Non-profit gaming organization Games for Change has releveled the winners of its annual 2023 Games for Change Festival. The Festival took place July 18-19 in New York City, and featured dozens of guest speakers from game studios, indie developers, game press, and tech companies, as well as the award show.
Endling: Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios) won Game of the Year, as well as Most Significant Impact, for its depiction of a mother fox keeping her cubs alive in an apocalyptic Earth ravaged by mankind.
“This year, we were astounded and inspired by the global creativity and innovation in all of our Award nominees,” stated Susanna Pollack, President, Games for Change. “We’re thrilled to honor ‘Endling: Extinction is Forever’ by Herobeat Studios as our Game of the Year. This game confronts us with the harsh realities of environmental degradation, encourages critical conversations about conservation, and exemplifies the transformative power of games as catalysts for social change.”
The LEGO Group won the prestigious Industry Leadership Award, for “outstanding efforts in online safety, creativity, collaboration, and responsible digital citizenship.”
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized by Games for Change in its Industry Leadership category for our work helping provide engaging, immersive, and creatively rich digital experiences for kids that are grounded in the highest safety standards,” said Carolina Giuga, Senior Director, The LEGO Group. “We believe that, as an industry, we are moving in the right direction but there is still more work to do to ensure the builders of tomorrow can reach their creative potential in digital environments that are safe by design, and we look forward to continuing our work with a variety of partners to help realize that vision.”
Other Games for Change winners:
- Most Innovative – Terra Nil
- Best Narrative – Gerda: A Flame in Winter
- Best Student Game – (val)iant: or val’s guide to having a broken vag
- Best Learning Game – Go Nisha Go: My Life My Choice
- Best XR for Change Experience – Body of Mine VR
- Best Health Game – Luna’s Light
- Best Civics Game – Cat Park
- Best Gameplay – I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
- Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact – SHASN: AZADI
- Hall of Change Award – Alan Greshenfeld
Endling: Extinction is Forever is available on PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and mobile devices. It’s rated T for Teen.
