The nominees for the Deutscher Entwicklerpreis 2025 (German Developer Award) have been announced. From 244 submissions, the expert juries selected the best computer games of the year from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The 175-strong "Grand Jury" will now begin its work. This jury will also select the nominees for the most important category, 'Best German Game', from all the entries, with the nominees to be announced on 3 November 2025.
From 244 submissions - eleven more than last year - the juries nominated twenty titles that could win one of the trophies. The Darkest Files, from Berlin-based studio Paintbucket Games, has received the most nominations with four. Herdling from Okomotive in Zurich and Tiny Bookshop from Neoludic Games in Cologne are each in the running with three nominations. CipSoft in Regensburg, the Zurich-based studio Stray Fawn, and Toukana Interactive in Berlin have been nominated for Studio of the Year.
The awards ceremony will take place on 2 December 2025 at the Gürzenich in Cologne. Numerous guests of honour and leading figures from the German gaming industry, as well as the nominees, are expected to attend. The Deutscher Entwicklerpreis (German Developer Award) has been presented annually since 2004. It recognises exceptional contributions to the development of video and computer games in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The award is politically independent and supported by the games industry. The award ceremony is organised by games.nrw e.V., an interest group that represents the digital games industry in North Rhine-Westphalia.
All Nominations for the Deutscher Entwicklerpreis 2025
Bestes Deutsches Spiel / Best German Game
The nominations for this category will be announced on 3 November 2025.
Studio des Jahres / Studio of the Year
- CipSoft (Regensburg - Bavaria)
- Stray Fawn Studio (Zürich - Switzerland)
- Toukana Interactive (Berlin)
Bestes Indie Game / Best Indie Game
- Henry Halfhead (Lululu Entertainment, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Herdling (Okomotive, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Tiny Bookshop (Neoludic Games, Köln - NRW)
Bestes Casual Game / Best Casual Game
- Bauhaus Bonk (Spoonful Games, Köln - NRW)
- Dungeon Clawler (Stray Fawn Studio, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Paddle Paddle Paddle (ZoroArts, Duisburg - NRW)
Bestes Game Beyond Entertainment / Best Game Beyond Entertainment
- Deine Stimme (Sebastian Grünwald, München - Bavaria)
- Rascal's Escape - Frechdachs auf Reisen (The Good Evil, Köln - NRW)
- The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)
Bestes Audiodesign / Best Audio Design
- Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping (Happy Broccoli Games, Berlin)
- Herdling (Okomotive, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Look Mum No Computer (The Bitfather, Nettetal - NRW)
Bestes Gamedesign / Best Game Design
- Herdling (Okomotive, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders (Megagon Industries, Berlin)
- The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)
Beste Grafik / Best Visuals
- Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure (Massive Miniteam, Pulheim - NRW)
- The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)
- Tiny Bookshop (Neoludic Games, Köln - NRW)
Beste Story / Best Story
- Drova - Forsaken Kin (Just2D Interactive, Magdeburg - Saxony-Anhalt)
- Mindlock - The Apartment (Roof Cut Media, Neunkirchen - Saarland)
- The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)
- Firefighting Simulator: Ignite (Weltenbauer Software Entwicklung, Wiesbaden - Hesse)
- Landwirtschafts-Simulator 25 (Giants Software, Schlieren/Zürich - Switzerland)
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders (Megagon Industries, Berlin)
Innovationspreis / Innovation Award
- Dungeon Clawler (Stray Fawn Studio, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Henry Halfhead (Lululu Entertainment, Zürich - Switzerland)
- Tiny Bookshop (Neoludic Games, Köln - NRW)
Ubisoft Newcomer Award
- Media Circus (Papercoda Games, Köln - NRW)
- Seaward (The Roof Interactive, Berlin)
- Stuntboost (Byting Games, Kempten - Bavaria)
Sonderpreis der Jury / Special Jury Prize
- FemDevsMeetup
- Game Two
- Giving Back and Accessibility
- Lisa "Saraphyna" Riehm
- Serenad Yilmaz
- Team Dully & Dax
