The Indie Game Awards happened on December 19, 2024 and it felt like the games industry had turned to a more thoughtful page. Hosted out of New York City and streamed on IGN’s YouTube, The Indie Game Awards winners showcased the depth of independent game development that was released in 2024.
As we continually complain about The Game Awards being more focused on trailers and marketing than celebrating the developers, The Indie Game Awards wasn’t just something new. It was a thoughtful establishment of a ceremony that deeply cared about the fact that people make games. From debut game to Industry Impact (which beautifully went to more than just one person) and GOTY, the Indie Game Awards winners highlighted games that deserve to be seen as much as any AAA game.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
The Indie Game Awards winners also included a special award. Titled the Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award, the ceremony honored the late developer Mohammad Fahmi, who passed away in 2022, as the first recipient of the award. The ceremony presented the award to Fahmi’s parents to celebrate his impact through his work on Coffee Talk and After Love EP. The show also highlighted Fahmi’s colleagues at Toge Productions.
The segment, along with the one produced for Strange Scaffold, the studio run by Xalavier Nelson Jr., were two emotional highlights to the Indie Game Awards that highlighted this wasn’t an award show just for prestige. Rather, it’s one dedicated to people first.
As the games industry continues to shrink due to layoffs and lack of funding, it’s important that our celebrations of games always include the creatives, the storytellers, the artists, the programmers, the designers, and the people who make them possible. And that’s just what The Indie Game Awards did.
You can see the Indie Game Awards winners below, and you can watch the award show via Six One Indie and IGN. In addition, if you’d like to pick any of this year’s nominees, check out the IGA Steam Sale, which highlights titles from this year’s nominees and presenters.
The 2024 Indie Game Awards Winners:
-
Debut Game: Little Kitty, Big City – Double Dagger Studio
-
Notable Achievement in Accessibility: Another Crab’s Treasure – Aggro Crab
-
Visual Design: Harold Halibut – Slow Bros.
-
Music: Pacific Drive – Ironwood Studios
-
Industry Impact: Strange Scaffold, New Blood, Outersloth, and Day of the Devs
-
Bite-Sized Game: Thank Goodness You’re Here – Coal Supper / Panic Inc
-
Solo Development: Animal Well – Billy Basso / Bigmode
-
Innovation: Cryptmaster – Paul Hart & Lee Williams / Akupara Games
-
Emotional Impact: Neva – Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital
-
Gameplay Design: Balatro – LocalThunk / Playstack
-
Community Management: Aggro Crab
-
Women-Led Game: Mexico, 1921. A Deep Slumber. – Mácula Interactive
-
Narrative: 1000xRESIST – sunset visitor 斜陽過客 / Fellow Traveller Games
-
The Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award: Parents of the late Mohammad Fahmi
-
Game of the Year: Balatro – LocalThunk / Playstack
What Are The Indie Game Awards?
The Indie Game Awards is an annual awards-only event designed to honor excellence in indie gaming, featuring categories that highlight innovation, storytelling, artistry, and more. With developers at the forefront, The IGAs will spotlight the most compelling and groundbreaking titles from around the world. Learn more at www.indiegameawards.gg.
Who is Six One Indie?
Six One Indie is a collective focused on offering a fresh approach to amplifying indie games, featuring showcase spotlights and in-depth commentary on the indie gaming and development scene. The team is dedicated to making the Six One Indie Showcase and The Indie Game Awards premier platforms for discovering, promoting, and celebrating indie games and the creative voices behind them. Learn more at www.sixoneindie.com.
But Why Tho? was a judge in the inaugural Indie Game Awards for 2024.
