Today, Games for Change has revealed the 2025 Games for Change Awards finalists.
The 2025 Games for Change Awards focus on eleven different categories. Over 800 games from 55 countries were submitted and evaluated for their impact on society. Games for Change looked at each game submitted and determined the ones that gave players and communities the best tools to make an impact on the world.
These are the finalists for the 2025 Games for Change Awards in each category, along with the developers:
- Best Narrative:
- 1000xResist (sunset visitor 斜陽遊客)
- Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios)
- Indika (Odd Meter)
- Best In Innovation:
- Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)
- In the Current of Being (Cameron Kostopoulos)
- Phoenix Springs (Calligram Studio)
- Best In Learning:
- Star Stuff (Animo Games Studio)
- Tablecraft (Not Suspicious)
- Neohaven Noodles (Preloaded)
- Best In Impact
- 1000xResist (sunset visitor 斜陽遊客)
- Umfeld social environment (Hochschule RheinMain)
- Velvet 89 (Charles Games, People in Need)
- Best In Health and Wellness
- DigiCare (prefrontal cortex GmbH)
- Simfonik (Within Touching Distance)
- Vampire Therapist (Little Bat Games)
- Best In Civics
- Two Falls Nishu Takuatshina (Unreliable Narrators)
- Kingdom of Rizi (Torpor Games)
- Nuclear Negotiator (Jollywise)
- Best Gameplay
- Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios)
- Neva (Nomada Studio)
- Botany Manor (Balloon Studios)
- Best Platform-Based Project
- Art Leap by the Belvedere Museum in Roblox (Exclusible)
- Minecraft National Park (Minecraft)
- Seattle Children’s Hospital Minecraft Server (Hive Games and Mojang Studios)
- Best Student Project
- Prší (Herdek Kolektiv)
- Draconian Times (Zach Cohen)
- The WereCleaner (The WereCleaner Team)
- Best In Environmental Impact
- Crab God (Chaos Theory Games)
- Bloom: The Saga of the Fertilizer Economy (Field Day Lab)
- Creatures of Ava (Inverge Studios)
- Best In XR
- Tablecraft (Not Suspicious)
- Traces: The Grief Processor (Couzin Studio)
- Impulse: Playing with Reality (Anagram)
Games for Change President Susanna Pollack shared her thoughts on the 2025 Games for Change Awards:
“As our community has expanded worldwide, so has the impact and breadth of the games we celebrate. This year’s finalists demonstrate the power of games and immersive experiences to address both local and global challenges. With creators from four continents tackling everything from environmental sustainability to mental health, these projects demonstrate how powerful this medium can be to explore complex issues. What impresses me the most is how the finalists blend immense creativity with purpose. These are both great games and a gateway to understanding and acting on some of today’s most pressing challenges.”
Pat Swinney Kaufman, the commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, congratulated the winners and spoke about the upcoming event:
“Congratulations to the G4C Festival Awards Finalists! Our office is a proud, long-term partner of Games for Change as we share a common goal to support digital game development and make NYC a global hub for the industry. Games for Change is a tentpole event in our ‘NYC Summer of Games’ initiative, which brings awareness to all the digital gaming-based events taking place throughout the city in the summer months, kicking off on May 31 with the first-ever NYC Video Game Festival.”
The 2025 Games for Change Awards will be held on June 26, 2025, at 6:30 pm ET. It’ll be streamed live for audiences on Twitch.
For more industry news, check out the Xbox Social Hub that was launched last year and the latest collaboration between the Japanese government and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.