Relax Gaming, AvatarUX, BGaming, NetEnt and streamer Brian Christopher were amongst some of the winners at the 2023 edition of the Game Developer Awards, which took place last night at the InterContinental Hotel in Malta.

Closing the final day of what was a record-breaking CasinoBeats Summit, the coveted awards ceremony was presented by Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva and returning host Trudy Kerr, who handed out 23 awards aimed at celebrating the best companies, casino titles and people in the following category groups: Game Performance, Game Creation, Game Marketing, Game People and SlotCatalog.

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said: “ Last night’ awards were phenomenal, especially with the addition of our new categories, dedicated to individual achievements in the industry. I would like to extend a huge congratulations to all our winners for innovatively pushing the boundaries of excellence and helping redefine the industry.”

Relax Gaming continued their winning streak this year by collecting the Slot of the Year award for Money Train 3, and SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year – medium award, whilst BGaming took home both the Slot to Watch award for Potion Spells and Game Music/Soundtrack award for Elvis Frog TRUEWAYS.

Other winners in the game performance categories included Barbara Bang who picked up the Slot Debut award for Mustang Freedom and NetEnt who were awarded the highly regarded Slot Legacy Title for Gonzo’s Quest.

It was a successful night for casino streamer Brian Christopher who was awarded Streamer of the Year, whilst also picking up Slot Collaboration of the Year award alongside Gaming Arts for their collaborative effort Brian Christopher’s Pop’N Pays More!

The game creation categories saw Wazdan awarded Game Feature of the Year, for their work on Mystery Drop and Playtech receiving the award for Game Licensed Content, for the game Cash Collect: Gold Rush. Amusnet picked up the award for Game Retro-style with Fruits & Gold, whilst ELK Studios were awarded the Game Design & Art Direction for the stylish Nitropolis 4.

AvatarUX were big winners on the night, collecting Game Mechanic of the Year for their innovative PopWins Mechanic, whilst AvatarUX’s very own Hannah Farrugia took home the Product Manager award for her contributions to the company and wider industry.

Other titans of industry that were recognised for their individual contributions were Iris Wallner of GAMOMAT who collected the Game Composer award and Justin Chamberlain who collected the Game Designer award for his contributions to HungryBear Gaming.

SlotCatalog presented a selection of data-based game studio awards. Print Studios were awarded the SlotCatalog’s Rookie of the Year award, Push Gaming collected the SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year – Small award, whilst the SlotCatalog’s Game Studio of the Year – Large award, was presented to Play’n GO.

In the Outperforming Game Studio Categories, Snowborn Games were winners of the SlotCatalog’s Outperforming Game Studio of the Year – Small award, whilst Hacksaw Gaming were awarded SlotCatalog’s Outperforming Game Studio of the Year – Medium and Pragmatic Play took home the SlotCatalog’s Outperforming Game Studio of the Year – Large award.

Decided by a live audience vote throughout Thursday afternoon, the winner of the esteemed Game Innovation Spotlight award was Nailed It! Games for their groundbreaking and forward thinking contributions over the course of the past year.

“Last night was truly unforgettable, a special thank you to our headline sponsors BetConstruct, Evoplay, SBC Advisory Partners and SYNOT, as well as all supporting sponsors, for helping us commemorate the special achievements accomplished by these Game Developer studios and the talented individuals behind the most successful titles,” Said Sojmark.

Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, was last night crowned Game Studio of the Year at the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards in Valletta, Malta.

The Game Studio of the Year award is testament to Play’n GO’s blockbuster past 12 months which saw the studio release more than 50 premium titles as well as entering the North American regulated iGaming market for the first time and growing market share across all regulated territories.

Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer of Play’n GO, said: “The Game Studio of the Year Award is testament to our strong performance around the world in the last 12 months, and gives us the impetus to carry that work into the remainder of 2023 and beyond.

“The strength of our existing portfolio, in addition to our new releases, is clear. Operators in regulated spaces who are growing their market share are using Play’n GO titles to help retain and entertain their players.

“This award is a strong signal that our approach is working in this era of increased regulation, but this is just the beginning. We’ve had a strong 12 months and Play’n GO is growing across the board. We are determined to help forward-thinking operators do the same with their businesses.”

Finnish game Skábma – Snowfall wins Best Nordic Game of the Year

Nordic Game has revealed the winners of the annual Nordic Game Awards, which took place on May 25 during NG23 Spring, the annual games industry conference in Malmö, Sweden.

The night’s big winner was Skábma – Snowfall, a game inspired by the old beliefs and folktales of indigenous Sámi people. The title won the Best Art award in addition to the main award, Best Nordic Game of the Year.

Nordic Game is the only global event with a dedicated focus on the Nordic games industry and now in its fifteenth edition, the Nordic Game Awards ceremony was once again one of the highlights of the conference. As in previous years, a jury of industry peers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden selected the finalists and winners.

The award show was hosted by PixelTV’s Thomas Bense and David Bateson, the voice actor behind Agent 47 of the famous Hitman games, and the dynamic duo did a great job entertaining the live audience and announcing the Nordic Game Awards 2023 winners.

They were as follows:

Best Nordic Game of the Year: Skábma – Snowfall, developed by Red Stage Entertainment, Finland

Best Nordic Game of the Year, Small Screen: Source of Madness, developed by Carry Castle, Sweden

Best Art: Skábma – Snowfall, developed by Red Stage Entertainment, Finland

Best Game Design: Metal Hellsinger, developed by The Outsiders, Sweden

Best Technology: Virtuoso, developed by Really Interactive, Sweden

Best Audio: Metal Hellsinger, developed by The Outsiders, Sweden

Best Fun for Everyone: Time on Frog Island, developed by Half Past Yellow, Denmark

Best Debut: Raft – The Final Chapter, developed by Redbeet Interactive, Sweden

Additionally, the jury decided to give a special mention to the Danish game The Forest Quartet, developed by Mads & Friends, Denmark.