Every GDC ends with the Game Developers Choice Awards, the premier accolades for peer recognition in the digital games industry. Each year, the GDC Awards recognize and celebrate the creativity, artistry, and technical genius of the finest developers and games created in the last year. Balatro is the big winner of this year’s nominees, taking home 4 awards including Game of the Year, Best Debut, Best Design, and Innovation.
Other big award winners include Astro Bot, which took home two awards for Best Audio and Best Technology; Black Myth: Wukong won Best Visual Art; Metaphor: ReFantazio won Best Narrative; Life is Strange: Double Exposure won the Social Impact Award; and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth was given the Audience Award.
Writer and Director Sam Lake was presented with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Lake is renowned for his deep, layered storytelling and ability to meld together different mediums to create unique interactive experiences. Most recently, he was the co-director and lead writer of Alan Wake 2, which won over 200 industry awards—including Best Game Direction and Best Narrative at The Game Awards, along with Best Visual Art at the 2024 Game Developers Choice Awards.
Lucas Pope, the creator of Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, was given this year’s Pioneer Award. Pope is an independent game developer experimenting with the interactions of mechanics, narrative, and art. Papers, Please was highly lauded across the board, winning the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival and several awards at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2014, along with a BAFTA Games Award for Best Strategy and Simulation Game. Return of the Obra Dinn was also heavily praised by critics, again winning Pope the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the IGF Awards, along with several trophies from the Game Developers Choice Awards, Peabody Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, and BAFTA Games Awards.
The full list of winners are listed below:
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 (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Audio
- Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
- Astro Bot (PlayStation Studios 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 (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero) Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI)
Best Debut
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor 斜陽過客 / Fellow Traveller)
- Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
- Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
- Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
- Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital)
Best Design
- Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
- Astro Bot (Playstation Studios 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 (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Narrative
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor 斜陽過客 / Fellow Traveller)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (RGG Studio / SEGA)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
- Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX)
Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Best Technology
- Astro Bot (Playstation Studios 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 (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Visual Art
- Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
- Astro Bot (Playstation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
- Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)
Innovation Award
- Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
- Astro Bot (Playstation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital),Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
Social Impact Award
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor 斜陽過客 / Fellow Traveller)
- Astro Bot (Playstation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios)
- Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
- Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts)