The event will be hosted by renowned streamer and gaming personality Josh Strife-Hayes, bringing his signature insight and humour to the ceremony. For those unable to attend in person, the awards will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTube, ensuring that indie gaming fans worldwide can be part of the excitement.

Nominees for the 2025 Debug Indie Game Awards:

Best Soundtrack

• A Park Full of Cats
• Drug Dealer Simulator 2
• Gatekeeper
• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island
• Turbo Kid
• Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom

Best UK Indie

• Crow Country
• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island
• Paper Trail
• Sociable Soccer 25
• Sorry We’re Closed
• Valley Peaks

Best VR Game

• Airspace Defender
• Arcade Paradise VR
• DIG VR
• On Point
• Solara One
• Wall Town Wonders

Free Play Award

• A Park Full of Cats
• ColorCoordination
• Feud
• Pixelitos
• Please, Touch The Artwork 2
• Project Shoreline

ICYMI Award (Recognizing previously overlooked gems)

• A Hat in Time
• Little Misfortune
• Loop Gero
• Rivals of Aether
• Sable
• Tinykin

Innovation & Creativity

• Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
• Death of the Reprobate
• Harold Halibut
• Paper Trail
• Rusty’s Retirement
• SCHiM

Award for Mental Health (Games promoting mental health awareness and well-being)

• [Bober Bros] The Hole
• Back Then
• I’ll be Brave, Tomorrow
• Spiral
• Spirit City: Lofi Sessions
• The Bear – A Story from the World of Gra

Most Anticipated

• Axyz
• Cairn
• Crescent County
• Dungeon Rampage Remake
• Promise Mascot Agency
• Vaporwave Pinball

Best Physical Release

• A Little to the Left: Extra Tidy Edition
• Cassette Beasts Deluxe Edition
• Escape Team
• Inspector Waffles Early Days
• PlateUp!
• VED

Retro World Award (Celebrating games inspired by retro aesthetics and mechanics)

• Courier
• Dragonyhm
• FLEA!2
• Goodboy Galaxy
• Kudzu
• Roguecraft

Subscribers’ Choice Award (Voted for by the Debug community)

• Animal Well
• Gori: Cuddly Carnage
• Pacific Drive
• Paper Trail
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!
• The Plucky Squire

Best Voice Acting

• 1000xRESIST
• Closer the Distance
• Farewell North
• Still Wakes the Deep
• The Holy Gosh Darn
• Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)

Award for Accessibility (Recognizing outstanding accessibility features)

• Another Crab’s Treasure
• Botany Manor
• Elsie
• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island
• Pine Hearts
• Seasonspree

Best Art Direction

• #Blud
• Harold Halibut
• Puzzles for Clef
• SCHiM
• Sorry We’re Closed
• Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom

Best Gameplay

• Arco
• Buckshot Roulette
• DROVA – Forsaken Kin
• Gori: Cuddly Carnage
• Shady Knight
• Shapez 2

Best Narrative

• 1000xRESIST
• Closer the Distance
• Copycat
• Farewell North
• Mouthwashing
• Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)

Best New Studio

• BerserkBoy Games
• Halftone Gaming
• Hilltop Studios
• Not Suspicious
• Slow Bros
• Whalestork

Best Sound Design

• Botany Manor
• Hollowbody
• Lynked: Banner of the Spark
• Solara One
• Still Wakes the Deep
• The Operator

Watch Live!
📅 Date: February 21, 2025
📍 Location: Metronome, Nottingham
📺 Streaming on: Twitch & YouTube

Tickets are available now at www.debugawards.com.

The post Debug Indie Game Awards 2025 Nominees Announced first appeared on IndieGames.

The IGAs will feature presenters from Black Salt Games, Raw Fury, Wishes Unlimited, Yacht Club Games, Toge Productions, and InnerSloth. Nominees across 15 categories were selected by a curation jury that includes Six One Indie, Women-Led Games, Latin American Games Showcase, Wholesome Games, Dames-4-Games, The Indie Informer, and MinnMax. The judging committee also includes Giant Bomb, Spawn on Me, Wanderbots, AshSaidHi, Playcrafting, and other prominent voices from the indie space.

The 2024 IGA Game of the Year Nominees:

• 1000xRESIST – sunset visitor
• Animal Well – Billy Basso
• ARCO – Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, and Fáyer
• Balatro – LocalThunk
• Crypt Custodian – Kyle Thompson
• Lorlei and the Laser Eyes – Simogo
• Mouthwashing – Wrong Organ
• Neva – Nomada Studio
• Nine Sols – RedCandleGames
• UFO 50 – Mossmouth

For the complete list of nominees, presenters, and judges, be sure to visit the official Indie Game Awards website. Mark your calendars—the Indie Game Awards will premiere on December 19th at 4 pm PT / 7 pm ET via IGN and the Six One Indie YouTube Channel. Follow The Indie Game Awards on Bluesky and Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates as the festivities unfold.

The post The Indie Game Awards Reveals 2024 Nominees, Presenters, and Judges first appeared on IndieGames.

The Wholesome Snack showcase will feature over 15 cozy and compassionate games, including new trailers, exclusive announcements, and surprise world premieres from independent studios and beloved publishers. The event will be hosted by Jenny Windom, with more hosts to be revealed soon.

Matthew Taylor, founder of Wholesome Games, said about the upcoming event: “It’s really inspiring to see all the talented teams who have persevered through tough times within the industry. Wholesome Snack is a celebration of everyone involved in our community—the developers who trust us with their announcements, the content creators who amplify them, and the players who embrace these uplifting games.”

The post Wholesome Games Announces Wholesome Snack Showcase for December 2024 first appeared on IndieGames.