Friday, 1 September 2023 – The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) celebrates the finalists for the 2023 Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs). The AGDAs are set to be held on October 4, 6.30pm AEDT at the Forum Melbourne, as a part of Melbourne International Games Week celebrations. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be live streamed on the IGEA Twitch channel. The awards span 13 game categories and four Career and Culture awards, with the goal of highlighting the contributions of our local talent.
“The AGDAs are Australian video game excellence on display, a chance to celebrate successes as an industry and reflect on the year that has been,” said Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA. “Every year we come together to celebrate local talent and lift them onto the pedestal that they deserve. IGEA is proud of the Australian video games industry and its contribution to the local economy. The AGDAs are our chance to celebrate the creativity and technical capabilities of the teams and individuals making world class games right here in Australia and enjoyed all over the world. This is my favourite event of the year.”
While there are many categories to celebrate at the AGDAs, the coveted Australian Game of the Year award includes four nominees: Gubbins by Studio Folly, Moving Out 2 by SMG studio, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical by Summerfall Studios, and Vactics by Lemur Conspiracy. All four finalists have received high praise from the AGDAs judging panel along with nominations in multiple other categories.
As we celebrate the pinnacle of excellence in the industry, IGEA also highlights upcoming local talent with the Excellence in Emerging Games award. This year there are three nominees, Final Profit: A Shop RPG by Brent Arnold, Partum Artifex by DalaKoala Games, and Rooftop Renegade by Melonhead Games. Each game is a prime example of the future of the Australian video game industry.
IGEA is delighted to welcome Gemma Driscoll from Good Game Spawn Point, and Harry Jun, the host of ABC Gamer’s Loot Drop, as the 2023 AGDAs presenters. Gemma, with five year’s experience working within the industry, has a deep passion for education and entertaining Australia’s young gamers. Comedian Harry Jun comes off of sold out runs at the Sydney Comedy festival in both 2022 and 2023 and has performed in venues all across Australia.
This year the panel of judges includes over 80 industry professionals, with varied specialisations in games development and journalism. IGEA believes in a transparent and fair judging system, click here to learn more about how we strive to achieve this.
IGEA presents the 2023 AGDAs finalists, please see the full list below.
Excellence in ART
Excellence in GAMEPLAY
Excellence in NARRATIVE
Excellence in SOUND DESIGN (Presented by APRA AMCOS)
Excellence in MUSIC (Presented by APRA AMCOS)
Excellence in TECHNICAL DESIGN
Excellence in ACCESSIBILITY (Presented by VicScreen)
Excellence in EMERGING GAMES
Excellence in IMPACTFUL GAMES
Excellence in MOBILE GAMES
Excellence in AR/VR
Excellence in ONGOING Games
GAME OF THE YEAR
Media spokespeople available:
MEDIA CONTACTS
Felicia McEntire
felicia@doublejump.com.au
0455 143 650
Paul Jones
paul@doublejump.com.au
0411 348 155
About IGEA
IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) is the peak industry association representing the voice of Australian and New Zealand companies in the computer and video games industry. IGEA supports the games industry’s business and public policy interests through advocacy, research and education programs. For more information, please visit www.igea.net
Thank you to our Sponsors!
As always, we couldn’t bring you the AGDAs without the generous support of our AGDAs 2023 sponsors:
VicScreen, Ultimate Studio, Supercell, Sledgehammer Games, Creative Victoria, City of Port Phillip & APRA AMCOS
