- 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
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:
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
- 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
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
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 Prize)
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)
Your contact for inquiries:
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
About gamescom:
gamescom is the world’s largest and leading event for computer and video games. It brings together the international gaming community and entire games industry in a unique way, both in person in Cologne and digitally.. gamescom 2025 will take place from August 20 to 24. The event will kick off on August 19, 2025 with gamescom Opening Night Live. gamescom is jointly organized by Koelnmesse and game – The German Games Industry Association.
Koelnmesse – industry trade fairs for the gaming sector:
Koelnmesse is an international leader in organising trade fairs in the gaming and entertainment segments. Hosted at the trade fair grounds in Cologne, Germany, gamescom is the world’s largest event for computer and video games and Europe’s largest business platform for the games industry. gamescom brings together passionate gamers, trade visitors, and exhibitors from across the world with a highly effective approach – in person at the venue and digitally from anywhere in the world. This makes gamescom the premier B2C, B2B, and B2G gaming event. In addition to the event at its Cologne headquarters, Koelnmesse is strategically expanding its portfolio internationally: In Singapore, gamescom asia provides an additional powerful industry platform for the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific games market, comprehensively combining supply and demand. Koelnmesse Brasil is a subsidiary of Koelnmesse GmbH in São Paulo, dedicated to promoting and organising world-class trade fairs and events in Brazil. The mission is to bring global innovation, knowledge and business opportunities to various industries.
game – The German Games Industry Association
We are the association of the German games industry. Our members represent the entire video game ecosystem, from development studios and publishers to esports event organisers, educational institutions and other related entities. We are co-organisers of gamescom, the world’s biggest event for video games. We are a shareholder in the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, the esports player foundation, game events and the collecting society VHG, as well as co-host of the German Computer Game Awards. Serving as a central point of contact for media, as well as political and social institutions, we provide comprehensive expertise in areas including market development, game culture and media literacy, and address any inquiries or concerns. Together we are making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide. With games, we enrich the lives of all people.
Further information:
www.gamescom.global
The next events:
devcom, Cologne, Germany, 17.-19.08.2025
gamescom, Cologne, Germany 20.-24.08.2025
gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show, Bangkok, Thailand, 16.-19.10.2025
gamescom latam, São Paulo, Brazil 29.04.-03.05.2026
Note for editorial offices:
gamescom photos are available here: Image and video database | gamescom
Press releases can be found at: Press releases gamescom - If you reprint this document, please send us a sample copy.