Resident Evil Requiem leads with five nominations
Borderlands 4 and Crimson Desert each secure four nominations
Three nominations go to Donkey Kong Bananza, Hela and Mario Kart World

The nominees for the gamescom award 2025 have been announced! An international jury of top games journalists and content creators has selected the most promising and creative titles of the year from a large number of submissions.

Resident Evil Requiem from Capcom Entertainment is the standout in the ARTS category group, earning nominations across multiple categories, including Best Visuals, Best Audio, Best Gameplay and Most Epic.

In the PLATFORM category group, Borderlands 4 by Gearbox Software/2K, Crimson Desert by Pearl Abyss, and Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree by Brownies Inc. /Bandai Namco Entertainment are among the titles vying for the trophies.

The GLOBAL categories have been expanded for 2025. In addition to the HEART OF GAMING Award, they now include new jury categories such as Best Lineup, Best Booth (Jury Award) and Best Business Booth. In the consumer categories Best Trailer/Announcement and the new Best Merch and Best Booth (Consumer Award), winners are decided exclusively by the community.

From Wednesday, August 20 to Thursday, August 21, at 2:00 PM (CEST), gamescom fans and visitors can vote for their favorites in the ARTS and PLATFORM categories, along with Best Booth (Consumer Award), Best Merch and Best Trailer/Announcement. Votes can be submitted online at www.gamescom.global and on-site via QR code.

These are the nominees for the gamescom awards 2025:

ARTS category group

Best Visuals

Borderlands 4 – Gearbox Software/2K
Bye Sweet Carole – Little Sewing Machine/Maximum Entertainment
Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
MIO: Memories In Orbit – Douze Dixièmes/Focus Entertainment
Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment

Best Audio

Cairn – The Game Bakers
Little Nightmares 3 – Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco Entertainment
Phantom Blade Zero – S-Game
Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment
Rockbeasts – Lichthund/Team17

Best Gameplay

Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo
Hela – Windup/Knights Peak
Mario Kart World – Nintendo
PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant – Bippinbits/Kepler Interactive
Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment

Most Entertaining

Dispatch – AdHoc Studio
Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo
Grounded 2 – Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
Hela – Windup/Knights Peak
Mario Kart World – Nintendo

Most Epic

Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
Dune: Awakening – Funcom
Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment
Super Meat Boy 3D – Sluggerfly, Team Meat/Headup Games
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment

Most Wholesome

Hela – Windup/Knights Peak
Is This Seat Taken? – Poti Poti Studio/Wholesome Games Presents
Star Birds – Toukana Interactive
Tiny Bookshop – neoludic games/Skystone Games, 2P Games
Winter Burrow – Pine Creek Games/Noodlecake

Games for Impact

Cairn – The Game Bakers
Forever Skies – Far From Home
Hollow Home – Twigames/Galaktus
Monowave – Studio BBB
Tiny Bookshop – neoludic games/Skystone Games, 2P Games

PLATFORM category group

Best Microsoft Xbox Game

Borderlands 4 – Gearbox Software/2K
Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
Grounded 2 – Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
Little Nightmares 3 – Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco Entertainment
Ninja Gaiden 4 – PlatinumGames, Team Ninja/Xbox Game Studios

Best PC Game

Anno 117: Pax Romana – Ubisoft Mainz/Ubisoft
Borderlands 4 – Gearbox Software/2K
PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant – Bippinbits/Kepler Interactive
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree – Brownies Inc. /Bandai Namco Entertainment
World of Warcraft – Blizzard Entertainment/Activision Blizzard

Best Sony PlayStation Game

Borderlands 4 – Gearbox Software/2K
Crimson Desert – Pearl Abyss
Cronos: The New Dawn – Bloober Team
Pragmata – Capcom Entertainment
Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment

Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game

Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo
Mario Kart World – Nintendo
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree – Brownies Inc. /Bandai Namco Entertainment
Winter Burrow – Pine Creek Games/Noodlecake

Best Mobile Game

Arknights: Endfield – Hypergryph/Gryphline
Dungeon Clawler – Stray Fawn/Stray Fawn Publishing, Playworks
Genshin Impact – HoYoverse
Love and Deepspace – Papergames/Infold Games
Servant of the Lake – Rusty Lake

GLOBAL category group

Best Lineup (Jury Award)
The award for Best Lineup goes to the exhibitor with the most compelling overall portfolio of titles as determined by the jury.

Best Booth (Jury Award)
This category recognizes the booth that demonstrates outstanding originality, innovation and attention to detail, with the winner standing out for its exceptional interplay of concept, design and creative execution.

Best Business Booth (Jury Award)
This award honors the most outstanding booth in the business area, distinguished by its original, innovative design and well-executed concept. Key evaluation criteria include creativity, attention to detail, innovative elements, and a carefully crafted booth presentation.

HEART OF GAMING Award (Special Jury Award)
The special jury award is open to all gamescom highlights, including games, expansions, technologies, individuals, organizations, companies, concepts and ideas.

Best Booth (Consumer Award)
The community selects the most striking booth at gamescom for this award. The winner is a booth that attracts significant attention with its size, design or fan engagement and leaves the best overall impression on visitors.

Voting is open for a wide range of booths throughout the entertainment area. You can cast your vote here from Wednesday, August 20 to Thursday, August 21 at 2:00 PM (CEST)

Best Merch (Consumer Award)
In this category, products are celebrated for their creative design, originality and clear connection to the game or franchise. Award-worthy items include exclusive gamescom merchandise or innovative products that visitors love to use and present. You can cast your vote here from Wednesday, August 20 to Thursday, August 21 at 2:00 PM (CEST)

Best Trailer/Announcement (Consumer Award)
The gamescom community votes for the coolest game trailer or the best new game announcement presented at gamescom. All trailers and announcements featured during gamescom Opening Night Live may be voted on. You can cast your vote here from Wednesday, August 20 to Thursday, August 21 at 2:00 PM (CEST)

For questions, please contact:   

Benjamin Rostalski, Tobias Lo Coco 
Awardbüro gamescom award
c/o Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur gGmbH
Marburger Str. 2 | 10789 Berlin | Germany
+49 173 48 27 862 | +49 30 23 62 58 94 14
rostalski@stiftung-digitale-spielekultur.de | award@gamescom.de