Featured Image Credit: vedinad
Topics: The Game Awards, Indie Games
The Game Awards nominees are here for another year and there are some standout offerings that have taken the categories by storm.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the way with a staggering 12 nominations, including for the coveted Game of the Year prize. It has some stiff competition in that category though from games like Donkey Kong Bananza, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2 and medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Across the other categories there are a ton of games that proved to be breakout hits this year with the Best Debut award highlighting many of the standouts.
Unfortunately one of the favourites to win in that category had to withdraw after confirming that their release was not the first game they had put out.
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If you have been paying attention to games over the last year or so you will likely have seen Megabonk, the chaotic roguelike where you take on endless waves of enemies.
Developer Vedinad took to Twitter/X to confirm that he would be withdrawing his game from the category, as their previous releases under different names would render their participation in the category invalid.
"I'm withdrawing from The Game Awards. It's an honour and a dream for Megabonk to be nominated for TGA, but unfortunately I don't think it qualifies for the category 'Debut Indie Game.' I've made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game," it reads.
"I really appreciate the nomination, support and votes, but it doesn't feel right in this category. you should vote for another one of the amazing debut titles, they are all amazing games! Thanks again! New Megabonk update coming soon."
In response, Geoff Keighley confirmed the game would be removed from the category and thanked the developer for their honesty, saying, "Megabonk, a nominee for Best Debut Indie Game, reached out to clarify that he is an established solo developer who had been presenting himself as a new creator under the name Vedinad. We’re grateful for his honesty. As a result, Megabonk will be removed from the category. He’ll share more about his story when he’s ready, but we respect that he didn’t want to take recognition away from other debut teams — even though the game itself is outstanding."
There's no word yet on whether another game will replace Megabonk, or if the winner will just be chosen from the smaller pool.