The DevGAMM Awards 2026 nominees are out — 70 games from 25 countries — and the numbers tell a striking story about where games actually come from: more than half of the nominated titles were developed by teams of five or fewer.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 18 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT, with IGN serving as the official streaming partner on IGN.com and YouTube.
DevGAMM Awards (Credits: IGN)
DevGAMM Awards 2026: 70 Nominees, $140,000 on the Line
The nominees were chosen from a record 1,088 submissions by 987 teams across 80 countries. This year’s show features $100,000 in cash prizes supported by Scorewarrior, plus more than $40,000 in sponsored category prizes from Epic Games Store, Unreal Engine, tinyBuild, Unity, and Godot.
Early standouts named among the 70 include IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator (Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos), Worming from Home (Zach Northrop and Mason Sabharwal), and inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories (Nagai Industries).
Expect Exclusive Game Announcements
The ceremony promises more than trophies: alongside honoring the games and studios, the show will feature exclusive game announcements and major updates. For indie fans, that’s a reason to tune in even if you don’t follow the awards themselves.
The five-or-fewer stat is the real headline, though. In an industry dominated by layoff headlines and mega-budget blockbusters, the DevGAMM shortlist is a reminder that the most interesting games often come from the smallest teams.
The full nominee list is available on the DevGAMM Awards website.
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Source: IGN — read the full story there.
