IndieCade, the “Sundance of the video game industry” has revealed its plans and nominees for the 2021 IndieCade Festival. The festival is taking place virtually, just like last year, from October 22-24. The festival is free to attend and open to the public, with programming to feature nearly 50 nominees that highlight top achievement across independent gaming. The festival will feature gameplay, demos, tournaments, interactive developer sessions, Twitch streams, Discord conversations, networking opportunities, and more. Hosting the 2021 IndieCade festival are a variety of Twitch streamers including Alchemist Joker (Kevin M. Williams) Alistair Aitcheson, Tatiana Vilela dos Santos, Kimchica (Jenny Windom) and ifndef (Sean Bouchard).

🎉Join us October 22 – 24 for this year’s IndieCade Anywhere & Everywhere! 🎮

We’re featuring 48 incredible games across genres, platforms, and experiences – find out more about each nominee:https://t.co/LcpTPp6Xge pic.twitter.com/UF6eRHU3Pc

— IndieCade 🛩️Anywhere & Everywhere🕹️ (@IndieCade) September 27, 2021

This year’s festival nominees hail from all over the world such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Philippines, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Lithuania, Israel, and Chile. Each game demonstrates excellence in craft, artistry and innovative gameplay and represents global perspectives from diverse developer teams. The nominees are A Strong Fire, Adios, Alice is Missing, Alma, Anyone Can Wear the Mask, Beacon Pines, Before Your Eyes, Blackhaven, Blind Drive, Cai Cai Balao, CLAWS, Consumption, Cook, Serve, Delicious?!, Dice Legacy, Dot’s Home, Field Guide to Memory, Figment 2: Creed Valley, Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game, HoloVista 2.0, I Expect You To Die, Katipuneros RPG: Eve of Revolt, Larger Than Light, Letters – A Written Adventure, Maskmaker, Mundaun, Out For Delivery, Penko Park, Rain On Your Parade, RATS: High Tea at Sea, Roguebook, Romancing Jan, Saturnalia, Savage Hall, Spiritway to the Lighthouse, Star Explorers, Stilstand, Stonefly, Surrealist Dinner Party, The Boy in the Book, The College Atlas, The Fermi Paradox, The Forger, The Gardener and the Wild Vines, The Lullaby of Life, The Pickfair Directive, The Signifier: Director’s Cut, The Telelibrary, and Utility for the Soul.

The IndieCade Awards will take place on Sunday, October 24 at 12pm PT. Awards include Innovation in Interactive Design, Experience Design, Audio, Visual, Live-Action, Tabletop, Performance, Narrative, and more. This year’s Bernie DeKoven Big Fun Award is honoring Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman for their work on climate-focused interactive installation games.

“We champion the next generation of indie developers, who are pushing the boundaries of interactive entertainment and on the cusp of launching the next big hit,” Stephanie Barish, CEO and Founder of IndieCade said. “As part of our continued mission to elevate underrepresented talent and amplify diverse voices, we’re returning in virtual format to reach global audiences and connect indie developers, gamers and enthusiasts during the weekend celebration.”