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2025 IGF Finalists

Honoring the Best Games of 2025

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

Finalists:

  • Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games) 
  • WINNER: Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) 
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
  • UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Nine Sols (RedCandleGames) , Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

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Best Student Game

Finalists:

  • A Dual Ascent (Mountain Toad Entertainment /  Rubika Supinfogame)
  • DisplaceMen (Eversea Club)
  • Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission into the Afterhours of a Miscalculation (Games for my Computer)
  • WINNER: Slot Waste (Vinny Roca)
  • The WereCleaner (The WereCleaner Team / USC Games)
  • Year Unknown (Julian Heuser)

Honorable Mentions: Cards of Heart (GoodMind Games), Duck Paradox (Magic Games / Midwest Games), Lost Garden (​​Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), Perfect World (Michael Overton Brown), Timeworks (Starworks Studios) 

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Excellence in Audio

Finalists:

  • Anger Foot (Free Lives / Devolver Digital) 
  • WINNER: despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) 
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
  • Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
  • Utopia Must Fall (Datasette/Pixeljam / Pixeljam)

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX),  Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive),  The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

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Excellence in Design

Finalists:

  • Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
  • Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury) 
  • Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games) 
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
  • WINNER: Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

Honorable Mentions: 

Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi), UFO 50 (Mossmouth), LOK Digital (Letibus Design, Icedrop Games / Draknek and Friends), Eigengrau (Martin Mauersics), The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack)

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Excellence in Narrative

Finalists:

  • WINNER: Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games) 
  • Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)  
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) 
  • INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
  • No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi)

Honorable Mentions: Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments), Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper / Panic), The Thaumaturge (Fool's Theory / 11 bit studios)

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Excellence in Visual Arts

Finalists:

  • Children of the Sun (René Rother / Devolver Digital) 
  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • WINNER: Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke) 
  • Judero (Talha & Jack Co.) 
  • Nine Sols (RedCandleGames) 
  • Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)

Honorable Mentions: Crow Country (SFB Games), Death of the Reprobate (Joe Richardson), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)

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Nuovo Award

Finalists:

  • WINNER: Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic) 
  • Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity (Sam Atlas) 
  • Ginger (Kevin Du)
  • individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware manifesto (alienmelon) 
  • Starship Home (Creature) 
  • tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut / moochi)
  • The Exit 8 (KOTAKE CREATE / PLAYISM)

Honorable Mentions: Arctic Eggs (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX) , Judero (Talha & Jack Co.), Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Project_Y: Working Title  (Project_Y Production Committee), Refind Self: The Personality Test Game (Lizardry / PLAYISM)

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Wings Award (NEW)

Finalists:

  • Caravan Sandwitch (Plane Toast / Dear Villagers)

  • WINNER: Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder) 
  • Tavern Talk (Gentle Troll Entertainment)
  • The Crush House (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
  • Urban Myth Dissolution Center (Hakababunko / SHUEISHA GAMES)

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