The widly popular virtual card game Balatro has won Game of the Year at the 25th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) for 2025, just after “Consume Me” received the top prize at the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGFA). Both awards ceremonies took place Wednesday, March 19, 2025 during the Game Developers Conference at San Francisco’s Moskone Center. Balatro also won awards for Best Debut, Innovation, and Best Design. Team ASOBI’s Astro Bot was the runner-up in total wins for the night, taking Best Audio and Best Technology.

From LocalThunk and Playstack, Balatro is a indie roguelike deckbuilding game, offering a “unique spin on the timeless card game Poker where players build unique decks with a variety of distinct cards to score points and defeat blinds within the roguelike gameplay.”

Other winners included Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science) for Best Visual Art, Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS) for Best Narrative, Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) for Social Impact, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) won the Audience Award.

GDCA also honored writer and director Sam Lake with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Lucas Pope with the Pioneer Award.

Earlier in the evening, the 27th annual Independent Games Festival, creator Jenny Jiao Hsia’s Consume Me won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game.

2025 Game Developers Choice Award winners

Best Debut Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)	Best Visual Art Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Best Audio Astro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)	Best Narrative Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Social Impact Award Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)	Innovation Award Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Best Technology Astro Bot (PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)	Best Design Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Audience Award Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)	Game of the Year Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Pioneer Award Lucas Pope	Lifetime Achievement Award Sam Lake

27th annual IGF Awards

Excellence in Visual Art ($2,000) Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)	Excellence in Audio ($2,000) Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
Excellence in Design ($2,000) Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)	Excellence in Narrative ($2,000) Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
Nuovo Award ($2,000) Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)	Best Student Game ($2,000) Slot Waste (Vinny Roca)
Audience Award ($2,000) The WereCleaner (The WereCleaner Team / USC Games)	alt.ctrl.GDC Award ($2,000) ChromaCorp (Art Center)
Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($10,000) Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)