Indie Game Awards

@debugawards.com

Debug’s Indie Game Awards take place soon. Brought to you by @debugmag.com and sponsored by @gamemaker.io Free Tickets: https://debugawards.com

It is with immense regret that due to a number of factors outside of our control, including travel challenges for nominees attending our in-person ceremony, that we have taken the decision to postpone. This is a decision which was not taken lightly, and we will announce plans in the coming days.

Spot a future classic? The shortlisted nominees for 'Most Anticipated' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Adventures of a Cat in Space Modulus: Factory Automation My Familiar Sleepytime Village Something Meaningful Stretchmancer Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making the 2026 IGAs possible!

The 'Most Anticipated' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Adventures of a Cat in Space, Modulus: Factory Automation, My Familiar, Sleepytime Village, Something Meaningful, Stretchmancer

The shortlisted nominees for 'Best New Studio' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... AdHoc Studio D-CELL GAMES Evil Trout, Inc. Little Sewing Machine Space Colony Studios Space Lion Studios Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there IRL on 25 April 2026!

The 'Best New Studio' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; AdHoc Studio, D-CELL GAMES, Evil Trout, Inc., Little Sewing Machine, Space Colony Studios, and Space Lion Studios

New stuff to play on your old stuff! The nominees for 'Retro World Award' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Buck and the Cursed Cartridge D*Fuzed Earthion Gas Station Story Mavericks Baghdad Extraction Self Simulated Once again, a huge thank you to @gamemaker.io for supporting the IGAs

The 'Retro World Award' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Buck and the Cursed Cartridge, D*Fuzed, Earthion, Gas Station Story, Mavericks Baghdad Extraction, Self Simulated

Free, but certainly not lacking in value! The shortlisted nominees for 'Free Play Award' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... an unplayable game?! Old Timer Transport Pin-Up Solitaire Poco Tablecraft Type Help The Debug IGAs are made possible thanks to the support of @gamemaker.io

The 'Free Play Award' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; an unplayable game?!, Old Timer Transport, Pin-Up Solitaire, Poco, Tablecraft, and Type Help

Let's get physical! The shortlisted nominees for 'Physical Release of the Year' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Absolum: Special Edition D*Fuzed Foolish Mortals: Big Box Edition Make Way Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound - Special Edition Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog - Sponsored by @gamemaker.io

The 'Physical Release of the Year' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Absolum: Special Edition, D*Fuzed, Foolish Mortals: Big Box Edition, Make Way, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound - Special Edition, Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog

Looking for something different? The shortlisted nominees for 'Innovation & Creativity' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Banquet for Fools CYCLIA JOURNEY DEAD LETTER DEPT. Deck of Haunts Into the Restless Ruins Ruffy and the Riverside Debug's IGAs are proudly sponsored by @gamemaker.io

The 'Innovation & Creativity' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Banquet for Fools, CYCLIA JOURNEY, DEAD LETTER DEPT., Deck of Haunts, Into the Restless Ruins, Ruffy and the Riverside

The shortlisted nominees for 'Best UK Indie' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Cabernet Citizen Sleeper 2 Into the Restless Ruins ROUTINE Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter Made possible thanks to @gamemaker.io - Join us for the IRL ceremony on 25 April 2026!

The 'Best UK Indie' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Cabernet, Citizen Sleeper 2, Into the Restless Ruins, ROUTINE, Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter

Get those headsets ready! The shortlisted nominees for 'Best VR Game' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Arken Age Banners & Bastions Ghost Town Laser Dance My Monsters The Midnight Walk Big up our friends at @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there?

The 'Best VR Game' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Arken Age, Banners & Bastions, Ghost Town, Laser Dance, My Monsters, and The Midnight Walk

Congratulations! The shortlisted nominees for 'Best Narrative' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Citizen Sleeper 2 Dispatch Old Skies The Drifter The Roottrees are Dead Wednesdays A massive thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there IRL on 25 April 2026!

The 'Best Narrative' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Citizen Sleeper 2, Dispatch, Old Skies, The Drifter, The Roottrees are Dead, Wednesdays

The shortlisted nominees for 'Best Gameplay' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Axyz GlitchSPANKR Into the Restless Ruins Katanaut Spooky Express The Knightling Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there IRL on 25 April 2026!

The 'Best Gameplay' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Axyz, GlitchSPANKR, Into the Restless Ruins, Katanaut, Spooky Express, The Knightling

The shortlisted nominees for 'Best Art Direction' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Bye Sweet Carole Dreams of Another Gloomy Eyes ROUTINE The Séance of Blake Manor UNBEATABLE Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there IRL on 25 April 2026!

The 'Best Art Direction' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Bye Sweet Carole, Dreams of Another, Gloomy Eyes, ROUTINE, The Séance of Blake Manor, UNBEATABLE

The shortlisted nominees for 'Best Voice Acting' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Arctic Awakening Dispatch Rosewater The Drifter The Haunting of Joni Evers UNBEATABLE Our live ceremony is made possible thanks to @gamemaker.io - Will we see you there IRL on 25 April 2026?

The 'Best Voice Acting' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Arctic Awakening, Dispatch, Rosewater, The Drifter, The Haunting of Joni Evers, and UNBEATABLE

The shortlisted nominees for 'Award for Accessibility' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... Adventure to Fate: Dungeons an unplayable game?! Laser Dance Squeakross: Home Squeak Home Trash Goblin Wednesdays Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our ceremony possible. See you there 25 Apr 2026!

The 'Award for Accessibility' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring; Adventure to Fate: Dungeons, an unplayable game?!, Laser Dance, Squeakross: Home Squeak Home, Trash Goblin, and Wednesdays

The shortlisted nominees for 'Award for Mental Health' at Debug's 2026 Indie Game Awards are... and Roger Citizen Sleeper 2 Constance Wanderstop Wednesdays Without a Dawn Thank you to @gamemaker.io for making our 2026 ceremony possible. See you there IRL on 25 April 2026!

The 'Award for Mental Health' nominees for Debug's Indie Game Awards 2026, featuring: and Roger, Citizen Sleeper 2, Constance, Wanderstop, Wednesdays, and Without a Dawn

We’re adding a category to our IRL awards ceremony… The Bluesky’s Choice Award! And all you have to do is reply here with the game you believe deserves to win. You don’t even have to follow us 😉 *one nomination per account* *game must have released in 2025* *nominations close 31 Jan 2026*

The trophy for the Debug Indie Game Awards

At their core, our awards exist to celebrate the people behind the games, their craft, creativity, and the human effort that brings these projects to life. Whilst we understand that the tools used to make games evolve over time, we choose to celebrate those made without the use of generative AI.

The spreads have been sheeted. And the entry cost yeeted… Yes, you read that right. Thrown away. Gone. Vanished into the void. Tickets to Debug’s 2026 Indie Game Awards are officially FREE No catch. Just brilliant games and a stage ready to celebrate them! Details drop Thursday

Josh Strife Hayes hosting Debug’s Indie Game Awards in February 2025