On the evening of October 18, the Belgian games industry gathered to celebrate the very best our country has to offer. The Belgian Game Awards, organized by FLEGA and BelgianGames with support from various partners of the Belgian game ecosystem, are excited to announce the results for this year’s show! In presence of the brand new Flemish Minister of Media, in charge of video games Cieltje Van Achter, over 500 people from the gamesector gathered to celebrate video games made in Belgium.

Without further ado, let’s get to the list of winners:

XR Game of the Year

1. GAZZLERS by Bolt Blaster Games
2. Breachers by Triangle Factory
3. BAM by I-Illusions

What the jury had to say: “GAZZLERS is a game with universal appeal that makes losing feel like fun. The game is very intuitive and makes good use of the VR medium. It makes you want to come back for more. The Art direction is remarkable, the game is well polished and the voice acting is sublime.”

Best Applied Game

1. Please, Touch The Artwork 2 by Thomas Waterzooi
2. Kadet by Die Keure
3. The Man Came Around by Pipette Inc

What the jury had to say: “Please, Touch The Artwork 2 is easily accessible and can be used anywhere: from the kitchen to the museum or in schools. It brings the big C of Culture to anyone using the medium of a game”

Best Narrative

1. Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios
2. The Man Came Around by Pipette Inc
3. Gangs of Sherwood by Appeal Studios

What the jury had to say: “Baldur’s Gate 3 is in a league of its own. The game stayed true to the studio’s DNA while thriving on a huge and impressive IP. The communities that arose around the game’s characters, such as Astarion, have never been seen before. There is an enormous amount of effort and content put in the narrative lines. The storylines and characters became real for many players; which makes this game unique.”

Best Audio

1. Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios
2. Swarm Survivor by Megaloh! Games
3. Verses of Enchantment by Nachtvlam

What the jury had to say: “A lot of the emotions and immersion in Baldur’s Gate 3 come to the player through the music. The music is even used in other media to set the atmosphere of a scene (e.g. De Mol). The voice acting is sublime and the game single-handedly launched the career of its voice actors. Goosebumps all over every time we start-up it up and the first score starts.”

Best Visual Art

1. The Man Came Around by Pipette Inc
2. Waking Tides by AirshipFX
3. Please, Touch The Artwork 2 by Thomas Waterzooi

What the jury had to say: “Developed by a single person, The Man Came Around managed to set a very strong identity. If you see a screenshot of this game, you immediately recognize the art style. A simple style that works and doesn’t follow the 2D trends.”

Best Game Design

1. Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios
2. GAZZLERS by Bolt Blaster Games
3. Slapshot Rebound by Oddshot Games

What the jury had to say: “Even if you hate turned-base-combat, you’ll still love Baldur’s Gate 3 as it made the Dungeons & Dragons rules less boring. Every detail is just right; the difficulty levels are well balanced and there is an undeniable Larian touch in the way the toy box elements have been perfected.”

Best Multiplayer

1. Breachers by Triangle Factory
2. Slapshot Rebound by Oddshot Games
3. Kraken Island by VEX Solutions

What the jury had to say: “If Counterstrike and Rainbow 6 would have a love-child in VR, Breachers would be it! With a huge player community – and some practice to get the hang of it – once you’re in, you are hooked.” 

Student Game of the Year

1. Nebelmer by Haute École Albert Jacquard students
2. Don’t Forget by Howest DAE students
3. A Postman’s Journey by LUCA School of Arts students

What the jury had to say: “Nebelmer offers an incredible experience and is so well polished for a student game. Please finish it and put it on the market!”

Most Anticipated Release

1. Laser Dance by Studio Vanbo
2. Koira by Studio Tolima
3. Glommy Eyes – The Game by Fishing Cactus

What the jury had to say: “Laser Dance is the perfect Mixed Reality game to showcase to people who don’t grasp the concept yet. Any room in your house can be turned into a unique level and the possibilities are endless. Brilliant concept with a flawless execution, we can’t wait to play more of it!”

Best Tech Provider

1. Demute
2. Briganti
3. Cybernetic Walrus

What the jury had to say: “Demute has an impressive track record working on scopes ranging from big AAA titles to humble indie games. They have worked on over 20 Belgian games and remain an important element for our Belgian games ecosystem. But they have big news to share: in January 2025, they will open a new branch in Montreal to better serve their North American clients whil still offering advice, audio services, tools and shared knowledge to Belgian studios.”

Changemaker of the Year

1. Demute
2. Briganti
3. Cybernetic Walrus

What the jury had to say: “Demute has an impressive track record working on scopes ranging from big AAA titles to humble indie games. They have worked on over 20 Belgian games and remain an important element for our Belgian games ecosystem. But they have big news to share: in January 2025, they will open a new branch in Montreal to better serve their North American clients whil still offering advice, audio services, tools and shared knowledge to Belgian studios.”

Most Promising Start-up

1. Maracas Studio
2. Clever Trickster
3. Tovenaar

What the jury had to say: “Maracas is a young studio with a very holistic view. They know where they come from, who they are, and where they are going. The studio works on a diverse portfolio of games and carefully adjusts which projects to invest in, while also giving back to the local community through their recurring Game Dev Afterwork meet-ups.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 wins Game of the Year + Audience Award!

What the jury had to say: “Maracas is a young studio with a very holistic view. They know where they come from, who they are, and where they are going. The studio works on a diverse portfolio of games and carefully adjusts which projects to invest in, while also giving back to the local community through their recurring Game Dev Afterwork meet-ups.”

So there you have it! The winners of the Belgian Game Awards 2024 are known, and we’ll celebrate their legacy forever!

Did you miss the show LIVE? Don’t worry, you can watch the video on youtube.