Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 Winners Revealed
The Game Developers Choice Awards took place on March 19 in San Francisco, and the full list of winners has been revealed.
The Game of the Year award features some very familiar faces among its nominees. The Game Developers Choice Awards included honorable mentions for each category, something that similar gaming award shows didn't provide.
Some games were nominated for multiple categories, including Balatro, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, and Tiny Glade. There were also some games that received multiple honorable mentions but ultimately didn't become nominees for any categories, such as The Plucky Squire and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Games like Astro Bot and Black Myth: Wukong racked up plenty of nominations too.
You can see all the winners below, including Game of the Year winner Balatro.
Best Audio
- Animal 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, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Neva, Silent Hill 2
Best Debut
- 1000xRESIST (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, Mullet Madjack, The Plucky Squire, Tiny Glade
Best Design
- Animal 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, Helldivers 2, Satisfactory, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, UFO 50
Innovation Award
- Animal 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, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Thank Goodness You're Here!, The Plucky Squire, Tiny Glade
Best Narrative
- 1000xRESIST (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, Frostpunk 2, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Neva, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Best Technology
- Astro 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, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Satisfactory, Tekken 8
Best Visual Art
- Animal 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, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Tiny Glade, Ultros
Social Impact
- 1000xRESIST (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, Distant Bloom, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Game of the Year
- Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)
Honorable Mentions: Animal Well, Helldivers 2, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Satisfactory, UFO 50
Topics
-
Pewaukee's Amy Terrian named 2025 Wisconsin Ms. Basketball award winner
For the second time in three seasons, the Milwaukee area has a Ms. Basketball award winner. Pewaukee's Amy Terrian joins the prestigious club.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
MLB's new gold patch program honors 2024 award winners
MLB has a new way to honor award winners this seasonYahoo Sports - 5d -
Independent Games Festival starts with a plea for supporting game devs
Shawn Pierre, the chairperson of the Independent Games Festival, opened the Independent Games Festival Awards with a plea to support game developers.VentureBeat - 1d -
This Popular Game Is Banning Players For 10 Years
Free-to-play game Delta Force isn't playing around when it comes to cheaters. Developer Team Jade has revealed that 10-year bans--yes, a full decade--have been handed out recently to over 1,000 ...GameSpot - 15h -
World Of Tanks Studio's Next Game Will Enter Early Access In April
Wargaming, the developer behind World of Tanks , confirmed that its new mech shooter Steel Hunters will enter early access on April 2.. Steel Hunters was revealed at The Game Awards 2024. It's ...GameSpot - Mar. 11 -
Harold Welter is Virgil Sweet Award winner
Three individuals with significant ties to Indiana high school basketball will be recognized with Virgil Sweet Awards from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association in 2025, it was announced ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
TSSAA Mr. and Miss Basketball winners for 2025
Here are the 2025 Tennessee Mr. and Miss Basketball award winners.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Kinghorn & Freeman nominated for Six Nations award
Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn and England wing Tommy Freeman are among the nominees for the 2025 Six Nations Player of the Championship award.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Ark: Survival Ascended's First Expansion Lost Colony Is Coming This Year
Ark fans have been waiting for more information regarding Ark 2 since its debut trailer at The Game Awards 2020. Studio Wildcard may be getting closer to revealing more information, as the team ...GameSpot - 3d
More from GameSpot
-
The Best Deluxe Edition Manga
There's a good chance that if you've picked up a manga graphic novel, it was a paperback version. After all, they're very affordable, and their pocket-friendly design makes them easy to carry ...GameSpot - 7h -
Split Fiction Is Getting A Movie Adaptation, Just Like It Takes Two
The launch of Split Fiction couldn't have gone any better for Hazelight Studios and EA. In just two weeks, Split Fiction has become EA's No. 2 all-time game on Steam . Now, a Split Fiction movie ...GameSpot - 8h -
Sunrise On The Reaping: Where To Buy Exclusive Editions Of New Hunger Games Novel
Sunrise on the Reaping (Hardcover) $19.59 (was $28) | Released on March ...GameSpot - 9h -
Remedy's FBC Firebreak Is More Left 4 Dead Than Live-Service, And That's The Beauty Of It
Remedy is a studio known for disappearing into its work for several years, then emerging with an inventive, often mind-bending, single-player game such as Max Payne, Alan Wake, or Control. But the ...GameSpot - 10h -
How To Get An InZoi Creative Studio Key For The Demo
The Sims fans, rejoice. Finally, a competitor to the life simulation game is around the corner as InZoi launches on March 28. Ahead of its release, Krafton is providing access to the game's ...GameSpot - 10h
More in Tech
-
The Best Deluxe Edition Manga
There's a good chance that if you've picked up a manga graphic novel, it was a paperback version. After all, they're very affordable, and their pocket-friendly design makes them easy to carry ...GameSpot - 7h -
Split Fiction Is Getting A Movie Adaptation, Just Like It Takes Two
The launch of Split Fiction couldn't have gone any better for Hazelight Studios and EA. In just two weeks, Split Fiction has become EA's No. 2 all-time game on Steam . Now, a Split Fiction movie ...GameSpot - 8h -
‘We Don’t Want an AI Demo, We Want Answers’: Federal Workers Grill Trump Appointee During All-Hands
Leaked chats obtained by WIRED detail plans for the General Services Administration—and the staff’s angry response.Wired - 8h -
Small models as paralegals: LexisNexis distills models to build AI assistant
LexisNexis fine-tuned Mistral models to build its Protege AI assistant, relying on distilled and small models for its AI platform.VentureBeat - 9h -
Sunrise On The Reaping: Where To Buy Exclusive Editions Of New Hunger Games Novel
Sunrise on the Reaping (Hardcover) $19.59 (was $28) | Released on March ...GameSpot - 9h