On December 3, 2024, the Deutschen Entwicklerpreis 2024 award ceremony took place in the historic Gürzenich building in Cologne. As a result of the event, the survival simulator with role-playing elements Enshrouded from the Keen Games studio from Frankfurt received the main award – “Best German game 2024”.
Keen Games studio became the undisputed leader of the ceremony: in addition to the main prize, Enshrouded won in the categories “Best Game Design” and “Best Technical Performance”, and the developers themselves received the “Studio of the Year” award. In total, about 500 guests attended the event, including representatives of the gaming industry, politics and society.
Other winners included Closer the Distance from Hamburg-based Osmotic Studios, which won in three categories: Best Audio, Best Story and Innovation Prize.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Media, Nathaniel Liminski, noted the gaming industry’s contribution to the development of technology and the economy, and also announced the allocation of additional funds for the development of games aimed at combating disinformation and extremism.
List of winners of the Deutschen Entwicklerpreis 2024:
- Best German Game – Enshrouded (Keen Games)
- Studio of the Year – Keen Games
- Best Indie Game – Dungeons of Hinterberg (Microbird)
- Best Casual Game – CubeQuest – A QB Game (Stephan Göbel)
- Best Game with a Social Message – Vampire Therapist (Little Bat Games)
- Best Game Design – Enshrouded (Keen Games)
- Best Audio – Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios)
- Best Graphics: Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)
- Best Story – Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios)
- Best Technical Performance – Enshrouded (Keen Games)
- Innovation Award – Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios)
- Special award for social activity – Sterzik LAN (Sebastian Sterzik)
- Ubisoft Young Developer Award – Map Map – A Game About Maps (Pipapo Games)
- NRW Sponsorship Award for Young Women Developers – Katrin Radtke
The best games of the year are determined in two stages. First, an expert jury of 5 people discusses and determines the nominations and winners who took first place in 13 categories. The “Grand Jury” will then select the “Best German Game” from all nominated games and determine the nominees in that category. The awards are open to games developed primarily in , Austria or Switzerland.
