The DevGAMM Awards 2026 has revealed its full slate of nominees for its third annual ceremony, putting 70 games from 25 countries in contention across awards for design, art, narrative, audio, mobile development, emerging projects, and more. The winners are scheduled to be announced in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 18, 2026.
The event arrives after a record submission period. A total of 1,088 entries were submitted by 987 teams representing 80 countries, producing a final nominees list that reflects a notably international development community. More than half of the nominated games were made by teams of five people or fewer, underscoring the awards' focus on independent creators alongside more established studios.
The ceremony is set for 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET, and 6 p.m. GMT. In addition to the award announcements, the program will feature game reveals and substantial updates. The show has a $100,000 cash-prize pool supported by Scorewarrior, while sponsored category awards from Epic Games Store, Unreal Engine, tinyBuild, Unity, and Godot total more than $40,000.
Grand Prize contenders span major upcoming releases and inventive indies
Five projects are competing for the evening's Grand Prize: Dead As Disco from Brain Jar Games, Echoes of Mystralia from Borealys Games, Mortal Shell II from Cold Symmetry, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire from Fumi Games, and Phonopolis from Amanita Design.
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It is a category that illustrates the breadth of the overall field. The nominees include projects from teams with recognizable prior work as well as games that have drawn attention for distinctive visual or conceptual identities. Several Grand Prize candidates also return in discipline-specific categories, giving them multiple opportunities for recognition on the night.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire and Phonopolis, for instance, are also nominated for Excellence in Visual Art. Dead As Disco is represented in Excellence in Audio and the Epic Games Store Indie Spotlight category, while Mortal Shell II is among the nominees for Best Unreal Engine Game.
Design, visual art, narrative, and audio categories
The Excellence in Game Design category includes Desktop Explorer by Recurring Dream, Froggy Hates Snow by Crying Brick, IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator by Nick Nieuwoudt and Dominik Latos, Rewindead by Spellwork AB, and Timberborn by Mechanistry.
For Excellence in Visual Art, the nominees are Micromega by COVEN, Midgardr by Holy Radish, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Phonopolis, and UNBEATABLE by D-CELL GAMES. Each entry will be competing in a category where a strong aesthetic voice can be as important as raw technical ambition, from bold animation styles to carefully built worlds and interfaces.
The Excellence in Narrative nominees are Call of the Elder Gods by Out of the Blue Games, Desktop Explorer, Ledgerbound by OmniMegaSuperCorp, Pieced Together by Glowfrog Games, and Schrödinger's Call by Acrobatic Chirimenjako.
Meanwhile, Excellence in Audio recognizes Band Wagon by Bippinbits, Dead As Disco, Phonopolis, Ratatan by Ratata Arts Inc., and UNBEATABLE. The repeat appearances for Phonopolis and UNBEATABLE place both games among the more broadly recognized projects in this year's lineup.
Mobile, anticipated, and early-development nominees
The Best Mobile Game field brings together Gambonanza by Blukulele (Paul Giovannini), Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage by Fabled Game Limited, Scritchy Scratchy by Lunch Money Games, Servant of the Lake by Rusty Lake, and Twin Shot Deluxe by Nitrome Limited.
The Most Anticipated Game award turns attention toward projects still building momentum ahead of their eventual launches. The nominees are Cards & Cannons by Flamehead Games, UG Crop by Carbonara Games, Koshmar: The Last Reverie by Purple Ray Studio, PinKeep by Okomotive, and Steel Soul Shaper by GENEPOP.
For Best Game in Early Development, DevGAMM has selected BANDIT KNIGHT by Game Float, Bolt & Whalington by Orca Studio, Burdenfall by Leftovers Games, Code RAPID by Hitbreak Games LLC, and Hold Your Dragons by Igor Krutov. Awards of this kind can be especially valuable for smaller teams, offering visibility while projects are still evolving and while their creators are looking to turn early concepts into finished games.
Small-team and meaningful-game categories highlight the event's indie focus
The Best Small Team Game nominees are Compress(space) by B-Deshi Interactive, Dobbel Dungeon by Gamepie, MOLDRISE by Raffaele Picca, Omelet You Cook by Bird Gang Games, and Worming from Home by Zach Northrop and Mason Sabharwal.
That category fits particularly well with the makeup of the 2026 nominees as a whole. With more than half of the nominated games created by teams of no more than five developers, the awards are providing a large stage for productions that may not have the scale or marketing resources of blockbuster releases.
The Meaningful Game category features 1998: The Toll Keeper Story by GameChanger Studio, Amnios by HES-SO (HEAD-Genève + HEdS), As Long As You're Here by Autoscopia, Fishbowl by imissmyfriends.studio, and Grow Wild by SPECTRUM48. This group recognizes games that aim to engage players through themes, experiences, or perspectives beyond conventional genre expectations.
Portuguese developers receive a dedicated spotlight
As the ceremony takes place in Lisbon, the Best Game from Portugal category gives local studios a dedicated place in the awards. The five nominees are ALL LIGHT IS GONE by Octupus Embrace, Hanno: A Magical Tale by One Way Eleven, NECROMENTAL by Digitality Games, Shelf Heroes by Fun Punch Games, and War Doctor by Red Pine Studios.
The DevGAMM Choice award, a separate selection within the program, includes Demon Bluff by UmiArt, HOMURA HIME by Crimson Dusk, inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories by Nagai Industries, Monster Chef by Studio Pizza, and Wax Heads by Patattie Games.
Partner-sponsored awards expand the competition
Several organizations are supporting additional categories, each with its own nominee list. The Epic Games Store Indie Spotlight selections are Dead As Disco, Fortune Seller by Kiwick Studios, Hank: Drowning On Dry Land by My Next Games, IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator, and Luna Abyss by Kwalee Labs.
Best Unreal Engine Game nominees are Call of the Elder Gods, Dead As Disco, Guns of Eschaton by Eschatology Entertainment, Mortal Shell II, and The Occultist by DALOAR Studios. The Best Indie Game by tinyBuild field includes Code RAPID, Hell Hold'em by Hell Hold'em, Meat Without Master by Neon Cocoa, Rewindead, and Tattered Banners by CookieByte Entertainment.
In the Best Made With Unity category, the nominees are Dimraeth by Mudtek, Last Moon by Sköll Studio, Painted Kingdoms by Hectiq, Seaward by THE ROOF Interactive, and Tempus Vitae by Whiteboard Games. Finally, the Best Godot Game nominees are Band Wagon, Burn With Me by Nozomu Games, MOLDRISE, My Card Is Better Than Your Card! by Utu Studios, and Pathogenic by Aberrant Labs.
With 70 nominated games spread across core craft awards, regional recognition, development-stage categories, and engine or partner-sponsored honors, DevGAMM Awards 2026 is shaping up to be a wide-ranging celebration of game development. The Lisbon ceremony on November 18 will determine which of these projects takes home the top honors and prize support.
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