The Canadian Game Awards has officially crowned its Game of the Year 2025 during its February 15 livestream and in-person event. The annual awards ceremony spotlights and celebrates the game developers, content creators, professional players and more, who are all contributing to the growing Canadian games industry.
Taking place both on Twitch and live at the TIFF Lightbox, this year's Canadian Game Awards crowned Balatro as its Game of the Year 2025. While the nominees for the GOTY category presented some tough competition, Balatro is a well-deserving winner. One of 2024's best games - and with a Metacritic score of 90 - the Canadian game's impact on the industry and its players can't be ignored. Developer LocalThunk ended up scooping a total of five awards during CGA, including Studio of the Year and Best Debut Studio.
Who Were The Game Of The Year Nominees?
The Nominees, Explained
While the Canadian Game Awards recognized plenty of studios, developers, innovators, and experts in games - along with some of the best AAA and indie releases of the last year - the Game of the Year award showdown was of particular note. Six of the boldest, brightest, and most exciting releases of 2024 went head-to-head for the accolodate, ultimately going to Balatro.
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Firstly, we had the visually stunning metroidvania ScreenRant awarded a 9/10 to.
Balatro Is A Well-Deserving Winner
Setting A High Bar For The Next Canadian Game Awards
Winner Balatro took the gaming world by storm when it released last year, and is well worth playing thanks to its unique gameplay. Described as a "poker roguelike" that really develops on classic deckbuilding mechanics, it's hard not to see just what developer LocalThunk achieved with this wonderfully addictive indie gem.
What's perhaps even more impressive than its gameplay is the fact that LocalThunk - from Saskatchewan, Canada - is the solo developer behind Balatro, making this GOTY win an even more impressive achievement for the relatively new creator. While we don't know what's coming next from LocalThunk, we hope we'll see him again at the next Canadian Game Awards.
In the interest of transparency, ScreenRant's parent company Valnet has ed as the Title Sponsor for the 2025 edition of the awards. ScreenRant is also the Official Media Partner of the event.
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
- Description
- Founded in 2020, the Canadian Game Awards honor Canada’s thriving gaming industry. Originally aimed at industry professionals, it now celebrates both creators and fans, emphasizing Canada’s global leadership in interactive entertainment and its dynamic gaming community.
- Dates
- February 15, 2025
- Website
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https://cgameawards.com/
