The 2025 Cologne Game Exhibition Grand Prix competition officially kicked off, and the organizers announced the complete nomination list before the exhibition opened.Capcom's horror masterpiece "Resident Evil: Respondence" leads the audience with five nominations, with "Borderlands 4" and "Red Desert" each following four nominations.According to official information, "Dong Qigang: All-in-one", "Hela" and "Mario Kart: World" also performed well, each winning three nominations.
This jury is composed of global media and content creators. Based on the two categories of ARTS (artistic expression) and PLATFORM (best platform), the GLOBAL (global awards) section has been added, including professional awards such as "Best Lineup" and "Best Booth (Judge Selection)".
Nintendo fought with Mario Kart: World for two-line battles with "Dong Qigang: All-in-one" and was shortlisted for the "Most Funny Game" unit; the independent games "Winter Burrow" and "Little Bookstore" competed in the "Most Healing Game" award.
The Cologne Game Exhibition will be held from August 20 to 24, and the opening night live broadcast will be scheduled for 2 a.m. on August 20.As the world's largest gaming event, this year's award nomination not only indicates the annual gaming trend, but also locks in the industry focus in the second half of the year ahead of schedule.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2025 Cologne Gamescom Awards:
Art Awards
Best visual effects
• Borderlands 4 - Gearbox Software/2K
• "Goodbye Sweet Carol" - Little Sewing Machine/Maximum Entertainment
• "Red Desert" - Pearl Abyss
• MIO: Memory in the Orbit - Douze Dixièmes/Focus Entertainment
• Resident Evil: Requiem - Capcom
Best sound effects
• "Silhouette of the Lonely Mountain" - The Game Bakers
• "Little Nightmare 3" - Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco
• "Shadow Blade Zero" - S-Game
• Resident Evil: Requiem - Capcom
• Rockbeasts - Lichthund/Team17
Best way to play
• "Dong Qigang: All-in-one" - Nintendo
• "Hela" - Windup/Knights Peak
• Mario Kart: World - Nintendo
• "PVKK: Planetary Defense Cannon Commander" - Bippinbits/Kepler Interactive
• Resident Evil: Requiem - Capcom
The most interesting game
• Dispatch - AdHoc Studio
• "Dong Qigang: All-in-one" - Nintendo
• "Survival 2" - Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studio
• "Hela" - Windup/Knights Peak
• Mario Kart: World - Nintendo
The most epic game
• "Red Desert" - Pearl Abyss
• Dune: Awakening - Funcom
• Resident Evil: Requiem - Capcom
• "Super Meat Boy 3D" - Sluggerfly, Team Meat/Headup Games
• Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 - Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment
The most healing game
• "Hela" - Windup/Knights Peak
• "Is anyone sitting in this seat?" - Poti Poti Studio/Wholesome Games
• Star Birds - Toukana Interactive
• "Little Bookstore" - neoludic games/Skystone Games, 2P Games
• "Winter Burrow" - Pine Creek Games/Noodlecake
Social influence game
• "Silhouette of the Lonely Mountain" - The Game Bakers
• "Eternal Sky" - Far From Home
• "Hollow Home" - Twigames/Galaktus
• Monowave - Studio BBB
• "Little Bookstore" - neoludic games/Skystone Games, 2P Games
Platform awards
Best Xbox Games
• Borderlands 4 - Gearbox Software/2K
• "Red Desert" - Pearl Abyss
• "Stay Confinement 2" - Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studio • "Little Nightmare 3" - Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco
• "Ninja Dragon Sword 4" - Platinum Studio/Xbox Game Studio
Best PC games
• "Era 117: Peace in Rome" - Ubisoft Mainz/Ubisoft
• Borderlands 4 - Gearbox Software/2K
• "PVKK: Planetary Defense Cannon Commander" - Bippinbits/Kepler Interactive
• "Prayer of Permanence with the Divine Tree" - Brownies Inc./Bandai Namco
• World of Warcraft - Blizzard Entertainment/Activ Blizzard
Best PlayStation Games
• Borderlands 4 - Gearbox Software/2K
• "Red Desert" - Pearl Abyss
• "Time Traveler: Dawn of Rebirth" - Bloober Team
• "Virtual Reality" - Capcom
• Resident Evil: Requiem - Capcom
Best Switch 2 games
• "Dong Qigang: All-in-one" - Nintendo
• Mario Kart: World - Nintendo
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo
• "Prayer of Permanence with the Divine Tree" - Brownies Inc./Bandai Namco
• "Winter Burrow" - Pine Creek Games/Noodlecake
Best mobile games
• "Ark of Tomorrow: The End" - Eagle Point Network
• "Catch the Dungeon" - Stray Fawn/Playworks
• "Genshin Impact" - Mihayou
• "Love and Deep Space" - Infold Games
• "The Servant of the Lake" - Rusty Lake Embroidered Lake
