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Helldivers 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Balatro lead Develop Star Awards

The best RPG, multiplayer, and indie games, including Helldivers 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3, head nominations for the Develop Star Awards 2024.

You sometimes forget just how many great games have been released during the last 12 months. Helldivers 2 has become one of the best multiplayer experiences in recent years, Baldur’s Gate 3 will go down in history as the RPG that transformed the genre, and Balatro, the indie and roguelike game from LocalThunk, is the surprise megahit that just keeps giving. Alan Wake 2, Dave the Diver, Dead Island 2 – all of these and more will be honored at the upcoming Develop:Star Awards, as part of Develop:Brighton, in July. You can find the full nominees list right here.

Across 22 different categories, some of the best PC games of the past year are all up for awards, including Helldivers 2, Cocoon, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and dozens more. The voting is now open, and any previous Develop:Brighton attendees can cast a ballot.

The awards will take place at a new venue, the Brighton Dome, and there are two new award categories – Best Creative Lead and the Supporting Star Award, which recognizes companies and organizations that have provided funding, direction, and other forms of support to burgeoning game developers. From RPGs to FPS and story games, you can find the full Develop:Star Awards nominees list below:

Develop:Star Awards nominations list

Best Game

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Balatro
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Dave the Diver
  • Helldivers 2
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Best Studio

  • Arrowhead Game Studios
  • d3t
  • Futurlab
  • Larian Studios
  • nDreams
  • Playground Games
  • Remedy Entertainment

Best Small Studio

  • Bytten Studio
  • Geometric Interactive
  • inkle
  • Interflix Media
  • Noun Town
  • Rogue Sun
  • Sketchbook Games
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Publishing Star

  • Curve Games
  • Kepler Interactive
  • nDreams
  • No More Robots
  • Playstack
  • Secret Mode
  • Team17

Best Mobile Game

  • Cityscapes: Sim Builder
  • Football Manager 2024 Mobile
  • Lost Words: Beyond the Page
  • Monopoly Go!
  • Sonic Dream Team
  • The Queen’s Gambit Chess

Best Creative Lead

  • AJ Grand-Scrutton, Dlala Studios
  • Andria Warren, Rare
  • Helen Andrzejowska, Secret Mode
  • Kostas Zarifis, Rogue Sun
  • Naoki Yoshida, Square Enix
  • Sam Lake, Remedy Entertainment

Best Game Design

  • Balatro
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Dave the Diver
  • Helldivers 2
  • Jusant
  • Viewfinder

Balatro Steam indie game: Cards and decks from Steam indie game Balatro, nominated at the Develop Brighton Star Awards

Best Audio

  • A Highland Song
  • Alan Wake 2
  • Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Cocoon
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Best Visual Art

  • A Highland Song
  • Alan Wake 2
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Chants of Sennaar
  • Cocoon
  • Final Fantasy XVI

Best Narrative

  • A Highland Song
  • Alan Wake 2
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
  • Final Fantasy XVI
  • Starfield

Best Original IP

  • American Arcadia
  • Balatro
  • Classified: France ’44
  • Dave the Diver
  • Jusant
  • Viewfinder

Tomorrow’s Star

  • Ackeem Durrant, Surgent Studios
  • Alif Trevathan, Sumo Group
  • Amy Elliott, Sumo Leamington
  • Charlotte Pang, Chirashi Games
  • Dora Vasiliou, Dlala Studios
  • Jazeena McCallum, Surgent Studios
  • Rach Macpherson, Neonhive

Marketing Star

  • Claire Sharkey, Freelance
  • Dan Allman, Kepler Interactive
  • FuturLab
  • Hannah Flynn, Failbetter Games
  • ICO Partners
  • nDreams
  • Neonhive

Best Technical Innovation

  • Audiomob
  • Cocoon
  • Dead Island 2
  • Helldivers 2
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Noun Town: VR Language Learning
  • Viewfinder

Alan Wake 2 horror game: A woman standing in the middle of a rainy street in Remedy horror game Alan Wake 2

Best Creative Provider

  • Atomhawk
  • Flix Interactive
  • Liquid Crimson
  • PitStop Productions
  • Room 8 Group
  • SIDE
  • TrailerFarm

Diversity Star

  • Adam Clewes-Boyne, BetaJester
  • Fida Zourob, Games for Love
  • Danielle Udogaranya, Evolotu
  • Leon Hijazi-Killin, Sumo Group
  • Liz Prince, Amiqus, G Into Gaming and Empower-Up
  • Moo Yu, POC in Play
  • Sara Machado, Sumo Digital and Bird’s Eye View

Supporting Star

  • Barclays Games and Creative
  • Coutts and Co.
  • Fourth Floor Group
  • Game Republic
  • GG Insurance Services
  • Urban Ledgers

Talent Development Star

  • Dlala Studios
  • Flix Interactive
  • NaturalMotion Games
  • nDreams
  • REALTIME
  • Ripstone
  • Sumo Group

Best Technology Provider

  • GameMaker
  • Genba Digital
  • i3D.net
  • PopcornFX
  • Speech Graphics
  • Unity
  • Unreal Engine

Recruitment Star

  • Aardvark Swift
  • Amiqus
  • Avatar
  • Datascope Recruitment
  • mustard jobs
  • Skillsearch

Sustainability Star

  • Green Game Jam
  • nDreams
  • Rhea Loucas
  • Smartdc
  • Sports Interactive
  • YRS TRULY

Best QA and Localization

  • Keyword Studios
  • Player Research
  • PTW
  • Testronic
  • Universally Speaking
  • Warlocs

BG3 developer Larian, Alan Wake 2 creator Remedy, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, which publishes Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, are all tied for the most awards with six each. Alongside the 22 central categories, the Develop Star Award will be presented in recognition of the success of an individual or studio, and the winner will be announced in the coming weeks.

Helldivers 2 Steam: A soldier in Steam co-op game Helldivers 2

The Develop:Star Awards will take place on Wednesday July 10 as part of Develop:Brighton 2024. To purchase tickets, or for more information on how to vote, just head right here.

You can also check out the best new PC games, if you want something fresh to play after all of last year’s greatest hits, or maybe clap eyes on some rising stars with the best upcoming PC games you can expect throughout 2024 and beyond.

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