Australian Game Developer Award 2026 Nominations Now Open

The Australian Game Developer Awards return in 2026 to celebrate the creativity, resilience, and excellence of the Australian games industry. This year’s Awards will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, 7 October as the closing ceremony of GCAP, held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre as part of Melbourne International Games Week. Nominations for AGDAs Game Awards are now open and will close on 7 June 2026.

The AGDAs remain Australia’s premier celebration of local game development, recognising outstanding games, studios, and individuals whose work continues to gain national and international acclaim. Past AGDAs winners include titles such as The Drifter, CONSCRIPT, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, Gubbins, Cult of the Lamb, Unpacking, Moving Out, Wylde Flowers, Untitled Goose Game and The Oregon Trail, showcasing the strength and diversity of Australian-made games on the global stage.

“The best thing about the AGDAs is the recognition from your peers. Seeing my game up there on the screen in front of the amazing Aussie community is such a great feeling. It’s personal – these are the people that you work and hang out with, and to have them celebrate your work is very special,” said Dave Lloyd, Powerhoof, co-developer of the 2025 AGDAs Game of the Year, The Drifter.

“Nominating your game to be a part of the AGDAs not only gets your game in front of more people, it strengthens the Aussie game dev community, adding your work to the celebration of the awesome games we make here. It’s a reward for your whole team’s hard work, one of the rare times you take a moment to just be proud of what you’ve done.”

2026 AGDAs Ceremony Details

The 2026 Awards Ceremony will be held in Plenary 1 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre at the conclusion of GCAP in a slightly revised format. This year’s event will continue as a 90-minute sit-down celebration focused on recognising and respecting the achievements and contributions of the Australian games industry. The community will have the ability to connect and celebrate both before and after the ceremony with refreshments provided.

The AGDAs will provide a dedicated celebration of the people and games that have defined the year, allowing us all to acknowledge the creativity, the skills, the perseverance, and the impact of Australian game makers.

The categories for the 2026 AGDAs are:

GAMES AWARDS

Excellence in Visual Art

Excellence in Gameplay

Excellence in Narrative

Excellence In Sound Design

Excellence in Music

Excellence in Accessibility

Excellence in Mobile

Excellence in Extended Reality

Excellence in Impact

Excellence In Ongoing

Excellence in Debut

Game of The Year

CAREER, CONTRIBUTION & CULTURE AWARDS

Studio of the Year

The Adam Lancman Award

The Rising Star Award

Judges, Nominees, and Game Submissions Are Now Open

Building on the success of 2025 (a record-breaking year that saw 70 games judged by 79 judges in just over eight weeks) the AGDAs judging process returns in 2026 with only minor refinements to the Judging Rubric.

Judging Applications
Submissions to join the 2026 AGDAs Judging Panel are now open and will close on 29 May 2026.

AGDAs 2026 Judges Application Form

Game Submissions

Nominations for AGDAs Game Awards are now open and will close on 7 June 2026.

Eligible games must have been released between 1 July 2025 and 31 October 2026.

AGDAs 2026 Games Nomination Form

Career, Contribution & Culture Awards

Nominations for the AGDAs Career & Culture Awards are also now open until 7 June 2026.

AGDAs 2026 Career & Culture Awards Nomination Form

Further information regarding the judging and assessment process can be found via our Judging Page