The Indie Game Awards make debut on December 19

The Indie Game Awards, an awards-only ceremony dedicated to celebrating excellence in indie gaming, will make its debut on December 19.

The inaugural ceremony will honor outstanding achievements in categories such as innovation, storytelling, artistry, and more throughout the indie scene. The countdown to The IGAs begins today with the reveal of the judges, presenters, and nominees.

The IGAs are built on the foundation of collaboration, bringing together voices from games media, content creators, showcases, and game development within the indie scene. At the heart of the ceremony are the developers themselves, who remain the focal point as we celebrate their creativity and contributions to the gaming world.

I believe there is some shade being cast at The Game Awards here, as that show has been criticized for putting so many advertisements in the show about upcoming games, rather than focusing on the awards for game developers.

The IGAs will feature presenters from Black Salt Games, Raw Fury, Wishes Unlimited, Yacht Club Games, Toge Productions, and InnerSloth. Nominees across 15 categories were selected by a curation jury that includes Six One Indie, Women-Led Games, Latin American Games Showcase, Wholesome Games, Dames-4-Games, The Indie Informer, and MinnMax.

The judging committee also includes Giant Bomb, Spawn on Me, Wanderbots, AshSaidHi, Playcrafting, and other prominent voices from the indie space.

The 2024 IGA Game of the Year Nominees:

1000xRESIST – sunset visitor

Animal Well – Billy Basso

ARCO – Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, and Fáyer

Balatro – LocalThunk

Crypt Custodian – Kyle Thompson

Lorlei and the Laser Eyes – Simogo

Mouthwashing – Wrong Organ

Neva – Nomada Studio

Nine Sols – RedCandleGames

UFO 50 – Mossmouth