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Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Balatro' Wins Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards; ‘Consume Me' Takes Top Honor for Independent Games Festival
'Balatro' won Game of the Year at the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) on Wednesday, just after 'Consume Me' received the top prize at the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGFA). From LocalThunk and Playstack, 'Balatro' is a indie roguelike deckbuilding game that has a 'unique spin on the timeless card game Poker where players build unique decks with a variety of distinct cards to score points and defeat blinds within the roguelike gameplay.' More from Variety Griffin Gaming Partners' Peter Levin Talks AI, Industry Trends, Emerging Markets & Hollywood Interest Amid GDC One in 10 Video Game Developers Were Laid Off in 2024, GDC Report Finds 'Consume Me' and 'Despelote' Among Top Nominees for GDC's Independent Games Festival Awards During the 25th edition of annual awards show, which took place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco amid the Game Developers Conference, 'Balatro' also won Best Debut, Innovation Award and Best Design. PlayStation Studios-owned Team ASOBI's 'Astro Bot' was the runner-up in total wins for the night, taking Best Audio and Best Technology. Other winners included 'Black Myth: Wukong' (Game Science), which won Best Visual Art, 'Metaphor: ReFantazio' (Studio Zero / ATLUS) which received Best Narrative, 'Life is Strange: Double Exposure' (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) which won the Social Impact Award and 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' (Square Enix) which took the Audience Award. Additionally, the GDCA honored writer and director Sam Lake with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Lucas Pope with the Pioneer Award. Earlier in the evening, the 27th annual Independent Games Festival, which took place back to back with Game Developers Choice Awards at the Moscone Convention Center, 'Consume Me,' won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game. Described as a 'darkly humorous personal game' about creator Jenny Jiao Hsia's relationship with food, 'Consume Me' draws from her past experiences with dieting and disordered eating. Previous IGF prize winners have included 'Venba,' 'Neon White,' 'TUNIC,' 'Return of the Obra Dinn' and 'Her Story.' See the full list of the 2025 Game Developers Choice Award winners below. Best DebutBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Best Visual ArtBlack Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Best AudioAstro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Best NarrativeMetaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS) Social Impact AwardLife is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) Innovation AwardBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Best TechnologyAstro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Best DesignBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Audience AwardFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Game of the YearBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Pioneer AwardLucas Pope Lifetime Achievement AwardSam Lake And below are the winners of the 27th annual IGF Awards: Excellence in Visual Art ($2,000)Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke) Excellence in Audio ($2,000)Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) Excellence in Design ($2,000)Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments) Excellence in Narrative ($2,000)Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games) Nuovo Award ($2,000)Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken 'coda' Snyder) Best Student Game ($2,000)Slot Waste (Vinny Roca) Audience Award ($2,000)The WereCleaner (The WereCleaner Team / USC Games) Award ($2,000)ChromaCorp (Art Center) Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($10,000)Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken 'coda' Snyder) Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Balatro Goes All In, Winning Game of the Year and More at the 25th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
Balatro Also Received Best Debut, Innovation Award and Best Design, with Astro Bot Also Showing a Strong Hand by Winning the Best Audio and Technology Awards SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The indie roguelike deckbuilding game Balatro has taken the pot at the 25th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), receiving the highly coveted Game of the Year Award. The title also secured the win for the Best Debut, Innovation Award and Best Design, tallying up four total wins for the title at the ceremony. The GDCAs are the premier accolades for peer recognition in the digital games industry. Each year, the Choice Awards recognize and celebrate the creativity, artistry and technical genius of the finest developers and games created in the last year. The award ceremony takes place each year as part of the Game Developers Conference (GDC), which is taking place this week at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. LocalThunk and Playstack's Balatro is a unique spin on the timeless card game Poker where players build unique decks with a variety of distinct cards to score points and defeat blinds within the roguelike gameplay. The game was originally released on PC and consoles on February 20, 2024, and was later brought to MacOS, iOS and Android on September 26. Astro Bot, the 3D platforming adventure developed by PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, also received two accolades during the GDCA ceremony: Best Audio and Best Technology. The title is a love letter to the many iconic characters and worlds from PlayStation's wide roster of franchises, and has been widely praised for its unique and energetic level design, incredible soundtrack, smart integration with the PlayStation 5's hardware and charming aesthetics. Other winners of the night included Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science), which won Best Visual Art, Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS) which received Best Narrative, Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) which was honored with the Social Impact Award and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) which received the Audience Award. The Game Developers Choice Awards also took time to honor two influential figures in the industry. This year, the GDCA honored writer and director Sam Lake with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lake is renowned for his deep, layered storytelling and ability to meld together different mediums to create unique interactive experiences. Most recently, he was the co-director and lead writer of Alan Wake 2, which won over 200 industry awards—including Best Game Direction and Best Narrative at The Game Awards, along with Best Visual Art at the 2024 Game Developers Choice Awards. Lucas Pope, well known as the creator of Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, was the well-deserving recipient of the Pioneer Award. Pope is an independent game developer experimenting with the interactions of mechanics, narrative, and art. Papers, Please was highly lauded across the board, winning the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival (IGF) along with several trophies at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2014, along with a BAFTA Games Award for Best Strategy and Simulation Game. Return of the Obra Dinn was also heavily praised by critics, again winning Pope the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at IGF Awards, along with several trophies from the Game Developers Choice Awards, Peabody Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards and BAFTA Games Awards. The 25th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards winners are: Best DebutBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Best Visual ArtBlack Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Best AudioAstro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Best NarrativeMetaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS) Social Impact AwardLife is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) Innovation AwardBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Best TechnologyAstro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Best DesignBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Audience AwardFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Game of the YearBalatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Pioneer AwardLucas Pope Lifetime Achievement AwardSam Lake The GDCA awards are live-streamed annually on the official Game Developers Conference (GDC) Twitch channel and are archived both on Twitch and on the official GDC YouTube Channel. For more information about the 25th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, visit: For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, BlueSky or RSS. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: About GDC The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world's largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision makers, and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game development community year-round through events and digital media, including the GDC Networking Meet-ups, GDC Vault, Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. GDC is organized by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information visit View source version on Contacts fortyseven communicationsHiro Itogdcpress@
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong and Animal Well Lead Finalists for the 25th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
Winners of the Leading Peer-Based Annual Award Show in Games Will Be Announced on Wednesday, March 19 During GDC 2025 SAN FRANCISCO, January 28, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 25th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), the leading peer-based video game event celebrating the industry's top games and developers, has announced the list of finalists for each of the ceremony's prestigious categories. The winners in each category will be honored at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, which will be taking place on Wednesday, March 19. This celebration of the top games from the past year, as well as the developers who created them, takes place each year at the Game Developers Conference (GDC). The GDC, now in its 39th edition, will be held at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center from March 17 - 21. The GDCA is held in conjunction with the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF Awards). All GDC 2025 pass holders will be available to attend these award shows. Those at home can also tune in via the official GDC Twitch channel. The Game Developers Choice Awards is the leading video game awards that are nominated by, voted on, and decided by video game developers within the industry. This year, the GDCA nominations are led by Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) and Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science), each of which received seven nominations total. Both are nominated for the highly coveted Game of the Year Award alongside Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) and Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero). Indie hit Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) also received a high degree of praise, earning nominations in five categories. Astro Bot, developed by Team ASOBI and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is a 3D platforming title that was released alongside PlayStation's 30th anniversary and is a love letter to the many iconic characters and worlds from PlayStation's wide roster of franchises. It has been praised by fans and critics alike for its unique and energetic level design, incredible soundtrack, smart integration with the PlayStation 5's hardware and charming aesthetics. Black Myth: Wukong, developed and published by Game Science, is an action role-playing game rooted in Chinese mythology and inspired by the literary classic 'Journey to the West.' The game features skill-based combat and challenging gameplay that fans of the "soulslike" subgenre have come to appreciate. Also leading the pack for category nominations is Animal Well, developed by Billy Basso and published by Bigmode. The Metroidvania title involves puzzle-solving and exploration, encouraging the player to think outside of the box to find solutions forward. Any video game that was released and made publicly available during the 2024 calendar year is eligible for free nomination for the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards. All nominees and winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only organization, composed of leading game creators from all parts of the industry. In addition to the categories listed below, the Audience Award welcomes the GDC audience to cast their vote for their favorite game of the year from all 18 of this year's GDCA finalists. The public can cast their vote from the Audience Award ballot here. The complete list of nominees for each category of the 25th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, including honorable mentions, are as follows: Best AudioAnimal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI) Best Debut1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best DesignAnimal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Lorelai and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Innovation AwardAnimal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best Narrative1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA)Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / Critical Reflex) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Best TechnologyAstro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC)Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment) Best Visual ArtAnimal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive) Social Impact1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios)Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital) Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts) Game of the YearAstro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) View source version on Contacts fortyseven communicationsHiro Itogdcpress@
