Indie Cup announces 49 finalists for Europe’s best upcoming indie games awards
July 5, 2024 – Kyiv, Ukraine. Indie Cup, an online festival of upcoming indie games, announced 49 nominees of its Europe’24 edition. The jury board has narrowed the list from more than 450 games developed by European teams that have entered the festival.
The absolute jury favorite is ODDADA, which is a nominee in 6 different categories at once. This quirky experimental game by a small German team allows players to create melodies from landscapes, buildings, and various trinkets, weaving them together into a bespoke musical piece. ODDADA is closely followed by the picturesque Nomori (or ‘the game you get if Portal 2 and Ghibli had a baby’) with 5 nominations; Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, The Darkest Files, and Henry Halfhead all got 4 nominations each.
Browse the full list of nominees:
indiecup.net/europe/nominees
Half of the nominees this year are debut projects of their corresponding teams, with another half coming from experienced studios like Amanita Design (nominated 3 times for Phonopolis) and Brave at Night (Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall). Festival’s expansion to nearly 40 countries opened Indie Cup to a lot of new teams for the first time, with the final list of nominated games featuring titles from almost every European country.
Winners of the awards in all categories will be announced 1 August, 2024.
- Gameplay Excellence Award for the best gameplay: Nomori, The Darkest Files, Phonopolis, OVERRIDER, Henry Halfhead, Tarnished Blood, ODDADA, EcoGnomix, Fruitbus, Dreadhunter
- Rising Star Award for emerging developers: ODDADA, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, Do Not Buy This Game, Dreadhunter, Grimoire Groves, Henry Halfhead, SENTRY, Beacon Patrol, Driftwood, Nomori
- Critics’ Choice Award, selected by a panel of game journalists: The Darkest Files, Henry Halfhead, Phonopolis, ODDADA, Grunn, Gloomy Juncture, Dreadhunter, Farewell North, Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina), Telegraphist 1920: Beats of War, Luna Abyss
- Creators’ Choice Award, selected by a panel of content creators: Farewell North, Nomori, Fruitbus, Stars in the Trash, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, The Darkest Files, Pilo and the Holobook, ODDADA, Antro, Luna Abyss
- Artistic Excellence Award for the highest standard of audio and visual design: Pilo and the Holobook, Phonopolis, The Darkest Files, Hollow Survivors, Hlína, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, Nomori, Driftwood, Nova Hearts
- Most Experimental Game Award for the most innovative game mechanics: Tarnished Blood, Music Power Up, ODDADA, Telegraphist 1920: Beats of War, Supermoves, Space Sprouts, Lamina Bruise, Henry Halfhead, Retro Gadgets
- Next Big Thing Award, the best game in the early stages of development: Menace from the Deep, Hollow Home, Albert Wilde: Quantum P.I., Helskate, Projected Dreams, Tom the postgirl, RetroSpace, Glasshouse, Slyders, Bad Blood 1926
- WINGS Award, presented by the WINGS fund; for the best game made by a team with women and other gender-marginalized developers in key positions: ODDADA, The End of the Sun, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, Luna Abyss, Starship Simulator, Copycat, Coridden, Map Map – A Game About Maps, Nomori, Once Upon a Rogue’s Tale, Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)
The Indie Cup Europe’24 jury board features experts from CD Projekt RED, Crytek, Remedy Entertainment, Ubisoft, ZA/UM, and more.
What’s next:
Jurying Round II: June 28 – July 28
Winners’ Reveal: August 1
In total, Indie Cup Europe’24 has gathered 451 in-development games from European countries. The festival showcase is publicly available at indiecup.net/showcase.
Festival Activities
Awards for Best New Projects. Participating games are evaluated by a diverse panel of industry experts, with the winners set to receive awards, and all nominees getting feedback from the jurors.
Showcase of Upcoming Games. Developers get a chance to present their games on our website with dedicated profiles featuring trailers, screenshots, and game descriptions.
A Chance to Be Discovered. Publishers and potential investors turn to Indie Cup to discover promising titles and identify emerging developers.
Future Indie Cup Events. Participating in Indie Cup Europe’24 opens the opportunity to be featured in the next iteration of the Indie Cup sale on Steam, as well as our events on other platforms.
About Indie Cup
Indie Cup is an online festival of upcoming indie games and one of Europe’s leading online events for independent developers. Launched by GTP Media in 2016, Indie Cup has since featured more than 2,400 games, including dozens of titles that went on to achieve commercial and critical success.
Indie Cup held five dedicated editions in 2023, focusing on projects made in Central & Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Ukraine. Indie Cup is also regularly hosting special sales on Steam and other platforms, such as Indie Cup Celebration, and the Ukrainian Games Festival.
Links
Website – indiecup.net
Twitter/X – twitter.com/IndieCupHQ
Newsletter – indiecup.net/newsletter
YouTube – youtube.com/c/indiecup
