By Game Developers, For Game Developers
The Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) are the premier, globally recognized accolades for peer-recognition in the video game industry.
Each year, the GDCA International Choice Awards Network (ICAN) comes together to nominate and vote for the best games released during that calendar year. There is no cost associated with being nominated as a GDCA finalist to ensure that the games chosen are truly reflective of the very best the industry had to offer that year.
Finalists are honored and winners announced during the annual ceremony in San Francisco, held during Game Developers Conference (GDC).
25 Years of Excellence
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM, GDCA will enter its 25th year of celebrating the defining creativity, artistry and technical genius demonstrated by video game developers from around the world immediately following the Independent Games Festival (IGF) awards in the following main categories:
Game of the Year
This category is open to all games released during the previous calendar year and are nominated by the ICAN, taking into account the overall quality, impressiveness, and enjoyability of the game.
Audience Award
The full list of finalist games from every main category through a vote open to all GDC attendees and members of the public.
Best Audio
Finalists will be recognized for the overall excellence of audio in a game - including, but not limited to, sound effects, musical composition, sound design,and orchestration.
Best Design
Finalists will be recognized forthe overall excellence of design in a game - including, but not limited to, gameplay mechanics, playability, play balance, and level design.
Best Debut
The Best Debut Award recognizes finalists from any development studio that released its first publicly available title that year.
Innovation Award
Finalists will be recognized for a game that advances the state of game development as a medium and pushes the boundaries of games as an expressive art.
Best Narrative
Finalists will be recognized for the overall excellence of storytelling in a game - including, but not limited to, scenario, plot construction, story, and dialogue.
Social Impact Award
Finalists will be recognized for a game that advancess equality, justice, intersectionality, and/or sustainability, and workss to positively impact the lives of its players in a meaningful way.
Best Technology Award
Finalists will be recognized for the overall excellence of technical execution in a game - including, but not limited to, graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking, and physics.
Best Visual Arts
Finalists will be recognized for the overall excellence of visual art in a game - including, but not limited to, art direction, animation, modeling, character design, and texture creation.
Exceptional People, Exemplary Careers
In addition to the main category awards, GDCA features several individual categories focused on recognizing innovation and excellence in the art of making games. Individuals are nominated by the ICAN and selected by the GDC Awards Committee.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognizes the career and achievements of an individual who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and video games as a whole.
Pioneer Award
Celebrates an individual who has developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, game design, or who has broken through social barriers at a crucial juncture in video game history.
Ambassador Award
Honors an individual who have helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to be an advocate for video games with the aim of furthering game making as a medium.
Sponsors
Coming Soon!
Learn more about our 2025 sponsors and request information on remaining available opportunities for GDCA and IGF 2025.
GDCA Archives
Coming Soon!
Get inspired by previous main category and individual award winners honored during past GDCA ceremonies.
Contact
We want to hear from you! Do you have ideas, questions about the ceremony, or want to join the ICAN? Drop us a line.
