The Indie Game Awards are set to return on December 18, as the indie community once again comes together to celebrate the talent throughout the industry, following a successful first year in 2024.
The show will be hosted by Mike Towndrow, Kelsey Lynn Towndrow, and Kyle Stephenson, all of Six One Indie, and the awards will be presented by 28 special guests from across the indie scene, including Chandana Ekanayake (Co-founder – Outerloop Games), Lena Raine (Composer – Celeste, Minecraft), Remy Siu (Composer, Founder – sunset visitor 斜陽過客), and Chipzel (Composer – Dicey Dungeons).
Alongside returning categories such as artistry, music, narrative and design, this year’s ceremony sees the addition of new categories led by showcases such as Black Voices in Gaming, Women-Led Games, and Latin American Games Showcase, championing diversity and raising the voices of lesser-represented communities. These organisations were also part of the selection process for the award nominees, alongside a wide range of showcase curators, journalism outlets, and industry experts, ensuring that the awards are truly representative of the entire community.
The Indie Vanguard Class is also new for the 2025 awards ceremony, consisting of five developers selected by the IGAs Curation Jury who have been deemed trailblazers, and represent the future of the industry. This comes alongside other special categories such as the Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award and the Industry Impact award,
The nominees for the main 2025 IGA Game of the Year Award include:
- Absolum (Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supermonks)
- 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)
In addition, the Community Picks category, added this year in response to fan feedback, is open to submissions until November 24, allowing anyone to celebrate their own favourite indie title of the year regardless of whether it has already been nominated for another award.
The Indie Game Awards will be streamed live on December 18, starting at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET/11:30pm GMT/12:30am CET on Six One Indie’s YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as on IGN and Gamespot’s channels. Fans can also keep up to date with the latest news on the ceremony via the official IGAs website and Bluesky account.
Words by Jake Hewitt.
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