Video game award
Within the video game industry there are several awards that are given to individual video games, development studios, and other individuals to recognize their merit. Most video game awards are given out on an annual basis, celebrating the best games of the previous year. Most of these awards come from organizations directly within the industry, but there also exist several that come from broader media groups. In addition, many video game publications supply their own end of the year awards.
Video game industry awards
BAFTA Gaming Awards
The British Academy Games Awards were launched in 2004 by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize video games. Though some awards are limited to British-based developers, the bulk of the categories recognize gaming worldwide. BAFTA has also recognized important persons in the video game industry through BAFTA Fellowships, starting with Will Wright in 2007.D.I.C.E. Awards
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences is a non-profit group with membership made up of developers, artists, and other professional in the video game industry. They launched the Interactive Achievement Awards in 1998, and in 2002, after establishing the annual D.I.C.E. Summit, renamed these as the D.I.C.E. Awards. Each year, the award nominees are selected by a panel of AIAS members, and winners are voted on by the full AIAS body. Among these awards includes induction of select individuals into the AIAS Hall of Fame, as well as recognition for Lifetime Achievement and Pioneer awards. Based on the Academy membership and voting methodology, the D.I.C.E. Awards is considered the main peer-based recognition within the video games industry compared to other major awards.The Game Awards
The Game Awards were created in 2014 by Geoff Keighley, following the cancellation of the Spike Video Game Awards. Keighley desired to make an awards ceremony comparable to the Oscars for the video game industry, and worked with industry partners to establish the annual show. The show features not only awards but also several video game announcements and other entertainment, such as a live orchestra. The Game Awards are managed by an advisory panel made up from video game hardware manufacturers, and video game developers and publishers. Each year the panel selects a number of global video game magazines and website to participate in the voting process. These journalists provide their nominees for each award category which are then tallied by the advisory committee. The journalists then vote from the nominees. There is also a 10% contribution for each category from online fan voting, held in the weeks prior to the ceremony.Game Developers Choice Awards
The Game Developers Conference was established in 1988 as more of a professional conference for game developers to present talks and sessions on their development work, and since has become closely associated with the International Game Developers Association which uses the annual conference for its own annual meetings. The conference itself is currently run by Informa. The Spotlight Awards were first introduced in 1997, but after 1999, these were transitioned to the Game Developers Choice Awards with the first ceremony at the 2001 GDC conference. Nominees are selected by the 500-some members of the International Choice Awards Network, an invite-only group of leading game creators, as well as by the editors of the video game industry website Gamasutra; members are not to nominate games they are personally involved in. The top nominees in each category are then voted on by the whole of ICAN. The awards are given at a ceremony during the GDC conference. Recent years have also introduced an Audience award, with games nominated and voted on by attendees of the GDC. Among its awards include the GDCA Game of the Year award.In addition to games and developers the GDCA may also award individuals its Lifetime Achievement Award, its Pioneer Award for early contributions that have impacted the video game industry, or its Ambassador Award for contributions to improve the community for video game development.
Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards were established by a number of video game magazines in 1983 to hold an open public voting for winners in each category. Though initially only for British video game players, it later opened to voting from the global community through online voting. The winners are announced through a ceremony located in a London venue each year. Nominees for the award are selected by the awards' managing partners from games released in that year. These nominees are narrowed down to a shortlist which is then put up for public voting. Winners are selected directly from the results of this voting period.Independent Games Festival
A separate event at the Game Developers Conference is the Independent Games Festival which highlights games produced from independent video game development, which also includes games developed by students in video game development programs at universities. Independent developers can submit their game, at any state of development as long as it is playable, for consideration to the IGF with a small fee. A committee of about 300 members selected from the video game industry then review the submitted games and provide nominations to the various categories. A smaller committee of about fifteen members then create a shortlist of nominees for each category, including honorable mentions. These nominees are then expected to present at booth space for the IGF during the GDC event, with the developers given discounts for attending the conference. A separate jury uses the IGF event to make their final selection of the winner. The IGF winners are announced during the GDC, typically right before the GDCA awards. Among its awards include the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, the top prize named after Seumas McNally, and which includes a for the winning game.NAVGTR Awards
The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, a 500-member body of video game journalists, established the NAVGTR Awards in 2001 to award the best games of the year in several categories as determined by members of NAVGTR.New York Game Awards
The New York Game Awards were established in 2011 by the non-profit organization, the New York Videogame Critics Circle established by both mainstream and industry-specific journalists in New York City that cover video games.Steam Awards
The Steam Awards are organized by Valve as part of the Steam storefront since 2016. Valve allows users to nominate any game for the categories, and then complies the shortlist of nominees in each entry which are then presented to users for voting.Regional awards
Asia
China
The Ultra Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony recognizing video games from around the world. It was formerly known as the TV Game Awards and the UCG Game Awards. Its inaugural event took place in 2007. The ceremony has its awards organized into three main sections: Game of the Year, Independent Game, and Players' Voice. The winners are decided by player and media voting across China.Japan
Launched in 1996 as the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association Awards, the Japan Game Awards became the awards vehicle for the Japanese government's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry since 2006 to recognize video game achievement in Japan. Potential winners are not limited to Japanese-developed games.South Korea
The Korea Game Awards were established in 1996 to highlight individuals and game companies that contribute significantly to the Korean game industry. It is currently presented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
The Central & Eastern European Game Awards were established in 2018 as a collaborative project between game industry organizations from Central and Eastern Europe to honor games and studios developed in the region. The countries involved in the awards are Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.Czech Republic
The Czech Game of the Year Awards were established in 2010, originally as part of the Gameday Festival to recognize video game achievement for those within Czech Republic. Through 2017, these awards also recognized contributions from Slovakia, but these were split out into the separate Slovak Game of the Year Awards.Denmark
The Spilprisen was established in 2013 by the Danish Producers Association to highlight games developed in Denmark. For 2025, the Danish games industry organized around Games Denmark, who took over administration of the awards from the DPA. At the 2025 awards, 10 awards were announced, which includes one audience award for Denmark's Favorite Game. Spilprisen also names outstanding new individuals within the Danish games industry as Talents of the Year, which can come from any facet of the video games industry.France
The Pégases, organized by the French trade organization Syndicat national du jeu vidéo since 2019, held their inaugural ceremony in 2020. At the event, 18 awards were given out, chosen by votes from 1,200 members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Jeu Vidéo.Germany
The Deutscher Computerspielpreis was established in 2009 to recognize video game achievement for games developed within Germany.The Deutscher Entwicklerpreis is an award for video game development for German studios. The awards began in 2004 and are held annually in Cologne.