Game Republic has announced the nominees for its 2025 Industry Awards, celebrating over 100 studios, developers, and projects from across Northern England. And there are some sports games that are on the ballot this year.
Set to take place on November 13 at Tileyard North in Wakefield, the Industry Awards will spotlight creativity, innovation, and community impact across 12 categories, including Best Indie Game Made in the North, Studio Hero, and Games Legend. The event will be part of the GaMaYo gathering, with more than 400 developers expected to attend.
While the awards feature a wide range of genres, sports and simulation games have a notable footprint this year. Retro Slam Tennis (New Star Games), Rugby League 24 (Distinctive Games), and Dunk Dunk (Badgerhammer/Playtonic Games) all earned nominations for Best Indie Game Made in the North, showcasing the North’s enduring influence on the sports gaming scene.
On the studio side, Distinctive Games and New Star Games — two of the UK’s longest-running sports developers — are contenders for Best Small Studio, while Steel City Interactive (creators of Undisputed, the first licensed boxing sim in over a decade) competes in the Best Mid-Sized Studio category.
The ceremony’s mix of grassroots creativity and established expertise highlights a growing appetite for indie-driven sports titles, many of which are reviving classic genres through modern design. Winners will be revealed on November 13, with The Guardian’s Keith Stuart serving as this year’s lead judge.
Here is the full list of rewards and nominees:
Best Indie Game Made in the North (Sponsored by Xsolla)
- Rules and Rodents (Gravy Crew)
- Empyreal (Silent Games)
- Retro Slam Tennis (New Star Games)
- Rugby League 24 (Distinctive Games)
- Dunk Dunk (Badgerhammer/Playtonic Games)
- Dicealot (Goodview Games/Yogscast Games)
- Ascend (Miami Avalon)
- Platypus Reclayed (Claymatic Games)
- Wyrd Waters (Maximalist)
- Vextorial (Vext Games/Dink)
- Starship Troopers Continuum (XR Games)
- Train Sim World VR: New York (Just Add Water)
- Siege and The Sandfox (Cardboard Sword)
- Racoon Saloon (Theo Clarke)
- Positron (Retroburn)
Best Small Studio Award (Sponsored by Yogscast Games)
- Dink
- Observer Interactive
- Panda Cat Games
- 10:10 Games
- ShotDash
- BetaJester Ltd
- Cooperative Innovations
- Maximalist Ltd
- Dreaming Methods
- North Breeze Entertainment
- Claymatic Games
- Badgerhammer
- Five Aces/New Star Games
- Distinctive Games
Best Mid-Sized Studio Award (Sponsored by Other Things)
- Radical Forge
- Red Kite Games
- Atomhawk
- Nosebleed Interactive
- Skyhook Games
- Behaviour Interactive
- Tanglewood Games
- Steel City Interactive
Best Large Studio Award (Sponsored by Eaton Smith Solicitors)
- Team17
- Sumo Digital
- Wushu Studios
- Double11
- D3t
- Cloud Imperium
- Firesprite
- Lucid Games
Inclusivity Award
- BetaJester Ltd
- Radical Forge
- Safe In Our World
- One to One Development Trust
Most Innovative Use of Technology (Sponsored by HP and AMD with Escape Technology)
- Cooperative Innovations
- Northwave
- Reflex Arc
- One to One Development Trust
- Tanglewood Games
- Huey Games
Studio Hero Award (Sponsored by Plus Accounting)
- Niall Curran (Dink)
- Adam Roley (Team17)
- Harry Knott (Observer Interactive)
- Adam Grimley (Huey Games)
- Natasha Vincent (EA Playdemic)
- Derek Cowap (Radical Forge)
- Tara Naz Cloth (Cat Games)
- Adam Clewes-Boyne (BetaJester Ltd)
- Grant Clark (Double Eleven)
- Johnny Hughes (Double Eleven)
- Lewis Bibby (Cooperative Innovations)
- Jamie Smith (Behaviour Interactive)
- Ryan Smith (Radical Forge)
- Jake Richards (Dink)
- Ash Habib (Steel City Interactive)
Community Manager Award
- Molly Holmes (Panda Cat Games)
- Pedro Silva (Double Eleven)
- Harry Flanagan (The Save Room Club)
- Em Aspinall (Safe In Our World)
- Tom Birdsey (Team17)
- Luke Stead (Curve Games)
- Kevin Johnson (Electronic Arts)
Martyn Brown Rising Star Award
- Harry Flanagan (Revolution)
- Jess Whall (Chokepoint Creative)
- Marco (Otterweave Games Studio)
- Yasmina Fadel (Maximalist)
- Jordan Thorpe (Snappy Gurus)
- Sarah York (Panda Cat Games)
- Natasha Handley
- Rich Thompson (Black Rose Studio)
- Ryan Smith (Radical Forge)
- Francesca White (Behaviour Interactive)
- Northwave
- Maximalist
- Paige Grant (Pitstop Productions)
Inspiring Course Leader Award (Sponsored by Double Eleven)
- James Cotterill (University Campus Doncaster)
- Dr. Duke Gledhill (University of Huddersfield)
- Michael Smith (Heart of Yorkshire)
- Kieran Hicks (University of Staffordshire)
- Rob Charlish (Wakefield College/Heart of Yorkshire)
- Marco A. Valerio (Leeds Beckett University)
- Stuart Lilford (University of Hull)
- Mike Acosta (University of Staffordshire)
- Emma Nuttall (University of Salford)
- Matthew Crossley (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Best Game-Related Research
- Dr Martin Turner, Dr John Henry, Dr Ashley Williams (Manchester Metropolitan University)
- TriageStory Team (Sheffield Hallam University)
- Stuart Lilford, Adrian Mills & David Grant
- Francesca Foffano (IGGI)
- Tania Dales (University of York)
- Tom Garner (Sheffield Hallam University)
- Tom Battey (Sheffield Hallam University)
- Kieran Hicks and Chris Headleand (University of Staffordshire)
Games Legend (Sponsored by Red Kite Games)
- Matt Shepcar (Red Kite Games)
- Shaun Southern (Playdemic)
- Sally Blake (Silent Games)
- Matty McGrory (Observer Interactive)
- Simon Barratt (Cooperative Innovations)
- Matt Phillips (Double Eleven)
- Darren Falcus
- Ian Stewart (Gremlin Graphics)
- Nina Cliff (Auroch Digital)
