Titanium Court picks up the Grand Prize at the 28th annual Independent Games Festival Awards
Held as part of the 2026 GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco, the IGF Awards celebrates the most innovative and exciting independent games of the past year.
The night’s top honour, the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game, went to Titanium Court, the genre-blending puzzle roguelike developed by AP Thomson. Its mix of surreal humour and cleverly layered systems also earned the game the Excellence in Design award.
The win marks a notable milestone for Thomson, who previously worked on the 2025 Grand Prize winner Consume Me alongside Jenny Jiao Hsia. The achievement places him among a small group of developers whose work has won the IGF’s top honour twice.
Elsewhere, the awards highlighted the range and creativity of this year’s indie field. The experimental horror title HORSES received the Nuovo Award for pushing the boundaries of the medium, while Poco won Best Student Game.
Excellence in Visual Arts went to Eclipsium, Excellence in Audio to the delightfully awkward traversal game Baby Steps, and the fan-voted Audience Award to Wednesdays.
Below is the full list of winners and nominees for the 2026 Independent Games Festival Awards. Congratulations from the Thumbsticks team to all of the finalists.
2026 Independent Games Festival Award Winners
Best Student Game
- BubbleBeast DigiDungeon (EchoLane)
- Kiloton (Jack Morehart)
- Poco (Whalefall, Micah Boursier)
- Prší (Herdek)
- Sip Fisher (Syphon Software)
- SPRKLS.exe (PesiiDom)
Excellence in Audio
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- BALL x PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital)
- Blippo+ (Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
- Eclipsium (Housefire, Critical ReflexX)
- Morsels (Furcula, Annapurna Interactive)
- Wheel World (Messhof, Annapurna Interactive)
Excellence in Design
- Angeline Era (Analgesic Productions)
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- Öoo (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
- Skin Deep (Blendo Games, Annapurna Interactive)
- Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
- Time Flies (Playables, Panic)
Excellence in Narrative
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Three Bees)
- Promise Mascot Agency (Kaizen Game Works)
- Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
- Type Help (William Rous)
- Wednesdays (The Pixel Hunt, Arte France)
Excellence in Visual Arts
- Blippo+ (Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
- CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs (Bastinus Rex, Critical Reflex)
- Eclipsium (Housefire, Critical Reflex)
- Loco Motive (Robust Games, Chucklefish)
- Morsels (Furcula, Annapurna Interactive)
- Skate Story (Sam Eng, Devolver Digital)
Nuovo Award
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- Blippo+ (Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
- HORSES (Andrea Lucco Borlera, Santa Ragione)
- Mini Mini Golf Golf (Three More Years)
- Plum Road Tea Dream (Reveal Game Studio)
- Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
- kevin’s PLAYING in berlin (Kevin Du)
- Wednesdays (The Pixel Hunt, Arte France)
WINGS Award
- Ambrosia Sky (Soft Rains)
- Backpack Battles (PlayWithFurcifer, IndieArk)
- The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio, Stray Fawn Publishing, Whisper Games)
- Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall (Brave at Night)
- 13Z: The Zodiac Trials (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd)
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Three Bees)
- Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
- Angeline Era (Analgesic Productions)
- Blippo+ (Yacht, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
- HORSES (Andrea Lucco Borlera, Santa Ragione)
- Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
