Anno 117, The Darkest Files and Tiny Bookshop nominated for DCP Game of the Year

The jury has made its decision and announced the nominees for this year’s Deutscher Computerspielpreis (DCP; German Computer Game Award). Among the multiple nominees are Anno 117, The Darkest Files and Tiny Bookshop – the three games which are also nominated as Game of the Year. In the non-monetary international category, the internationally acclaimed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could also win the DCP.

“I congratulate all the nominees on their outstanding achievements and am delighted that so many of them are games funded by the Federal Government. This year’s nominations show that federal funding is having an impact and that high-quality games are being developed in Germany more than ever before,” says Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär, who is politically responsible for the DCP.

Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – the Association of the German Games Industry, adds: “Across all categories, this year’s German Computer Game Awards provide impressive evidence of the enormous strengths of games from Germany: whether it be superb entertainment, masterful technical execution, or games that skilfully place the current issues of our time at the centre of their stories. This underlines once again that the German games industry has great potential to rank among the world’s best in games development. We congratulate the nominees and look forward to celebrating all the teams in style on the grand stage of the DCP.”

“This year’s nominees reflect the enormous breadth and excellence of German games development. We see games that boldly push the boundaries of technological standards, spark socially relevant discourse and break new ground artistically,” said Prof. Dr Sabiha Ghellal, Chair of the Jury for the German Computer Game Award 2026. “We want to honour these great talents of the games industry and their outstanding significance for our culture, technological progress and economy at the ceremonial presentation of the German Computer Game Award 2026.”

All DCP 2026 nominees

Best German Game ( €100,000 for the winner, €30,000 each for the other two nominees):

• Anno 117: Pax Romana (Ubisoft Mainz / Ubisoft)
• The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)
• Tiny Bookshop (neoludic games / Skystone Games)

Studio of the Year (€50,000 for the winner):

• ByteRockers' Games
• Happy Broccoli Games
• weltenbauer. Software Development

Best Family Game (€40,000 for the winner):

• Flick Shot Rogues (Butter By The Fish / Noodlecake Studios)
• Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure (Massive Miniteam / HandyGames)
• Ruffy and the Riverside (Zockrates Laboratories / Phiphen Games)

Rising Star Award: Best Debut (€60,000 for the winner, €25,000 each for the two other nominees):

• Causal Loop (Mirebound / Headup)
• Constance (Blue Backpack / ByteRockers’ Games)
• Tiny Bookshop (neoludic games / Skystone Games)

Young Talent Award: Best Prototype (prize money of €50,000 for the winner, €25,000 each for the four other nominees):

• Burn With Me (Eva Manuilovich, Ivan Bushmin, Nikita Melnikov)
• Cards and Cannons (Anica Gritzki, Jennifer Seeber, Luca Schmidt, Lucas Thieme, Jan-Ivo Lattek, Julian Seidel / HTW Berlin / DE:HIVE)
• Garden Ink (Arne Jürgens, Sven Mehlhorn)
• Heart Drive (Jonas Pfeiffer / HAW Hamburg)
• UnderPressure (Aaliyah Schäfer, Romy Scherwat, Lea Eschlberger, Tim Richter, Fabius Sachs, Felina Westrich, Malvina Arakelian, Rosalie Stallmann / Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences)

Best Innovation and Technology (€40,000 for the winner):

• Anno 117: Pax Romana (Ubisoft Mainz / Ubisoft)
• Firefighting Simulator: Ignite (weltenbauer. software entwicklung / astragon Entertainment)
• How to God (Thoughtfish)

Best Audio Design (€40,000 for the winner):

• Anno 117: Pax Romana (Ubisoft Mainz / Ubisoft)
• Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping (Happy Broccoli Games)
• EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients (ROCKFISH Games)

Best Game Design (€40,000 for the winner):

• Slots & Daggers (Friedemann / Future Friends Games)
• Super Meat Boy 3D (Sluggerfly / Headup)
• The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)

Best Graphic Design (€40,000 for the winner):

• Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure (Massive Miniteam / HandyGames)
• The Berlin Apartment (Blue Backpack / ByteRockers’ Games)
• The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)

Best Mobile Game (€40,000 for the winner):

• Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping (Happy Broccoli Games)
• MicroMacro: Downtown Detective (Soft Boiled Games)
• Ponchorado (seal Media)

Best Story (€40,000 for the winner):

• PEPPERED (Mostly Games)
• The Berlin Apartment (Blue Backpack / ByteRockers’ Games)
• The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)

Best Serious Game (€40,000 for the winner):

• Pictures VR (Modest Minds)
• The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)
• Umfeld (RheinMain University of Applied Sciences)

Player of the Year (non-monetary award):

• Copeylius
• Dennsen86
• Felikah
• JenNyan

Best International Game (non-monetary award):

• Blue Prince (Dogubomb / RAW FURY)
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios / PLAION)