Tandem Events has announced the Develop:Star awards 2023 finalists. A panel of industry and game dev experts decided on the finalists across 20 different categories, and the vote is now open. Voting closes on May 31, and the winners will be announced on July 12 during Develop:Brighton.
Notable nominations include eight nominations for Sony Interactive Entertainment, more than anyone else. Developer Roll7 have six nominations, while Bethesda, ustwo games, and Team 17 have five each.
“This year’s finalists show the incredible breadth and depth of what the game dev industry can achieve, and we can’t wait to celebrate with the community when we announce the winners in July,” said Tandem Events Managing Director Andy Lane. You can see the full list of finalists below.
Develop:Star awards 2023 finalists
Best Studio
- Codemasters
- Creative Assembly
- FuturLab
- INTERIOR/NIGHT
- Roll7
- Santa Monica Studio
- Sumo Digital
- ustwo games
Best Small Studio
- Awaceb
- Black Salt Games
- Max Inferno
- Nosebleed Interactive
- Purple Yonder
- Wales Interactive
Best Game
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarök
-
IMMORTALITY
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- PowerWash Simulator
- Rollerdrome
- Tchia
- Vampire Survivors
Publishing Star
- Curve Games
- Kepler Interactive
- Kwalee
- nDreams
- No More Robots
- Playstack
- Private Division
- Team17 Digital
Best Mobile Game
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Farmside
- Hunt & Seek
- Magic Spellslingers
- MARVEL Snap
- Mighty DOOM
Best Game Design
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Rollerdrome
- Vampire Survivors
Best Original IP
- A Little to the Left
- As Dusk Falls
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Rollerdrome
- Tchia
Best Narrative
- As Dusk Falls
- Desta: The Memories Between
- Gerda: A Flame in Winter
- God of War Ragnarök
- IMMORTALITY
- The Quarry
Best Visual Art
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- Rollerdrome
- Scorn
Best Audio
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- DREDGE
- God of War Ragnarök
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- IMMORTALITY
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Rollerdrome
Best QA & Localisation
- Keywords Studios
- LocalizeDirect
- Player Research
- PTW
- Testronic
- Universally Speaking
Best Technical Innovation
- Eternal Threads
- God of War Ragnarök
- Gotham Knights
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- The Quarry
Best Technology Provider
- GameMaker
- PopcornFX
- Speech Graphics
- Unity
- Unreal Engine
Best Creative Provider
- Airship Interactive
- Atomhawk
- d3t
- SIDE
- Soundcuts
- Studio Gobo
- Warp Digital
Diversity Star
- Brandon Cole – Into Games
- Cari Watterton – Rebellion
- Dom Shaw – Ukie
- Kirsty Kirby – Lab42 Games
- Ladell Smith – Auroch Digital
- Marie-Claire Isaaman – Women in Games
- Tamsin O’Luanaigh – nDreams
- Zakia Abdullah – Pixelynx
Sustainability Star
- Green17
- Hutch Games
- Imagine Earth
- PlanetPlay
- Sports Interactive
- Sumo Group
- Ubisoft
- ustwo games
Recruitment Star
- Aardvark Swift Recruitment
- Amiqus
- Datascope Recruitment
- Games Jobs Direct
- One Player Mission – OPM
- Skillsearch Limited
Talent Development Star
- Andy Driver – XR Games
- Anita McIntyre – Airship Interactive
- Double Eleven
- Fiona Turner – Dovetail Games
- nDreams Academy
- Payload Studios
- Splash Damage
- Sumo Group
Marketing Star
- Ben Symons – Dovetail Games
- Caitlin Stratford – Bithell Games
- Plan of Attack
- Claire Sharkey – Creative Assembly/Freelance
- Courtney O’Connor – Supermassive Games
- Etch Play
- nDreams
- YRS TRULY
Tomorrow’s Star
- Chloe Sinclair – Firesprite
- Flo Burchill – Snap Finger Click
- Hannah Corcoran – Auroch Digital
- Harry Foster – 10:10 Games
- Holly O’Neill – Media Molecule
- Natalie Dodd – Dovetail Games
- Sara Veal – Uplift Games
- Shaye Poulton Richards – INTERIOR/NIGHT
The Develop Star Award
- Guerrilla
For more beyond the Develop:Star awards 2023 finalists, check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review for a full deep dive into what may be the biggest game of the year.