This is the shortlist for the 2025 MCV/DEVELOP Awards!

We are happy to reveal the finalists for the 2025 MCV/DEVELOP Awards, which as you probably know are going to be taking place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on June 19, 2025.

The last twelve months have undoubtedly been a bit of a weird one for the games industry, and we can only hope that things soon begin to settle and recover, in whatever shape that may take. In amongst all the tumult and weirdness, the industry has continued on, however, and still done a lot of good worth recognising, nominating and ultimately, celebrating. 

Thank you to everyone that took the time to nominate the companies and video games that they felt were the most deserving of recognition from their colleagues, rivals and peers this year. A secret panel of experts will vote on this shortlist soon, and will decide upon the winners.

If you’re on the panel, you know who you are. Or, if you don’t know who you are and I’ve not heard back from you yet, please check your inbox more thoroughly.

In the meantime, here are the 2025 finalists, and each and every person and organisation on the list should celebrate making it this far: 

DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS

Recruitment Agency of the Year

• Aardvark Swift
• Amiqus
• Big Planet
• Datascope Recruitment Ltd.
• Skillsearch Ltd.

Creative (Content) Partner of the Year

• Big Farmer
• Fire Without Smoke
• Fluid
• Liquid Crimson
• Portal
• Project N
• Room 8 Group
• We Are Reach

Service Partner of the Year

• 1minus1
• Airship Interactive
• Code Wizards Group
• Eaton Smith Solicitors LLP
• Keywords Studios
• Pingle Studio
• PressEngine
• Testronic

Strategic Partner of the Year

• Bastion
• GG Insurance Services
• Heaven Media
• Mishcon de Reya LLP
• RSM UK
• Urban Ledgers Ltd.
• Xsolla

STUDIOS & PUBLISHING

Major Studio of the Year

• Auroch Digital
• Codemasters
• Frontier Developments
• Larian Studios
• Ninja Theory
• Rebellion

Indie Studio of the Year

• Balloon Studios
• BetaJester
• Dlala Studios
• Futurlab
• Gameloft
• Nosebleed Interactive
• Radical Forge
• Snap Finger Click
• Team Junkfish
• ustwo Games

Co-Development Studio of the Year

• Auroch Digital
• Electric Square & Lively Group
• Flix Interactive
• Huey Games
• Side
• Tanglewood Games
• Third Kind Games

Major Publisher of the Year

• Activision Blizzard
• Bethesda
• Nintendo
• Outright Games
• Rebellion
• SEGA
• Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Xbox Game Studios

Indie Publisher of the Year

• Fireshine Games
• Playtonic Friends
• Secret Mode
• Slitherine
• Wired Productions

REACHING AUDIENCES

Media Brand of the Year

• A Profound Waste of Time
• EDGE
• Lost in Cult
• Press X To Continue Podcast
• Debug
• VG247
• Video Games Chronicle (VGC)

PR Agency of the Year

• 71 Consulting
• Bastion
• Big Games Machine
• Heaven Media
• Honest PR
• Noisy Communications
• Premier Comms
• Renaissance PR
• Swipe Right PR

Campaign of the Year

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – PLAION and YRS TRULY
• Make Green Moves – PlanetPlay
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 – GSC and Renaissance PR
• Still Wakes the Deep – Secret Mode, Guillotine and The Chinese Room
• Storage Hunter Simulator – Plan of Attack
• The Access-Ability Summer Showcase – Access-Ability

Event of the Year

• 42nd Golden Joystick Awards
• Bonus Stage: A Celebration of the Music of Video Games
• Develop:Brighton
• Game Dev Heroes
• guildford.games Festival
• London Games Festival
• RuneFest

INNOVATION IN GAMES

Hardware Innovation of the Year 

• Evercade Alpha Bartop Arcade Machine
• Gioteck FR5 Racing Wheel
• Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller
• Victrix Pro Leverless Fight Stick

Visual Innovation of the Year

• Botany Manor
• LEGO Horizon Adventures
• Loco Motive
• Songs of Silence
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!
• The Plucky Squire

Audio Innovation of the Year

• Botany Manor
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Still Wakes the Deep
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Accessibility Innovation of the Year

• Botany Manor
• Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars
• LEGO Horizon Adventures
• Paper Trail
• Sea of Thieves
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Narrative Innovation of the Year

• Farewell North
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• KARMA: The Dark World
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Still Wakes the Deep
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Gameplay Innovation of the Year

• Botany Manor
• DeathSprint 66
• Paper Trail
• Parcel Corps
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!
• The Plucky Squire

Ongoing Innovation of the Year

• Frontier Developments – Elite Dangerous
• FuturLab – PowerWash Simulator
• Hello Games – No Man’s Sky
• Jagex – RuneScape
• Rare – Sea of Thieves

DISTRIBUTION & RETAIL

Distributor of the Year 

• Click Entertainment Ltd.
• Exertis Ztorm
• Game Outlet Europe
• GENBA DIGITAL
• Green Man Gaming
• PLAION

Retailer of the Year

• Amazon
• Argos
• Currys
• EE
• Fanatical
• Green Man Gaming
• Smyths Toys

INTERNATIONAL

Global Business Excellence Award

• Aonic
• Electric Square & Lively Group
• Fireshine
• Hasbro
• Room 8 Group
• Side
• Virtuos
• Xsolla

Outstanding Association Award

• Games London
• guildford.games Ltd.
• Hubworld Scotland
• Into Games
• Limit Break
• Safe in our World
• Women in Games

Congratulations to all the finalists. Tickets for the awards ceremony are still available so please consider coming along.

The MCV/DEVELOP Awards 2025 are sponsored by Green Man Gaming, as well as Exertis Ztorm, Electric Square & Lively Group, Portal, SIDE, Disobey and Fireshine Games. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and if you’d like to get involved you should reach out to Alex Boucher and Vanessa Joyce without delay.

We look forward to announcing the winners on June 19. See you then!