Balatro Wins ‘Game of the Year’ at Canadian Game Awards

On Saturday, February 15, the fifth annual Canadian Game Awards was held in downtown Toronto at the TIFF Lightbox. Held at the prestigious venue, many of the greatest Canadian-made games of 2024 were celebrated. Out of the 16 awards given, indie darling Balatro walked away with many, including ‘Game of the Year’.

The Canadian Game Awards set out to recognize many great developers, voice actors, esports players, and events that represent Canada. While the gaming industry is incredibly large and spans the globe, it’s important to recognize and potentially shine a spotlight on some of your favourite games that may have been made in your backyard.

While held live at the TIFF Lightbox, the Canadian Game Awards was streamed live. A VOD was published on the Canadian Game Awards’ YouTube channel this past weekend.

Here are the winners of the fifth annual Canadian Game Awards.

Best Art Direction

• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Été (Impossible)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• WINNER: 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)
• Venture to the Vile (Cut to Bits)

Best Game Design

• WINNER: Balatro (Local Thunk)
• Été (Impossible)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• Beastieball (Wishes Unlimited)
• The Outlast Trials (Red Barrels)

Best Score/Soundtrack

• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Été (Impossible)
• WINNER: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)
• Spirit City: Lofi Sessions (Homework Radio)

Best Narrative

• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Times & Galaxy (Copychaser Games)
• WINNER: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)
• Venture to the Vile (Cut to Bits)

Best Performance

• WINNER: Humberly González (Star Wars: Outlaws)
• Nhi Do (1000xRESIST)
• Ben Burnes (Moving Houses)
• Matt Mercer (Dragon Age: The Veilguard)

Best Audio Design

• Balatro (Local Thunk)
• Été (Impossible)
• WINNER: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)

Best Technology/Innovation

• Moving Houses (Gordon Little)
• Times & Galaxy (Copychaser Games)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• WINNER: Homeworld 3 (Blackbird Interactive)
• Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best Debut Indie Game

• Spiral (Folklore Games)
• Été (Impossible)
• 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)
• Nightingale (Inflexion Games)
• WINNER: Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best Debut Studio

• Folklore Games (Spiral)
• Impossible (Été)
• Sunset Visitor (1000xRESIST)
• Inflexion Games (Nightingale)
• WINNER: LocalThunk (Balatro)

Most Innovative Studio

• Folklore Games (Spiral)
• Lucid Dreams Studio (BIOMORPH)
• WINNER: BioWare (Dragon Age: The Veilguard)
• Red Barrels (The Outlast Trials)

Esports Player

• WINNER: Sarah_frags
• Twistzz
• Scarlett
• TenZ
• Arteezy

Esports Org

• Lazarus Esports
• Toronto Defiant
• WINNER: Toronto Ultra
• Luminosity Gaming
• Shopify Rebellion

Esports Event

• Electric Clash Tekken World Tour Challenger Event
• Toronto Ultra Major III Tournament 2024
• Bell Esports Challenge
• WINNER: Call of Duty League: Stage 3 Major
• BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024

Content Creator/Show

• GHOST Cece
• NickEh30
• Aiekillu
• AshleyRoboto
• Shroud
• WINNER: Pokimane

Studio Of The Year

• Inflextion Games
• WINNER: LocalThunk
• Hilltop Studio
• Behaviour Interactive
• BioWare

Game of the Year

• BIOMORPH (Lucid Dream Studios)
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Été (Impossible)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor)
• WINNER: Balatro (LocalThunk)

Note: iPhone in Canada’s Steve Vegvari is an organizer for the Canadian Game Awards’ nomination and judging committee. His role did not impact the selection of the nominees or the production of the live show.