The 2025 Games for Change Award Finalists include:
Best in Civics
- Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina) - Unreliable Narrators A first-person, narrative-driven experience presenting contrasting perspectives on French and Indigenous first encounters.
- Kingdom of Rizia - Torpor Games You are the king. How will you reign?
- Nuclear Negotiator - Jollywise Negotiation is policy in motion - how will you lead?
Best Gameplay
- Closer the Distance - Osmotic Studios Watch over an entire village that is mourning … you!
- Neva - Nomada Studio Those we protect will someday protect us.
- Botany Manor - Balloon Studios Botany Manor is a botanical puzzle game set in a Victorian English manor.
Best Student Project
- Prší - Herdek Kolektiv A card game journey into the shadows of Czech culture
- Draconian Times - Zach Cohen Resource Management Ad-Absurdum
- The WereCleaner - The WereCleaner Team Kyle is a Janitor. He’s also a Werewolf. And now he’s got the night shift.
Best in Learning
- Star Stuff - Animo Games Studio Program and work alongside bots to tackle the most important (and undoubtedly safest) task in the galaxy: fixing a star factory.
- Tablecraft - Not Suspicious Unleash Your Inner Mad Scientist
- Neohaven Noodles - PRELOADED Neohaven Noodles is a narrative-driven cooking game about good food and bad debt.
Best Platform-Based Project
- Art Leap by the Belvedere Museum- Exclusible Play the story behind iconic masterpieces from the Belvedere Museum Collection
- Minecraft National Park - Minecraft Welcome to Minecraft National Park! Celebrate Earth’s wild places and learn about preserving them
- Seattle Children’s Hospital Minecraft Server - Hive Games & Mojang Studio Crafting Joy: A Virtual World of Healing and Connection
Best in XR
- Tablecraft - Not Suspicious Unleash Your Inner Mad Scientist
- TRACES: The Grief Processor - Couzin Studio Explore your grief by transforming your actions into emotional responses that speak to the soul
- Impulse: Playing with Reality - Anagra Feel the chaos, creativity, and intensity of ADHD first-hand
Best in Impact
- 1000xRESIST - sunset visitor RESIST a 1000-Year Old Lie
- Velvet 89 - Charles Games, People in Need Revolutionary hidden object game
- Umfeld (social environment) - Hochschule RheinMain A prosocial game to understand the importance of a supportive network to prevent intimate partner violence.
Best Narrative
- 1000xRESIST - sunset visitor RESIST a 1000-Year Old Lie
- Closer the Distance - Osmotic Studios - Watch over an entire village that is mourning … you!
- Indika - Odd Meter - Ask And You Shall Be Decieved
Best in Innovation
- Harold Halibut - Slow Bros. A handmade narrative game about friendship and life on a city-sized spaceship submerged in an alien ocean.
- Phoenix Springs - Calligram Studio - A mystery adventure game by Calligram Studio
- In the Current of Being - Cameron Kostopoulos A haptic virtual reality experience chronicling the harrowing journey of a survivor of electroshock conversion therapy.
Best in Health & Wellness
- DigiCare - prefrontal cortex GmbH DigiCare - Development of virtual teaching and learning scenarios in nursing education
- SIMFONIK - Within Touching Distance An Immersive Audio Simulation Transforming Empathy Skills and Empowering Healthcare Professionals
- Vampire Therapist - Little Bat Games Immortal clients. Immortal problems.
Best in Environmental Impact
- Crab God - Chaos Theory Games Make waves, praise the claw!
- Creatures of Ava - Inverge Studios Dare to let go
- Bloom: The Saga of the Fertilizer Economy - Field Day Lab Saga of the Fertilizer Economy