LocalThunk’s Balatro, developed by Playstack, was deemed a royal flush as it was crowned Game of the Year at the 25th Game Developers Choice Awards, which were handed out Wednesday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Balatro also snagged wins for Best Design, Best Debut and the Innovation Award.
Other winners included Astro Bot, which won Best Audio and Best Technology. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth garnered a win for the Audience Award while the Best Narrative went to Metaphor: ReFantazio. Black Myth: Wukong and Astro Bot came into the ceremony with a leading seven nominations apiece. Baldur’s Gate 3 dominated last year’s GDC Awards, taking three awards, including Game of the Year.
This year’s Game Developers Choice Awards honored indie developer Lucas Pope known for cult hit puzzle games Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, with the Pioneer Award.
Another honoree also included Remedy Entertainment’s creative director Sam Lake, fresh off of numerous industry wins for the critically praised Alan Wake II, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Reflecting on his three decades in the industry, he offered advice to his fellow gaming peers and developers in training.
“It’s important to find your team, your unique voice to stand out and go where your passion takes you. Trust your vision. Be patient with this, but stay true to it and keep pushing forward, but also always be a team player. Always listen to the good ideas from the talented people around you and find ways to incorporate those ideas in a way that compliments your ideas. Hide in as much art as you can get away with. This is your vital secret mission,” the Finnish director continued. “Art is what makes you excited, what gives you joy and what makes you proud. Roll with the punches when you face an obstacle and you have to change your ideas, take it to mean you’ve been now given an opportunity to come up with something even cooler and better. I feel that we are easily laced with our initial ideas. Obstacles force us to be creative and something creative can come out of that and often does.”
Here are the winners of the 2025 GDC Awards:
Best Audio
Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI)
Best Debut
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
Best Design
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Innovation Award
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light)
Best Narrative
Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero)
Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Best Technology
Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Visual Art
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)
Social Impact
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts)
Game of the Year
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
