AWARDS RULES
Please read the rules before submitting your game.
If you have any questions, email games@devgamm.com.
DEADLINES & TIMELINE
SEP 1
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Sep 5 – Oct 5
COMMUNITY VOTE & DEV CHOICE
Sep 5 – Nov 1
THREE JUDGING ROUNDS
OCT 7
NOMINEES ANNOUNCEMENT
NOV 7
DEVGAMM AWARDS CEREMONY IN LISBON
For your submission, you will need:
- Name of the game
- Short game description
- Development technology
- Choose tags describing your genre
- Date of development start and planned release
- Gameplay video (for judges, not public)
- Public video (trailer, gameplay, or letsplay – on your choice)
- Information about developer and publisher (if any)
- Key art with game logo and at least 3 screenshots
- Build (PC and/or Mobile), and codes if needed (see Build Requirements below)
- Information about your team/studio
No need to worry about information disclosure – all our judges sign an NDA that prohibits them from sharing any sensitive information publicly.
- Development stage: Any (except early prototypes), from vertical slice to release version.
- Release: Unreleased or released after November 15, 2024.
- Team size: Up to 50 people.
- Country: Any, except Russia (read our statement)
- Availability of publisher/investor: Allowed.
- Availability of playable version: Required (see Build Requirements below).
- Platform: PC or Mobile.
- Previous Awards participation: If a game has won in any past DevGAMM Awards category, it cannot be submitted again. If it was nominated but didn’t win, you’re welcome to resubmit – just not in the same categories it was previously nominated for.
- Representation: If nominated, a representative must be present at the Awards ceremony at DevGAMM Lisbon (can be a friend or industry person who represents the team).
(!) If a team is nominated but can’t find anyone to represent them during the Awards ceremony, organizers can remove the nomination.
Desktop / Steam
Option 1:
- If the game is available on Steam, provide the link to your game’s page in the store. If it’s a paid game, provide 25 keys for our judges.
- If the game is nominated, we will ask for 50 more keys for the final judging round to determine the winner.
Option 2:
- If the game is not available on Steam (or you don’t want to give keys) provide the link to your build in Google Drive or Dropbox.
Mobile
Option 1:
- If the game is available on Google Play or App Store, provide the link to the game. If it’s paid, provide 25 keys for our judges.
- If the game is nominated, we will ask for 50 more keys for the final judging round to determine the winner.
Option 2:
- Provide a link to download the APK (for Android games).
- Provide an open link to TestFlight (for iOS games).
Browser
- If the game is available in a browser, provide the link to the web version.
- If extra steps are necessary for access, describe them in the comments to your submission.
If you have other ways to provide access to the build, please add them in your submission, or email to games@devgamm.com.
(!) Games without builds will not be accepted.
(!) If the game build isn’t accessible or the keys don’t work during judging, the game may be disqualified.
All games are automatically submitted to the following nominations:
- Grand Prize
- Developers Choice
- Community Vote
To apply for other main nominations, please select them during the submission process.
Grand Prize, Excellence in Game Design, Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Narrative:
All submitted games that meet the criteria are eligible for these nominations.
Please refer to the section CRITERIA FOR GAMES AND TEAMS for detailed info.
Best Mobile Game:
Only entries with a mobile version and a provided mobile build will be considered for this nomination.
Best Game from Portugal:
A game is considered Portuguese if it’s made by legal entities registered or based in Portugal, or/and if 50% of the development team are residents of Portugal. Additional documents of proof may be requested by the organizers.
Most Anticipated Game:
Only unreleased games are eligible for this nomination. The future release date can be no earlier than November 15, 2025.
Best Innovation:
This category is for games that bring something truly new to the table, whether it’s a bold idea, unique mechanics, or a creative use of technology. To apply, you’ll need to answer an extra question: “What aspect of your game do you believe is the most innovative, and how does it set your game apart from others?”
Developers Choice:
All entries eligible for the competition are included in this category. The voting will be available to all the teams taking part in the competition. Voting instructions will be additionally sent to all devs participating in the Awards.
Community Vote:
All entries eligible for the competition are included in this category, and the winner is determined by public voting, allowing all audiences to support their favorites.
In addition to the main categories, we also feature sponsor nominations.
Each sponsor creates their own category, sets the criteria, defines the prize, and selects the winner for their nomination.
Best Indie Game by tinyBuild
Prize: $2,000 + a comprehensive consultation package in production, marketing, or console porting, based on the team’s needs.
Criteria: PC games only, unreleased games.
Best System & Strategy Indie Game by Astra Logical
Prize: $2,000
Criteria: PC or Mobile games. Only games from the specified genres are eligible to compete: 4x game, Automation, City building, RTS, RTT, Strategy, Tower defense, TBT, TBS
More sponsor nominations will be announced soon.
There are 3 rounds of voting:
- SEP 5 – SEP 17 – First round: Shortlisting (based on gameplay video)
- SEP 20 – OCT 5 – Second round: Evaluation (judges play the games)
- OCT 13 – OCT 27 – Third round: Election of winners (judges play the games)
Find more details in this document.
The Awards ceremony will take place at the DevGAMM conference in Lisbon on November 7.
If you are nominated, but can’t attend, please refer to the corresponding section in the FAQ below.
The ceremony will be video recorded and broadcasted live.
If you plan to attend DevGAMM Lisbon 2025, you can apply for the Game Showcase using the same form as for the Awards.
Showcase is an expo area at the DevGAMM conference in Lisbon. If your game is approved, we’ll provide a FREE booth and a PC.
To take part, you’ll need to buy a ticket and be physically present at the event to show your game to attendees and publishers.
You’ll showcase on one of the two conference days (we’ll let you know which one).
If your application is approved, we will send you a detailed guideline. For now, please refer to last year’s guideline. Please note, they may change slightly.
You can check the status of your submission here.
Submission deadline: September 17
If you plan to attend DevGAMM Lisbon 2025, you can apply for the Public Pitch using the same form as for the Awards.
Only 5 dev teams will get the chance to pitch their games live on the Main Stage at DevGAMM in Lisbon on November 6.
Each team gets 5 minutes to present a pitch in front of a full audience. Judges will give valuable feedback on your pitch right after.
Here’s how it was last time: view on YouTube.
Submission deadline: September 17
You can check the status of your submission here.
We host a Steam Event at every DevGAMM. Sometimes Valve features it on the main page, but that’s not guaranteed.
We always include to our Steam Event page:
- Teams approved for the Game Showcase
- DevGAMM Awards nominees
For a secured spot on Steam Event, apply for those two activities.
However, we also include a curated selection from all game submissions. Take your shot!
Submission Deadline: September 17
You can check the status of your submission here.
FAQ
Submit your entry before September 1, 2025, via this link. You can also use the same form to apply for more game activities at DevGAMM in Lisbon.
You can edit your submission up until the submission deadline on September 1. Simply log in to the submission form using the same email.
By submitting your game, you agree that it will be considered for the Grand Prize category and be up for voting in the Community Vote and Developers Choice categories.
Game submission is free and does not require any additional fees.
However, if you are nominated, you will need to attend DevGAMM in Lisbon on November 6-7. Nominees will be provided with a complimentary INDIE DEV ticket to the conference.
If more than one team representative would like to attend and/or participate in the conference activities, they will need to purchase a ticket of any type.
(!) Special rates are available for indie teams with an INDIE DEV ticket. You can claim your pass by introducing your team and game via this request form.
If your game is announced as a nominee for any main category on October 7, 2025, a team representative must be present at the ceremony in Lisbon on November 7, at the DevGAMM Lisbon conference.
If you are unable to attend, you can ask a friend, colleague, or local developer to represent you at the ceremony.
The organizers reserve the right to exclude any game from the list of nominees without giving reasons.
Q: Is your prize pool real money, though??? 🤔
A: Yes, it is.
Q: You mean, like cash?
A: Yes, it’s cash. 💵
Q: Are you sure it’s not an equivalent amount for any services?
A: No, it’s cash.
Q: To receive the money, do I need to give up any rights, equity, IP, a percentage of the game revenue, or commit to publishing with someone?
A: No, you don’t! OMG, what kind of competitions ask for that??? 😱
Q: Do you have hidden terms or conditions to receive money?
A: No! We will wire your prize money to your bank account. We just need an invoice.
Q: Do I need to give my kidney or something?
A: Dude! C’mon! 🙄
Q: So you’re just going to give real money with no additional conditions, no organ removals, no squeezing out shares, etc? Just give the money to the winners?
A: Yes! Yes! Yes!
Q: When will I receive money if I win?
A: Within 4 weeks after the Awards Ceremony on November 7.
Q: Are you sure it’s not a SCAM? I’m still not convinced…
A: Oh boy… 🤦♀️Follow us on X, Discord, or LinkedIn, we will post some videos from past winners and endorsements from judges.
Yes, but only if your game was released after November 15, 2024. Games released earlier than that are not eligible for the competition.
Absolutely! Your game can be in any phase of development. The only requirement is to have a playable build.
A game is considered released when it has been launched as a fully completed version on any platform. Games that are in Demo, Alpha, Beta, Early Access, Soft Launch, etc., are still considered to be in development.
If your game has previously won in any DevGAMM Awards category, it cannot be submitted again.
If it was nominated but didn’t win, you can resubmit – as long as your game still meets the eligibility criteria. However, you cannot apply for the same category it was nominated for in previous years.
We ask for game keys so judges can play and properly evaluate your game.
- You’ll need to provide 25 keys during the initial submission.
- If your game is nominated, we’ll request 50 additional keys for the final judging round, where more judges will play your game to help choose the winners.
If you’d rather not submit keys, you can share a private link to a playable demo instead.
In any case, judges must be able to access and play your game to keep it in the competition.
You can check the status of your submitted games via this link.
We review games and update the table every week. As we get closer to the deadline, the review process will be faster.
Games with sexual, harmful, discriminatory, or offensive content will be rejected.
Very early prototypes or rough-looking games may not be accepted.
We reserve the right to reject an application without providing an explanation.
Yes, your game can be disqualified during the judging process.
Here are some common reasons:
- The keys you provided don’t work, and you don’t respond in time to replace them.
- The build link is broken and judges can’t access the game.
- You don’t respond to requests for additional information about your game or studio.
- You knowingly provide false information (e.g. your team exceeds 50 people, or you apply for the Portuguese nomination without meeting the criteria).
- And other similar cases.
We reserve the right to disqualify a game without providing further explanation.
You can check the status of your submission here.
Attendance is mandatory for all nominees, with the list being announced on October 7.
If you’re unable to attend, you can ask someone from the game industry to represent you, such as another developer from your country who is participating in the event.
Using the same submission form, you can also apply for other game activities at DevGAMM in Lisbon:
- Game Showcase: An in-person expo with booths for your dev team, where attendees play games.
- Public Pitch: A competition for 5 teams featuring a 5-minute pitch on stage in front of the jury and audience.
- Steam Event: A dedicated Steam page featuring games from the Awards and DevGAMM conference.
Please refer to the STEAM EVENT section in the rules above.
We guarantee spots on the Steam page to:
- All teams physically participating in the Game Showcase at DevGAMM Lisbon.
- All the nominees in the main Awards categories.
Additionally, we select other games submitted for event activities.
To become a judge, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Have at least 5 years of industry experience.
- Have released games in your portfolio or relevant experience in the game industry.
- Sing NDA
Terms of participation:
- A judge will evaluate 35 games automatically assigned to them in the first round of voting, 20 games in the second round and can vote for the winners in the third round.
- The full judging process spans two months (September 5 – November 1).
See a detailed document with the voting process and timeline here.
If you are interested in helping us determine winners and providing valuable feedback to participating teams, you can apply as a judge.
If you have questions before applying, email to games@devgamm.com
Yes! We’ve got a Discord server where you can chat with the organizers (24/7!) and connect with other participating teams.
For any questions regarding the DevGAMM Awards competition, please contact us via games@devgamm.com or through our Discord server.
For matters regarding the DevGAMM conference in Portugal, please reach out via contact@devgamm.com.
