The Indie Game Awards 2025 are fast approaching, and the team at Six One Indie has unveiled the full list of nominees, presenters, and judges for this year’s event.
Airing on December 18 at 6:30pm ET/3:330pm PT on the Six One Indie YouTube and Twitch channels, the second annual awards continue its mission to highlight the best indie games available that may have been overlooked otherwise.
This year’s show features 21 main awards up for grabs this year, including Game of the Year, Best Debut Game, Best Bite-Sized Game, Best Narrative, Best Music, and more. Presenters for the show include Playstack’s Wout van Halderen, Jade Meadows, The MIX’s Justin Woodward, and other influential people from the world of indie games.
Judging for a number the awards will be done by a number of journalists, content creators, and industry efforts. Full disclosure, Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw is on the judging committee for this year’s event.
All of the presenters and judges can be found right on the award show’s website.
You can check out the full list of available awards and nominees below. Be sure to let us know in the comments below who you think will take home the award for Game of the Year and others. And join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
The Indie Game Awards 2025 Nominees
Below you’ll find the nominees for 18 of the 21 available awards. Three awards—Indie Vanguard (class of five), The Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award, and Industry Impact—are selected by the curation jury and will be announced during the show. The are also community pick awards that you can submit nominees for between now and November 24th.
Game of the Year
- Absolum – Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
- and Roger – TearyHand Studio
- Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age
- Constance – GODD Games
- Dungeons of Hinterberg – Microbird Games
- Littlelands – Hyper MegaPixel
- Mars First Logistics – Shape Shop
- Pine Hearts – Hyper Luminal Games
- RKGK / Rakugaki – Wabisabi Games
- The Crush House – Nerial
- World of Goo 2 – 2D BOY / Tomorrow Corporation
Achievement in Accessibility
- Abiotic Factor – Deep Field Games
- Barista – YofiAsi
- Calm the Storm – Ludic Lemur
- 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
- The Drifter – Powerhoof
Bite-Sized
- 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
- Time Flies – Playables
Black Voices in Gaming Award
- Advent Neon – CryoGX
- 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
- PEAK – Team PEAK
- Soulstone Survivors – Game Smithing Limited
- Strange Scaffold – Strange Scaffold
Debut Game
- 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 – a la mode Games
- Tyrant’s Realm – Team Tyrant
Emotional Impact
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- 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
- BallxPit – Kenny Sun
- Dawnfolk – Darenn Keller
- Hades II – 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
- Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- FREERIDE – Flightyfelon Games Inc., Flightyfelon Games Inc., Future Friends Games
- 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
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
- Taria & Como – Poppyseed Studio Inc, JuVee Productions
- Tormented Souls 2 – Dual Effect
Music
- Everhood 2 – Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
- Herdling – Okomotive
- Rift of the NecroDancer – Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games
- SONOKUNI – DON YASA CREW
- Sword of the Sea – Giant Squid
- Wheel World – Messhof
Narrative
- 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
- Tall Trails – Brady Soglin
- Lushfoil Photography Sim – Matt Newell
- Megabonk – vedinad
- NAIAD – HiWarp
- Spilled! – Lente
- 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
- Stick It To The Stickman – Free Lives
Southeast Asian Indie Award
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- Artis Impact – Mas
- Glyphica: Typing Survival – aliasBLACK
- SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure – kopiforge
- Urban Jungle – Kylyk Games
- Whisper Mountain Outbreak – Toge Productions
Visual Design
- 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
- Urban Myth Dissolution Center – Hakababunko
- White Knuckle – Dark Machine Games
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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