The 2025 Indie Game Awards, orchestrated by the Six One Indie collective, recently celebrated a spectacular year for independent development. The showcase highlighted the immense breadth and quality of the indie landscape, featuring everything from the architectural mystery of Blue Prince to the emotional resonance of and Roger. The event was bolstered by appearances from notable industry figures, including Celeste composer Lena Raine, Outerloop Games co-founder Chandana Ekanayake, and the renowned musician Chipzel.
Building on its previous successes, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 maintained its momentum by securing the night’s top honors: Game of the Year and Best Debut. The ceremony also recognized a diverse array of excellence in titles such as Peak, BallxPit, and Rift of the Necrodancer. This year also marked the debut of the Indie Vanguard Class, a specialized category designed to honor five developers who are actively pushing the boundaries of the gaming industry.
Below is the comprehensive list of winners and nominees from the 2025 Indie Game Awards.
Game of the Year
- Absolum – Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks
- and Roger – TearyHand Studio
- Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age
- WINNER: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder
- Hades 2 – Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Keep Driving – YCJY Games
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
Achievement in Accessibility
- Abiotic Factor – Deep Field Games
- Barista – YofiAsi
- Calm the Storm – Ludic Lemur
- WINNER: Peak – Team PEAK
- Spray Paint Simulator – North Star Video Games
- Squeakross: Home Squeak Home – Alblune
ANZ Indie Game Award
- Abiotic Factor – Deep Field Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Mars First Logistics – Shape Shop
- Proximate – Cain Maddox
- Tempopo – Witchbeam
- WINNER: The Drifter – Powerhoof
Bite-Sized Game
- Carimara – Beneath the Forlorn Limbs – Bastinus Rex
- FlyKnight – Wabbaboy
- Many Nights a Whisper – Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
- The Dark Queen of Mortholme – Mosu
- this game will end in 205 clicks. – insertdisc5
- WINNER: Time Flies – Playables
Black Voice in Gaming
- Advent Neon – CryoGX
- WINNER: Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi – MarsLit Games
- Sorry We’re Closed – à la mode games
- Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To – Soft Not Weak, LLC
- Sunken Stones – Spritewrench
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown – Strange Scaffold
Community Management
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder
- Date Everything! – Sassy Chap Games
- Ikeelya – ALL DAY ALL NIGHT
- WINNER: Peak – Team PEAK
- Soulstone Survivors – Game Smithing Limited
- Strange Scaffold – Strange Scaffold
Debut Game
- WINNER: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive
- Discounty – Crinkle Cut Games
- Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson – Ritual Studios
- ILA: A Frosty Glide – Magic Rain Studios
- Sorry We’re Closed – à la mode Games
- Tyrant’s Realm – Team Tyrant
Emotional Impact
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- WINNER: and Roger – TearyHand Studio
- Don’t Get Your Hopes Up – Krish Raghav
- Henry Halfhead – Lululu Entertainment
- Wanderstop – Ivy Road
- Wednesdays – Pierre Corbinais, The Pixel Hunt, exaheva
Gameplay Design
- Absolum – Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
- WINNER: BallxPit – Kenny Sun
- Dawnfolk – Darenn Keller
- Hades 2 – Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Keep Driving – YCJY Games
- Look Outside – Francis Coulombe
- Öoo – NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
- The King is Watching – Hypnohead
Innovation
- WINNER: Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- FreeRide – Flightyfelon Games Inc.
- Gas Station Story – enzi
- PBJ The Musical – Philipp Stollenmayer
- Ruffy and the Riverside – Zockrates Laboratories UG
- Taria & Como – Poppyseed Studio Inc, JuVee Productions
Latin American Indie Award
- Adventure of Samsara – Ilex Games
- Despelote – Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena
- Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo – Galla
- WINNER: Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
- Taria & Como – Poppyseed Studio Inc, JuVee Productions
- Tormented Souls 2 – Dual Effect
Music
- Everhood 2 – Cazok, KM_EXP, Stewart Keller, Lewmoth, Chris Nordgren, CatGod, Beat Tape, Dancefloor Is Lava, INFX
- Herdling – Joel Schoch
- WINNER: Rift of the NecroDancer – Danny Baranowsky, Alex Moukala, Jules Conroy, Josie Brechner, Sam Webster, and Nick Nausbaum
- Sonokuni – Don Yasa Crew
- Sword of the Sea – Austin Wintory
- Wheel World – Johnny Jewel, JOON, Orion
Narrative
- WINNER: Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder
- Promise Mascot Agency – Kaizen Game Works
- The Drifter – Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd
- The Roottrees are Dead – Evil Trout Inc.
- The Séance of Blake Manor – Spooky Doorway
Solo Development
- Lushfoil Photography Sim – Matt Newell
- Megabonk – vedinad
- Naiad – HiWarp
- Spilled! – Lente
- WINNER: Tall Trails – Brady Soglin
- Vile: Exhumed – Cara Cadaver
South African Indie Game Award
- Bru & Boegie Get Da Milk! – MIKDOG
- Finding Father – Studio Bo
- Flibbius McDoogle and The Mysterious Flying Machine – Unsigned Double Collective
- Ikeelya – ALL DAY ALL NIGHT
- Metavoidal – Yellow Lab Games
- WINNER: Stick It To The Stickman – Free Lives
Southeast Asian Indie Game Award
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- WINNER: Artis Impact – Mas
- Glyphica: Typing Survival – aliasBLACK
- Sedap! A Culinary Adventure – kopiforge
- Urban Jungle – Kylyk Games
- Whisper Mountain Outbreak – Toge Productions
Visual Design
- WINNER: 30 Birds – RAM RAM Games, Business Goose Studios
- Artis Impact – Mas
- Cat Detective Albert Wilde – beyondthosehills
- Eclipsium – Housefire
- Mashina – Talha and Jack Co, J. King Spooner, Talha Kaya
- Slime Rancher 2 – Monomi Park
Women-Led Indie Game Award
- Cabernet – Party for Introverts
- Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping – Happy Broccoli Games
- Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim – Merge Conflict Studio
- Spilled! – Lente
- WINNER: Urban Myth Dissolution Center – Hakababunko
- White Knuckle – Dark Machine Games
Indie Vanguard Class Selections
- Chantey – Gortyn Code
- Neon Knives – Cookiecrayon
- Seasonala Cemetry – Gabby DaRienzo, Kait Tremblay, Jen Costa, Nina Wong, Halina Heron, Mobeen Fiktree, Jacqueline de Leon
- HYPERBEAT – Alice Bottino, Chancellor Wallin
- Wildwood Down – Crashable Studios
The Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award
- Maddy Thorson – Extremely OK Games, Ltd.
Industry Impact Award
- Game Devs of Color – Represented by Catt Small, Brian S. Chung, and Josh Boykin
Source: Polygon
