Illuminating exceptional indie games, The Indie Game Awards is set to return in December 2025, introducing new categories, global viewpoints, and voting for fan-favourites.

This yearly event launches with renewed strength, continuing to honor the artistry of indie video games. This year’s exhibition will feature new categories curated by collaborators, supplementing the main awards, along with the opportunity for fans to cast their votes in genre-specific categories when voting commences in November.

Established in 2024 by Six One Indie, The Indie Game Awards recognizes remarkable indie titles for their creativity, storytelling, innovation, and more. The showcase also focuses on the developers behind these games, as creators join the event to award their peers, acknowledge their work, and share their perspectives.

Following the triumph of its first edition, which drew over 100,000 viewers across various platforms, this year’s ceremony seeks to underscore diversity and amplify gamer voices.

Beginning today and running until September 30, developers may submit their games for nomination if released between November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025. However, titles utilizing generative AI are not eligible.

This year’s primary nomination categories include:

– 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

Enhancing this year’s main categories, The Indie Game Awards has introduced the Indie Trendsetter award. This recent addition showcases five independent developers who are starting their journeys with captivating debut projects, game jams, or demos.

In addition to the main categories, The Indie Game Awards announces several new categories to honor global stories and culture, curated by its partners. The new categories joining this year’s exhibition 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 concluding, indie gamers will get the opportunity to vote through the Community Picks categories in November 2025. Empowering gamers at this year’s showcase, they can choose their favorite games by genre and select the title that deserves to be named 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 reveal 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 in November 2025. In the meantime, check out The Indie Game Awards website for details on the categories or to submit your games for nomination until September 30, 2025.