Shining a light on standout indie games, The Indie Game Awards returns in December 2025 with new categories, global perspectives and fan-favourite voting.
The annual event kicks off stronger than ever, continuing to celebrate the art of indie video games. This year’s showcase will introduce new categories curated by partners, an addition to the core awards, and the chance for fans to vote on genre-specific categories when voting opens in November.
Founded in 2024 by Six One Indie, The Indie Game Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates outstanding indie games for their innovation, storytelling, creativity and more. The showcase also shines a spotlight on the developers behind the games, as creators attend the event to present awards, recognize their peers and share their insights.
Following the success of its inaugural edition, which attracted more than 100,000 viewers across all platforms, this year’s ceremony aims to highlight diversity and elevate the voices of gamers.
Starting today and running until Sept. 30, developers can submit games for nomination if they were released between Nov. 1, 2024, and Oct. 31, 2025. However, games created using generative AI are not eligible.
This year’s core nomination categories are:
- Bite-Sized Game
- Community Management
- Debut Game
- Emotional Impact
- Gameplay Design
- Indie Trendsetters
- Industry Impact
- Innovation
- Music
- Narrative
- Notable Achievement in Accessibility
- Solo Development
- Visual Design
- The Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award
- Game of the Year
Expanding this year’s core categories, The Indie Game Awards has unveiled the Indie Trendsetter award. The latest addition highlights five independent developers who are embarking on their journeys with eye-catching debut projects, game jams, or demos.
Alongside the core categories, The Indie Game Awards introduces several new categories to celebrate the stories and culture worldwide, curated by its partners. The new categories that will be joining this year’s showcase are:
- African Indie Game Award – Curated by the Playtopia Festival
- Anz Indie Game Award – Curated by the Frosty Games Fest
- Black Voice in Gaming Award – Curated by the Black Voices in Gaming
- Latin American Indie Game Award – Curated by the Latin American Games Showcase
- Southeast Asian Indie Game Award – Curated by the Southeast Asian Games Showcase
- Women-Led Indie Game Award – Curated by the Women-Led Games
Before wrapping up, indie gamers will have the chance to cast their votes through the Community Picks categories in November 2025. Giving gamers a voice at this year’s showcase, they can vote for their favourite games by genre and choose the title that should be crowned the Game of the Year in the community. The Community Picks categories for The Indie Game Awards 2025 are:
- Action
- Adventure
- Horror
- Interactive Fiction
- Multiplayer
- Puzzle
- RPG
- Simulation
- Strategy
- Survival
- Community Game of the Year
The Indie Game Awards 2025 will announce the date of the award ceremony during the Six One Indie Showcase on September 18, 2025, with the list of nominees, presenters, and judges following suit in November 2025. In the meantime, visit The Indie Game Awards website to learn about the categories or submit your games for nomination until September 30, 2025.
