Indie Game Awards reveals it first slate of nominees

The Indie Game Awards Nominee Announcement

The Indie Awards, a new ceremony created to recognize independent games, has announced its first slate of nominees. Balatro, Animal Well, 1000xResist and more will compete for Game of the Year, while several smaller games are represented in categories such as Solo Development and Bite-Sized Game.

The new show is being run by Six One Indie, a collective built to spotlight intendent games through showcases. This is the group’s first stab at an awards show, which will air on YouTube and IGN. The show debuts at 4 p.m. ET on December 19 (one week after The Game Awards). Its nominees were determined by a jury made up of publications and creators focused on indie game coverage.

The inaugural nominee list has a bit of crossover with Game Awards nominations. Balatro will compete for Game of the Year at both shows, and mainstream critical darlings like Neva and Animal Well are represented by both. The list includes much deeper cuts, though, with Arco, Nine Sols, Mouthwashing, and more padding out an impressive Game of the Year list that also features all five of the Game Awards Best Independent Game nominees.

Other categories honor much smaller projects that didn’t land nominations at The Game Awards. The nominees for Bite-Sized Game includes Buckshot Roulette and Clickolding, while Cryptmaster and Oddada are up for the show’s Innovation award. Here’s the full list of nominees.