The 25th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) was held recently as part of the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Here, Canadian indie darling Balatro was awarded ‘Game of the Year‘.
This week, the GDCA awards were live-streamed as part of GDC. Held at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, the ceremony gave the spotlight and accolades to industry members and games. Balatro walked away a clear winner, nabbing four awards in total. This includes the coveted Game of the Year award, ‘Best Debut’, ‘Innovation Award’ and ‘Best Design’.
Other notable winners from the evening include Black Myth: Wukong, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, as well as writer and director Sam Lake, who was honoured as an influential member of the industry.
Here is the full list of winners at this year’s GDCA.
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Astro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Astro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
In recent weeks, Balatro was also given awards for ‘Best Debut Indie Game’, ‘Best Debut Studio’, and ‘Game of the Year’ at the 2025 Canadian Game Awards.
Balatro originally launched on February 20th, 2024 across PlayStation, PC, and Xbox. Developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack, Balatro later come to iOS, macOS, and Android on September 26th of last year.
If you’re interested in watching the GDCA for yourself, check out the official GDC Twitch channel and YouTube Channel.
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