The 2024 Mobile GameDev Awards is now in its third year and excitement is growing as Liftoff (the founder of the awards) has announced the finalists across all major categories. The awards aim to recognize and celebrate innovation within mobile games, and past winners include the developers Zynga, Scopely, and FunPlus.
The winners of the latest batch of awards, which will spotlight the best mobile games of recent years, will be unveiled on March 11, 2024. A panel of expert games analysts decided upon the nominations across ten categories, with a focus on games that were able to provide outstanding achievements in event design and innovation. As Brendan Fraher, General Manager at GameRefinery, explains, “Events play a vital part in user acquisition and monetization strategies for mobile game studios, but more importantly, they keep players entertained by delivering quality experiences and new content. Pulling off successful events.”
With that in mind, you’ll undoubtedly see a number of your favorite titles listed across the nominations, along with what you might perceive as snubs. For example, while Genshin Impact has two nominations, fellow Hoyoverse title Honkai Star Rail doesn’t have any, and neither does the event-heavy game Pokémon Go.
The judging panel utilized GameRefinery’s Live Events Tracker, a competitive intelligence tool that provides detailed analysis of live events and trends in mobile games, to select the finalists. This tool helps game developers analyze the impact of live events on revenue, download figures, and in-app purchases for the most popular mobile games in the Midcore and Casual categories.
The full nominations are as follows:
Best Collaboration Event (Midcore):
- PUBG x Dragon Ball Z by Tencent
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE x NieR: Automata by Shift Up
- Free Fire x Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Garena
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang x Jujutsu Kaisen by Moonton
- State of Survival x Resident Evil by FunPlus
Best Collaboration Event (Casual):
- Stumble Guys – Constant Collabs by Scopely
- Roblox – Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon by Roblox
- Solitaire Grand Harvest x Sarah Jessica Parker by Playtika
- Eggy Party – Events in General by NetEase
- Candy Crush x Barbie by King
Best Social / Competitive Event (Midcore):
- League of Legends: Wild Rift – Arena by Riot Games
- Call of Duty Mobile – Ground War Beach by Activision
- Marvel SNAP – Conquest by Nuverse
- Brawl Stars – ChromaNoMore by Supercell
- Whiteout Survival – State of Power by Century Games
Best Social / Competitive Event (Casual):
- Monopoly GO! – Partner Event by Scopely
- Phase 10 – ShowTime! by Mattel163
- Royal Match – Lava Quest by Dream Games
- Toon Blast – Shield Clash by Zynga
- Tile Busters – Instant Duel by Spyke Games
Best Use of Narrative in an Event (Midcore):
- Cookie Run: Kingdom – Holiday Express by Devsisters
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE – Neverland: Snowfall Oasis Dating
- Simulation by Shift Up
- RAID – Call of the Arbiter by Plarium
- Genshin Impact – Exquisite Night Chimes by MiHoYo
- Call of Dragons – Seasonal stories by FARLIGHT
Best Use of Narrative in an Event (Casual):
- June’s Journey – Story-first Battle Pass by Wooga
- Matchington Mansion – The Turquoise Dream by Magic Tavern
- Lily’s Garden – Makeover Events by Tactile Games
- Homescapes – Exploration Events by Playrix
- Merge Mansion – Grannies of Anarchy by Metacore
Best Seasonal Event (Midcore):
- Last Fortress x The Boys Holiday Collab by IM30
- Whiteout Survival – Thanksgiving by Century Games
- Genshin Impact – Secret Summer Paradise by MiHoYo
- PUBG – Halloween by Tencent
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE – BBQ Master by Shift Up
Best Seasonal Event (Casual):
- Phase 10 – Winter Wonder Roll by Mattel163
- Triple Match 3D – Christmas Quest by Boombox Games
- Project Makeover – Timed Makeover (Ginger) by Magic Tavern
- Township – Chinese Celebration Merge Event by Playrix
- Lily’s Garden – Lily’s Christmas Makeover by Tactile Games
Best Minigame Event (Midcore):
- Free Fire – Pet Smash by Garena
- Diablo Immortal – Survivor’s Bane by Blizzard
- Last Fortress – Collection of Minigames by IM30
- Puzzles & Survival – Beach Tiles by 37Games
- State of Survival – Behemoth Trials by FunPlus
Best Minigame Event (Casual):
- Royal Match – Magic Cauldron by Dream Games
- Homescapes – Ranch Adventures by Playrix
- Cooking Madness – Pirate Treasure by ZenLife Games
- Survivor!.io – Summer Seaside Soiree by Habby
- Matchington Mansion – Edna’s Poems by Magic Tavern
For more mobile gaming fun, see our lists of all the latest Genshin Impact codes and Honkai Star Rail codes. Or, check out our picks for the best gacha games and best games like Genshin Impact.