Balatro Cleans House at GDC Awards 2025, Including Game of the Year 1

Balatro, the smash hit roguelike card game, has dominated this year's GDC Awards in San Francisco, California.

The breakout indie title released for PC and consoles in February 2024 and has been a huge success for solo developer LocalThunk — particularly after its mobile release later in the year.

At the GDC Awards, the game picked up Best Debut, Best Design, Innovation Award, and Game of the Year.

Astro Bot has been another awards favourite, and that's no different in this case; Sony's superlative platformer secured two wins with Best Audio and Best Technology.

Elsewhere, Best Narrative went to Metaphor: ReFantazio, while Black Myth: Wukong picked up the win for Best Visual Art and the Audience Award went to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Here's the full list of winners:

  • Game of the Year: Balatro
  • Best Audio: Astro Bot
  • Best Debut: Balatro
  • Best Design: Balatro
  • Best Narrative: Metaphor: ReFantazio
  • Best Technology: Astro Bot
  • Best Visual Art Black Myth: Wukong
  • Audience Award: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
  • Innovation Award: Balatro
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Sam Lake (Remedy Entertainment)
  • Pioneer Award: Lucas Pope (Return of the Obra Dinn, Papers, Please)
  • Social Impact Award: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

Balatro is set to receive a major gameplay update sometime this year, and has been receiving free updates providing cosmetics based on a wide range of other games.

While the game has largely enjoyed an unprecedented level of acclaim and success, there have been bumps in the road; a bizarrely inflated European age rating was only recently corrected, and the developer has had to put its foot down about the use of AI art in relation to Balatro.

What do you make of all the winners at this year's GDC Awards? Discuss in the comments section below.

[source insider-gaming.com]