The countdown to the ceremony officially begins today with the reveal of this year’s judges, presenters, and, of course, nominees.
New to the annual awards-only ceremony is the Indie Vanguard Class, a selection of five developers who represent the future of the industry and stand among those paving the way forward for the indie scene. New regional and showcase-specific categories, curated by showcases such as Latin American Games Showcase, Women-Led Games, and Black Voices in Gaming, have been added to better celebrate diverse voices from around the globe. And finally, players can now submit their favorite indies across a variety of genres for the highly requested Community Picks segment.
Chandana Ekanayake, Lena Raine, Remy Siu, and Chipzel are among the 28 presenters representing the developers who continue to drive the industry forward. Nominations have been thoughtfully deliberated by a broad and diverse panel of indie showcase curators and industry experts, including Six One Indie, Latin American Games Showcase, Women-Led Games, Wholesome Games, The MIX, Black Voices in Gaming, Frosty Games Fest, Southeast Asian Games Showcase, Playtopia Festival, and The Indie Informer, as well as prominent voices from games journalism and content creation, such as Giant Bomb, Game Informer, GameSpot, Wanderbots, Steve Saylor, and noclip. Rather than being guided by any single organization or outlet, the IGAs are shaped through this wide-ranging collaboration, creating a collective celebration of indie games and the developers who bring them to life.
We’re thrilled to announce the full slate of presenters, judges, and nominees, including Game of the Year.
The 2025 IGA Game of the Year Nominees:
- Absolum - Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks
- and Roger - TearyHand Studio
- Blue Prince - Dogubomb
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector- Jump Over the Age
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Sandfall Interactive
- Consume Me - Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder
- Hades II - Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong - Team Cherry
- Keep Driving - YCJY Games
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo - Pocket Trap