First Nominees for German Developer Award 2023 announced

The first batch of nominations for the German Developer Award 2023 has been announced: "Dome Keeper" by Bippinbits from Radeberg and "Signalis" by rose-engine from Hamburg received the most nominations. The nominees for "Best German Game" and "Studio of the Year" will follow after the Grand Jury has met.

The first nominations for the German Developer Award 2023 have been announced. Twelve expert juries selected the contenders for the best computer games of the year from 187 submissions. From now on, it is the turn of the 160-member "Grand Jury". It nominates the games for the category "Best German Game" as well as for "Studio of the Year". These nominations will be announced on 16 November 2023. Games that were developed primarily in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) are eligible for the award. The grand awards ceremony will take place on 7 December 2023 at the Flora in Cologne. Tickets are available in advance.

This year, the prize will be awarded in 14 categories. Both "Dome Keeper" by Bippinbits from Radeberg and "Signalis" by rose-engine from Hamburg can look forward to three nominations each. Of the 33 nominations so far this year, eleven are from North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by seven from Hamburg and six from Berlin.

Best German Game and Studio of the Year

• The nominees will be determined by the Grand Jury and announced on 16 November 2023.

Best Indie Game

• "Chained Echoes" (Matthias Linda, Ratingen - NRW)
• "Dome Keeper" (Bippinbits, Radeberg - Saxony)
• "Signalis" (rose-engine, Hamburg)

Best Casual Game

• "Spells & Secrets" (Alchemist Interactive, Düsseldorf - NRW)
• "Sticky Business" (Spellgarden Games, Stuttgart - Baden-Württemberg)
• "Thronefall" (Grizzly Games, Berlin)

Best Game Beyond Entertainment

• "Duru - About Mulle and Depression" (Twisted Ramble Games, Berlin)
• "Friedrich Ebert - The Road to Democracy" (Playing History, Berlin)
• "Nature? Political." (Tiny Crocodile Studios, Berlin)

Best Game Design

• "Chained Echoes" (Matthias Linda, Ratingen - NRW)
• "Dome Keeper" (Bippinbits, Radeberg - Saxony)
• "Everspace 2" (Rockfish Games, Hamburg)

Best Audio Design

• "The Settlers: New Alliances" (Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf - NRW)
• "Fall of Porcupine" (Critical Rabbit (Buntsprecht), Cologne - NRW)
• "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew" (Mimimi Games, Munich - Bavaria)

Best graphics

• "The Settlers: New Alliances" (Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf - NRW)
• "Signalis" (rose-engine, Hamburg)
• "Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew" (Mimimi Games, Munich - Bavaria)

Best Story

• "Ad Infinitum" (Hekate, Berlin)
• "Fall of Porcupine" (Critical Rabbit, Cologne - NRW)
• "Signalis" (rose-engine, Hamburg)

Best Technical Achievement

• "Everspace 2" (Rockfish Games, Hamburg)
• "Farming Simulator 22 - Platinum Edition" (Giants Software, Schlieren - Switzerland)
• Railway Empire 2](/game/railway-empire-2)" (Gaming Minds Studios, Gütersloh - NRW)

Innovation Award

• "Dome Keeper" (Bippinbits, Radeberg - Saxony)
• "Marble Maze" (Fox-Assembly, Hamburg)
• "Touch Type Tale - Strategic Typing" (Pumpernickel Studio, Münster - NRW)

Special Prize for Social Commitment

• Andreas Gottschalt (Halberstadt - Saxony-Anhalt)
• GAME:IN (Cologne - NRW)
• Loot for the World (Berlin)

Ubisoft Newcomer Award

• "Misgiven" (Symmetry Break Studio, Hamburg)
• "Tiny Bookshop" (neoludic Games, Cologne - NRW)
• "Tom the postgirl" (Oopsie Daisies Studio, Zurich - Switzerland)

As in previous years, the NRW Promotional Prize for Young Developers will be awarded without nominations.

The DEP has been awarded for outstanding computer games since 2004. The organiser of the award is games.nrw e.V., the interest group of the digital games industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. "The award is supported by the great commitment of the games industry. Numerous experts from the industry work voluntarily on the juries. In addition, many companies support the prize as partners and sponsors," says the announcement.