system serves the same thematic purpose: forcing players to practice empathy as a strategy, to weigh compassion against efficiency, and to confront the weight of their own decisions.
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.
Crimson Desert (Proprietary BlackSpace Engine)
The BlackSpace Engine represents a significant technical achievement in proprietary game technology. Pearl Abyss developed this next-generation engine specifically to realize the vision of Crimson Desert's seamless, vast open world without compromise.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH is a triumph in technical achievement, showcasing a best-in-class experience for both PlayStation 5 and the Decima engine. Stunning high-fidelity visuals are matched with PlayStation 5's ultra-high SSD, to provide uninterrupted gameplay across the vast open world. The fluidity between environments ensures fans can remain immersed, whilst enjoying features like ultra-realistic weather systems, richly detailed terrain, and dynamic lighting which adapt with the introduction of a day/night cycle.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
DOOM The Dark Ages runs on the idTech8 engine, the latest evolution of the legendary and critically acclaimed proprietary idTech engine. idTech8 ushers in a new era of state-of-the-art rendering and game technologies. Entirely dynamic shading and lighting is realized via raytracing at extremely high frames per second on a multitude of devices. Path traced multi-bounce lighting pushes the boundaries of real-time rendered lighting technology even further on the latest GPUs for the PC.
G'AIM'E Lightgun
The G’AIM’E Lightgun enables people to not only experience the era-defining TIME CRISIS in its intended and most fun format, but utilises modern technology to both enhance that experience and make it available to many more people. The controllers feature next-generation, revolutionary technology that adapts to just about any display, from smaller LCD televisions all the way up to screens too big to carry.
Ghost Town
Ghost Town intends to give the player the best possible experience across a wide range of platforms. This involved creating a custom render pipeline for the Unity engine that could get the best out of the Quest 2, without compromising the higher end devices like PSVR2 and PC, as well as a custom lighting solution that uses a novel global illumination technique to allow cinematic lighting changes on devices where real-time lighting is prohibitively expensive.
Ghost of Yōtei
Ghost of Yōtei brings a variety of technical improvements over Ghost of Tsushima. As you explore Ezo, massive sightlines allow clarity for mountains and points of interest in the far distance, and new interactions allow the world to feel alive, like grass and flowers slicing under Atsu’s sword, and footprints and deformation as you move through deep snow. The game also includes PS5 Pro-exclusive features like ray-traced global illumination, image upsampling with PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, and lightning-fast load speeds that even top Ghost of Tsushima’s.
Jurassic World Evolution 3
Exactly 98 dinosaur names are mentioned in Jurassic World Evolution 3, and while we are all relatively familiar with tyrannosaurus rex, quetzalcoatlus isn’t in everyone’s day-to-day vocabulary. That’s where Side’s “Hablo Dino” system came in. The Hablo Dino feeder stream utilised Side’s studio system to play back the correct pronunciation of all 98 dinosaurs mentioned in the game directly into the actors’ headphones before they delivered the line. The same system was used to ensure that the island locations were pronounced correctly.
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.
Football Manager for Missing Managers
To mark the launch of Football Manager 26, the first edition in the series to integrate Women’s Football, Female players were invited to prove their skills by completing an in-game challenge in FM26 on Game Pass. Eligible candidates were assessed, with successful applicants qualifying for fully-funded professional coaching courses delivered in partnership with The Powerhouse Project, gaining real UEFA qualifications and top-level work experience at Barclays Women’s Super League clubs.
Into Games - Boost
Boost is the UK games industry's first independently funded paid placement programme, designed to connect talented people from working-class and low-income backgrounds with meaningful, paid work experience at games companies across the country. Participants receive Real Living Wage pay for their time, removing the economic penalty that has historically made industry experience inaccessible to those who need it most.
Limit Break Mentorship
Limit Break is a mentorship program in the UK games industry for
underrepresented groups. The programme supports LGBTQIA+ individuals, people of marginalised genders, people of colour and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and people who are neurodiverse. The committee, comprising 40 industry professionals has quickly become the biggest mentorship programme for games industry professionals in the UK.
Melanin Gamers
Melanin Gamers was created with a clear mission: to ensure that gamers of colour and underrepresented voices are not only welcomed in the gaming space, but actively supported, empowered, and visible. Over the past year, Melanin Gamers has successfully hosted 10 industry panels bringing together developers, creators, and thought leaders to discuss representation, accessibility, and equitable opportunities in gaming.
Out Making Games
Out Making Games strive to create a more inclusive and diverse gaming landscape through programs, partnerships, events, education and advocacy, fostering a community where everyone’s identity is celebrated and their contributions are valued. OMG remains committed to improving the industry, standing up for their values, and providing its members multiple opportunities to connect and network throughout the year.
Recognising an exceptional marketing campaign for a video game or video game hardware that has demonstrated outstanding results during the qualifying period.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Tasked with bringing the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to players around the world, the marketing teams at Kepler Interactive and Sandfall Interactive (publisher and developer respectively) pulled out all the stops to make an impactful and exceptional campaign that won over new fans globally. This included global media events, exceptional first-party support with Xbox, and a collaboration with British independent jewellery artist Hannah Martin.
CloverPit
Following the realisation that CloverPit would share a launch date with Hollow Knight Silksong, the team at Future Friends Games opted to push back CloverPit’s launch date. The subsequent delay and PR campaign was risky but highly successful, with the game gaining over 100,000 more wishlists on Steam – bringing their total launch wishlist numbers to 500,000.
Dispatch
Dispatch’s marketing strategy centered on two ideas: a standout cast and a deliberate episodic release model, both designed to build sustained, organic interest from media and players. The results were clear. Each episode drove continued growth in player engagement, streaming activity, and visibility, leading to millions of views from streamers and user-generated content.
Ghost of Yōtei
To market, Ghost of Yōtei, Sucker Punch and PlayStation carefully balanced an “East meets West” approach. This meant bringing the feudal Japan setting of the game to a modern Western audience while remaining culturally appropriate and not introducing arbitrary elements of Japanese culture or veering outside of the tone established in the game.
Monument Valley 3 / The Garden of Life - Multiplatform Release
The multiplatform release of Monument Valley 3 was marked by two major collaborations -- the release of a Monument Valley: The Trilogy physical collection (including vinyl soundtracks) for PS5 and Switch with iam8bit, plus a Monument Valley: The Trilogy exhibition at the National Video Game Museum in Sheffield. This was accompanied by a meticulous announcement strategy that gained over 420,000 wishlists for the game on Steam, as well as a –91% positive user review score.
The Slayeux Tapestry – Bethesda and YRS TRULY
To celebrate the launch of DOOM: The Dark Ages, Bethesda and YRS TRULY created an eleven metre-long tapestry depicting the events of the game, inspired by the famous Bayeux Tapestry. With original artwork created by Simon de Thuilliéres, the tapestry was machine-embroidered by Hawthorne and Heaney, and displayed at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
Recognising an in-house team or external company or agency for exceptional work in the fields of talent acquisition, retention and development.
Aardvark Swift Recruitment Ltd
For over 35 years, Aardvark Swift has helped shape the games industry by delivering recruitment services that go far beyond traditional hiring support. In a challenging landscape defined by studio closures, ongoing redundancies, and shifting economic pressures, they have continued to adapt, innovate, and champion the needs of game developers and the studios that employ them.
Amiqus
For more than 25 years Amiqus has worked alongside studios across the games industry, helping them build exceptional teams. Their team combines deep industry knowledge with one of the most established networks in the sector. Many of our consultants have spent decades working within games recruitment, giving us a strong understanding of the people, roles and challenges that shape the industry.
Double Eleven, Talent and Academy Team
Over the past year, Double Eleven’s Talent and Academy teams have come together to form a fully integrated and collaborative team, supporting the complete talent lifecycle from attraction and acquisition through to development, progression, and long-term capability building. This closer alignment has enabled a more holistic view of talent ensuring hiring and development are intentional and aligned.
IO Interactive, Talent Recruitment Team
IO Interactive’s recruitment team has redefined what excellence in talent acquisition looks like within the games industry. They do not simply fill roles - they build careers, strengthen communities, and elevate the entire hiring experience for both candidates and internal teams.
Lighthouse Games
Lighthouse was founded with a clear objective: build a world-class AAA Unreal Engine 5 studio from the ground up and reach full development readiness within three years. The Lighthouse TA team has demonstrated how an in-house function can operate as a strategic driver of studio growth, delivering measurable hiring outcomes while building trust with candidates and long-term stability within the studio.
Pixel Movement
Since launching in 2024, Pixel Movement has partnered with 11 studios across the UK, Europe, MENA and North America. Before recruitment begins, Pixel Movement embeds with founders, C-suite leadership and hiring teams to understand the real challenges behind a hire. Depending on studio needs, Pixel Movement operates through retained, exclusive or project-based partnerships.
Playground Games
The Recruitment team at Playground Games plays a central role in shaping the studio’s ongoing success. They focus on identifying individuals who not only demonstrate strong technical ability, but also bring fresh perspectives, strong cultural alignment, and a passion for contributing to world class hit video games.
Skillsearch Ltd
Skillsearch’s approach to recruitment has always been rooted in a simple belief; that supporting studios means supporting the wider games industry that surrounds them. While connecting exceptional talent with innovative teams remains at the core of what they do, their role has evolved into something broader - acting as a long-term partner to studios, professionals and organisations across the global games ecosystem.
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.
Atomhawk
The games industry is experiencing significant shifts: changing production models, rising creative expectations, and increased pressure on internal teams. Atomhawk has leaned into this moment, evolving into a full visual development studio supporting projects from early ideation through to final delivery.
Dead Nice Studio
Dead Nice Studio embeds itself within development teams at every stage of production, delivering research-driven design, scalable systems and production-ready implementation that enables studios to ship better games with clarity and confidence.
Keywords Studios Ltd
Keywords Studios is a global development partner to the games industry, supporting many of the world’s leading publishers across co-development, localisation, QA, art production and creative services. Over the past 12 months, Keywords Studios has supported 70+ titles globally, delivering integrated services across development and launch.
PitStop Productions
Throughout the years, PitStop has provided high-quality audio services to the games industry – whether that be voiceover, performance capture, actor and model casting, sound design, technical implementation, or music services. Over the past 12 months, they’ve continued to support their clients on a diverse range of projects, from AAA blockbusters to indie passion projects.
PlanetPlay
Operating as a not-for-profit platform at the intersection of games, environmental action and player engagement, PlanetPlay supports studios by providing campaign infrastructure, live-ops frameworks and player insight tools that enable games companies to deliver meaningful impact without disrupting production pipelines.
Side
Despite a challenging environment for the gaming industry, Side teams have continued to deliver reliable excellence to their clients, resulting in returning work and new hires. New expanded Side studios opened in Braga and Sao Paulo with team headcount doubling in both locations. Since revealing its new brand in March 2025, Side has brought its service lines together to offer developers better value than ever.
Sumo Digital
Sumo Digital has been a cornerstone of UK game development for over 20 years, with studios across the country providing the highest standard of technical and creative excellence. Over the last 12 months, it demonstrated its excellence with the release of Gears of War: Reloaded, which reached over 1 million players in three days, and providing ongoing support of live-service title Warframe, for which they have co-developed all major updates since 2024, and Fallout 76, in which they worked on the UX and accessibility elements.
Testronic
Testronic has transformed the role of QA into a strategic driver of successful game launches, demonstrated through its delivery on multiple high-profile titles within the eligibility period of these awards. To deliver this, Testronic has introduced a four-stage QA governance model: identifying risks to player trust; building scalable QA frameworks; using predictive insights to resolve issues earlier; and embedding accountability across global teams.
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.
Hooded Horse
Hooded Horse is a global publisher of indie PC games, and one of the most consistently successful indie publishers currently operating. Their games sell well, review well, and they operate a sustainable business where they support staff and developers to the full extent possible. They've partnered with a major VC firm to provide funding for key projects -- which several UK studios/games have benefitted from so far, not to mention developers from the rest of the world.
Kepler Interactive
Kepler Interactive has fast cemented itself in the indie game publishing scene, and 2025 was its strongest year to date. 2025 saw Kepler Interactive launch a number of extraordinary titles that all exemplify the publisher's unique perspective of bringing culturally-resonant experiences to market. Beyond marketing, Kepler also acts as a resource for developers, with internal producers and experienced team members able to offer milestone evaluations and recommendations to help each game release as a well-rounded and thoughtful experience.
Megabit Publishing
Megabit is the publisher for all the PC and console games developed within Aonic’s group – including Lou’s Lagoon and Verdant from Tiny Roar, Thick As Thieves from OtherSide Entertainment, Grit and Valor from Milky Tea and Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults from BKOM – as well as a third-party publisher partnering with the world’s most exciting developers.
Secret Mode
Secret Mode had a truly incomparable 2025. The publisher started the year by going fully independent from parent company Sumo Group, before almost immediately celebrating three BAFTA wins alongside The Chinese Room for Still Wakes the Deep. Outside of its game announcements, Secret Mode also found time to continue its charitable activities, signing partnerships with both the Dalian Atkinson Legacy Fund and Joey Beauchamp Foundation who will receive a portion of every sale of NUTMEG!.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
2025 was another exceptional year for Sony Interactive Entertainment. Supporting on both their own flagship titles under the PlayStation Studios banner, and on third-party releases like Sword of the Sea and Silent Hill F, they have worked with developers across the globe to publish some of the industry’s most beloved titles – including two nominees for Best Game in Ghost of Yōtei and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.
Team17
Team17’s past year has been an exceptional one in terms of game announcements and releases, covering a wide range of genres offering immersive adventures for fans across the globe. They work with indie developers from across the planet, with announcements this year of Skinwalker: First Blood by Argentinian developers Sismo Games, Wych Elm’s atmospheric horror Silver Pines, and the lush vibrant creature collecting world of Lumentale: Memories of Trey by Italian based Beehive Studios.
Yogscast Games
The Yogscast continue to be one of the biggest names in British gaming content creation, but beyond that, they’ve now launched their own publishing team – Yogscast Games. The team currently has 17 games on their roster with more on the way and focus on supporting indie game developers, providing the resources and support they need, while promoting them to a wide audience.
Recognising outstanding new and emerging talent within the games industry.
Ayo Norman-Williams, IO Interactive
Ayo Norman-Williams has, in just over a year at IO Interactive, established himself as one of the most exciting emerging talents in technical design. Based in the Brighton studio, he is currently a Technical Designer on 007 First Light, where he has rapidly evolved from a promising newcomer into a key contributor on a major AAA project. He combines a deep understanding of technical systems with a strong instinct for storytelling.
Deevya Patel, EA Playdemic
Deeyva Patel is an environment artist at EA Playdemic with an instinct for innovation and a drive to push creative boundaries. As the founder and leader of the Art Club at EA Manchester, Deevya Patel has created a thriving space for artists to connect, learn, and share their work. As a mentor within the studio’s Mentorship Programme, she also actively supports and develops emerging talent, generously sharing her knowledge and experience to help others grow.
Dennis Welling, Electric Square
Dennis Welling is an incredibly passionate and enthusiastic environment artist whose positive energy is truly infectious. His expertise in crafting stunning environments is extensive, particularly with foliage, organic assets, and handling large architectural scenes. Dennis researched and developed a sophisticated procedural Leaf Generator - capable of creating a diverse range of realistic, high-fidelity leaves helping to elevate Electric Squares workflow. He also actively champions access and opportunity, using his platform to support and uplift emerging talent from diverse backgrounds.
Elise Barry, Cloud Imperium Games
Elise Barry is a proactive and caring Associate Producer who brings both efficiency and positive energy to the teams she works with. She is a Women in Games Ambassador, a Safe in Our World Mental Health Ambassador, and an active supporter of inclusive team culture. She has been awarded Outstanding Performance on a Placement Year by the University of Huddersfield for impactful contributions to project success while interning at Zynga.
Jing Wang, Hangar 13
Jing Wang joined Hangar 13 as part of the 2k Grad Programme, and on completion was offered a role as a Software Engineer. He played a key role on the render team optimizing performance on Mafia: The Old Country, not just taking on complex tasks but also sharing his knowledge of key areas with more senior colleagues, adding great value to that part of the project.
Nicole Gregory, Jagex
Nicole’s ambition is to spread awareness and aid the animation community in the deprived areas of the North as well as Worldwide. She has done numerous live talks about how anyone’s dream career is possible, hosted workshop events, and spoke at various Animation schools (Animation Mentor, WCG, Interactive Futures, The GDG). She was also part of the process for BAFTA Young Game Designers as a BAFTA Connect member, voting for the BAFTA Student Animation Shortlist Award.
Recognising outstanding achievement in the development and application of accessibility features that are wide-ranging, impactful and show exceptional craft.
Dead Reset
When creating Dead Reset, Wales Interactive approached accessibility not as a checklist, but as a core design philosophy. Subtitle customization, descriptive audio captions, decision timer settings, colorblind-safe palettes, and remappable inputs are fully integrated into the user experience. These features were not retrofitted but built from the ground up in collaboration with disabled players and accessibility experts, ensuring a more inclusive experience for all.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
DOOM: The Dark Ages is designed from the ground up to be approachable and accessible, allowing as many people as possible to become the DOOM Slayer. Combat & difficulty is highly configurable for all accessibility levels. Visual accessibility was also a priority for id Software, with gameplay high contrast settings that allow configurable degrees of environment desaturation and colour overlays.
Pine Hearts Mobile
Beyond its straightforward gameplay, Pine Hearts also includes numerous accessibility options which have been present since its initial release and remain a key part of the game in its 2025 mobile release. These features highlight Hyper Luminal Games’ commitment to accessibility, and ensure their game can be played by anyone who wants to try it.
Tiny Bookshop
From the start of development, Tiny Bookshop to designed to be as accessible as possible. We’ve sought and implemented community feedback, taken part in workshops and consultations, and added a number of settings to help with accessibility, particularly around motor, audio and visual needs.
Unseen Diplomacy 2
Unseen Diplomacy 2 demonstrates a benchmark-setting approach to accessibility in VR by embedding inclusive design principles directly into its core systems and as part of the design and art style of the game itself, rather than treating them as optional add-ons. In a medium that often excludes players due to physical space requirements and mobility demands, the game systematically removes barriers while preserving the integrity of its stealth gameplay.
ustwo games – Monument Valley 3 multiplatform release
Monument Valley 3 is designed as a calm, reflective puzzle experience that invites players to engage at their own pace. From the outset, the absence of timers, fail states, or pressure-based mechanics ensures that players can explore, experiment, and discover solutions in a way that feels comfortable and inclusive.
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.
Grand Mountain Adventure 2
Grand Mountain Adventure 2 delivers an immersive open-world winter sports experience on mobile, with a level of player freedom rarely seen on the platform. Built mobile-first from the ground up by two brothers, the game features huge, handcrafted ski resorts, a custom engine, and fluid physics that make skiing and snowboarding feel natural on touch devices.
HITMAN World of Assassination
In 2025, IO Interactive brought HITMAN World of Assassination to mobile, delivering a true high-end experience on mobile without compromise. Rather than reimagining or reducing the game, this version gives players access to the full World of Assassination trilogy, offering hundreds of hours of content across its expansive sandbox missions. Crucially, the iPhone release is fully aligned with the live game. Elusive Targets, seasonal updates, and community content launch day-and-date alongside PC and console, making mobile players part of the same global ecosystem from day one.
Mindset GO!
Mindset GO! introduces an entirely original puzzle mechanic, never seen in any other game. It is not a variant of any game; instead, it introduces a fresh system that blends Venn diagram logic with observation and reasoning in a way that is completely new. Every aspect of the game - from its core mechanic to its level progression, pacing, and tactility - has been designed to engage players intellectually while remaining accessible and fun.
Pine Hearts
Pine Hearts launched on mobile in September 2025 and immediately enamored players with its clean, beautiful graphics and engaging story. Developed by Hyper Luminal Games, Pine Hearts follows Tyke as he retreads a holiday he took with his father as a child. It’s a beautiful representation of what it’s like to lose a loved one, and how we process these emotions while still doing good in the world.
PowerWash Simulator
PowerWash Simulator offers a soothing, accessible experience thanks to its simple mechanics, continuous progression and satisfying gameplay loop. PowerWash Simulator for Apple Arcade aimed to bring even more players to the game and is now playable on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and Apple TV. More than just a port, FuturLab customised the PowerWash experience for mobile users and added new features that support fingertip washing and the gameplay experience on a smaller screen.
Recognising a live-service game that has delivered exceptional creative, commercial or critical updates and/or provided committed ongoing support to its player base.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online
FINAL FANTASY XIV has a longstanding reputation in both the MMORPG and wider video game space for being the benchmark in MMO design. The game’s latest expansion, Dawntrail, continued on from the legacy of the last 10 years, with two major patch updates released in 2025 featuring new main scenario story quests, engaging boss battles, lifestyle content, and a whole host of quality-of-life updates.
HITMAN World of Assassination
In 2025, HITMAN World of Assassination continued to evolve as IO Interactive expanded the experience through major updates, cross-media collaborations, and enhanced community communication that deepened player engagement and reinforced the game’s longevity.
No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky, now in its 10th year, shows no sign of slowing down. In the last 12 months alone, it has received five major updates as well as multiple community expeditions. This brings the total number of updates since launch to over 30, all delivered free to existing players.
Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia has received continuous updates and support from the Kinetic Games team since its release -- the team has delivered 8 updates (including limited-time seasonal events, new maps, and QoL updates) to keep the title evolving while maintaining the gameplay players love.
Rust
Rust releases free monthly updates on the first Thursday of the month without fail, with 12 updates going live in the last year. These updates included adding new biomes, weapons, vehicles, monuments to explore, and animals to fend off.
Vampire Survivors
Over the last year, poncle swept in with the 1.14 Vampire Survivors update, and following a stupendously successful public beta in August, added online co-op for up to four players to the game. Additionally, in partnership with LocalThunk and Playstack, Vampire Survivors released its Balatro crossover Ante Chamber update – free to all players on all platforms.
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.
Blue Prince
Blue Prince is a genre-defying experience, filled with a unique mix of mystery, strategy, and puzzles that weave together to create an unpredictable journey. Developed over the course of eight years by solo developer Tonda Ros, the game is a love letter to deduction and problem solving, presented through the protagonist’s quest to solve the mystery of a hidden 46th room within a sprawling mansion estate.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Between its innovative combat, breathtaking landscapes, hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and narrative risk-taking, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has cemented itself as one of the highest-profile game launches of 2025 and as an RPG masterclass in creative design.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH blends an intricately designed world with customisable gameplay mechanics, creating a truly immersive and compelling experience. The distinctive Hideo Kojima cutscenes are dispersed across a new range of mission types - a carefully designed smorgasbord of experiences to keep players intrigued and entertained.
Dispatch
At its core, Dispatch delivers a rare combination of visual ambition and narrative precision, executed with clarity and purpose. It sets a new standard for narrative-driven games, expanding what is possible for the genre and reaching audiences many thought were no longer there to be found.
Ghost of Yōtei
Ghost of Yōtei builds upon the foundation established in Ghost of Tsushima, returning to Feudal Japan more than 300 years later, leaving behind the island of Tsushima and instead venturing far north to Ezo for a cinematic tale of revenge. From combat to artistic style to design, Ghost of Yōtei improves upon Ghost of Tsushima’s systems, introducing new mechanics and reinventing existing ones.
Jurassic World Evolution 3
Jurassic World Evolution 3 is the culmination of almost a decade of work by the team at Frontier. From animation to sound design, this franchise is an ongoing labour of love. Creating a sequel is not just about building the next game in a series, but improving on all that came before, as Frontier have done to create this definitive Jurassic World Evolution experience.
PEAK
In a world of competition, PEAK is about working together. Its mechanics are simple, but players are forced to communicate, improvise and trust and help each other. Every run is different and creates memorable moments that have been widely shared across social media and streaming platforms, leading to the game selling over 19 million copies on Steam alone.
Recognising a studio with ten or fewer employees that has achieved exceptional critical and commercial success during the qualifying period.
Draknek & Friends
Draknek & Friends is an award-winning developer and publisher of lovingly crafted puzzle games. For over a decade, Draknek & Friends have been crafting high quality, rewarding, and elegant puzzle experiences that take a theme, mechanic, or ludicrous idea and push it to its natural conclusion.
inkle
inkle, now in their 15th year, continue to innovate to survive in a changing marketplace. After last year's critically acclaimed Expelled!, they produced and developed TR-49 in nine months, releasing it to high acclaim and their strongest launch ever this January.
Landfall, Aggro Crab
Landfall and Aggro Crab teamed up to create a game together (PEAK), born from a collaborative game jam with representatives from both studios. Wider teams at both studios were then brought on to bring PEAK to release. The teams are based across multiple countries and various time zones but managed to finish the game and set up the release within a few months.
Magic Notion
Operating as a small but mighty & efficient team, Magic Notion has defied the traditional limitations of small-scale development by delivering Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker Makeover not only to Steam, but mobile devices as well.
Neolithic LLC
The team at Neolithic LLC is fundamentally dedicated to the field of VR gaming. Originally the work of solo developer James Bellian, the team grew into a small, remote contingent of developers and artists who have persevered to bring Neolithic Dawn to life. Neolithic Dawn is their first game as a studio, and despite many hurdles, they released a game that has garnered a strong, loyal community.
Panik Arcade
Panik Arcade is the neon-coloured brainchild of Matteo and Lorenzo, two Italians raised on pizza, comics and Nintendo 64. Their first title, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, launched in April 2024 as a fan favourite, currently standing with over 1000 ‘Overwhelmingly positive’ reviews on Steam and 98% positive reviews. The hellish rogue-lite CloverPit, which released in September 2025, was a smash viral success, hitting 20k reviews on Steam, and releasing on Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, iOS and Android.
Recognising a studio with eleven or more full-time employees that has achieved exceptional critical and commercial success during the qualifying period.
Frontier Developments
2025 was a year which saw Frontier return to strong successes, with the studio’s portfolio offering a breadth of critically acclaimed, genre‑defining franchises that continue to drive industry innovation and captivate millions of players worldwide. Their 2025 annual report highlighted the studio’s ongoing initiatives to reward, develop, and empower our teams, reinforcing an environment that enables breakthrough creativity.
FuturLab
2025 was FuturLab’s biggest year yet as a studio -- wrapping up development on PowerWash Simulator, launching a new Apple Arcade version, and releasing its sudsy-sequel, PowerWash Simulator 2.
Hangar 13
Hangar 13 is the world class team behind the Mafia franchise, dedicated to creating the best narrative action games in the business. The studio is built on decades of experience creating best-in-class AAA narrative action games, developed by diverse and passionate teams, in an inclusive, modern and supportive environment.
Kinetic Games
Founded in 2020, Kinetic Games is a truly independent UK studio dedicated to crafting distinctive, genre-defining experiences. In 2025, it achieved exceptional commercial and critical success through its breakout title Phasmophobia, one of the most successful and recognisable co-op horror games in the industry
Sandfall Interactive
Founded in 2020, French independent developer Sandfall Interactive exploded onto the international stage in 2025 with the launch of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. As the studio’s debut title, Clair Obscur propelled Sandfall Interactive into the spotlight, selling 1 million copies within the first three days of its launch – and the game has continued to receive post-launch support in the form of new locations, bosses, costumes, and expanded language support.
Sucker Punch
Since 1997, Sucker Punch has created fun, memorable games that have always resonated with fans. This year, Sucker Punch launched Ghost of Yōtei, a new entry in the Ghost series that has reached similar levels of success in its early months. Ghost of Yōtei received a free additional New Game+ mode after launch, as well as a full cooperative multiplayer mode entirely for free, with no microtransactions despite its robust offering of multiple modes and hundreds of cosmetics.
