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Develop:Star awards 2023 finalists are here

The Develop:Star awards 2023 bring finalists together across 20 categories for a vote which closes on May 31, with the winners announced at Develop:Brighton.

Screenshot of someone picking up an award at the Develop Star Awards 2022 for 2023 nominations

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.