Are you satisfied with this year's TGA Game of the Year winners in each category?

Last Friday, the TGA 2025 Awards Ceremony just wrapped up, but the memes and discussions sparked by the event are only getting more intense.

As you can see, this year’s TGA was once again packed with big names, featuring renowned game developers, Hollywood stars, and executives from major studios—maintaining the “high standards” expected of the annual gaming awards ceremony.At the same time, however, the final award winners, the “interruptions” of new game trailers during lengthy commercial breaks, and the fact that some games considered excellent by players were completely overlooked and walked away empty-handed instantly brought to a head the frustrations that had been building up over the past few years.

This year’s TGA was a rare instance where the excitement outside the venue surpassed that inside, making it a truly memorable annual “celebration.” In this episode of “Game Tea Roundtable,” we spoke with industry professionals from various fields to hear their thoughts on this year’s TGA and the games that won awards in each category.

▍Ubisoft's Fallen King: My XR Is Just for Fun

First of all, the answer is definitely no. Ever since the TGA began presenting awards two years ago, there have been all sorts of controversies. The games players have played, the ones they love, and the ones they hoped would be nominated and win may ultimately turn out to be complete surprises. Objectively speaking, the current standards for scoring and judging each title are now “worlds apart” from those of the past.

First, game design tools are rapidly improving, making it easier than ever to create games of various genres, and the complexity of major titles continues to increase. Judges and players may not necessarily have enough time to “play through” them.

Second, as a judge, personal preferences will always influence the results to some extent (which is why scoring systems and evaluation frameworks dominated by Western gaming media have come to prevail).Subjectively speaking, the underlying scoring principles have shifted from the past—where the focus was on “continuing to inspire future generations”—to the present, where the criteria have become “XX really paid a lot” or “XX’s rich kid is truly well-off.” With the influx of capital, the TGA—or rather, Geoff—has found itself caught in a “dilemma” over how this pie should be divided and who should be doing the dividing.

How to appeal to a broad audience without being rejected by the core fanbase has become a top priority. Finally, from a very personal perspective, the TGA’s music—from 2012 to the present—reached its peak between 2017 and 2020, and the quality has been declining ever since.Many of the games featured in the music performances over the past few years have failed to resonate with the audience (to give an example, I played Resident Evil 4, but the game actually lacks a defining theme. It’s not like when the Black Monkey’s suona sounds—everyone stands up!).

▍A Hangzhou Native of Championship Caliber: His Adopted Son, Owen

There were actually two fairly controversial aspects to this awards ceremony. The first was that the Best Indie Game award went to “33.” In terms of development costs, “33” was really inexpensive; if we define indie games based on cost, “33” actually cost less than some indie games.But it doesn’t resemble the typical indie game we imagine at all—it’s quite a cognitive dissonance—so it’s hard to accept. The “indie game” category lacks clear, formal boundaries; what exactly constitutes an indie game is actually quite vague. Otherwise, if you set strict criteria—such as a development cost below a certain threshold, a team size under a certain number,or a game size under a certain threshold—that would be an indie game, and that’s fine; everyone could compete within clear boundaries. Right now, those boundaries are very blurry, so it would be better to rename these awards in the future—to something like “Love-Powered,” “Bourgeois,” or “Capital Behemoth” games.

Second, 33 won too many awards, leaving no points for *Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2*, *Death Stranding 2*, or *Song of Silk*,I don’t think that’s right either. The judges may be prioritizing groundbreaking and innovative works, which is why they seem to discriminate against sequels, but in reality, the games we play the most and get the most immersed in are still the solid, traditional main courses—we don’t necessarily have to go for the experimental dishes.This is a form of “political correctness” that prioritizes “the brand-new, the unknown, and the novelty”—which sounds fine in theory, but it inevitably leads to a massive concentration of awards on a single game.

Finally, this award ceremony also shows that market preferences this year and next are leaning more toward completed games that offer a complete, seamless narrative experience and evoke an emotional response.

▍A slacker at a single-player game company in Chengdu

Thanks for the invite. I was 18 that year, and as I watched *Black Myth* and quietly shed a tear in the audience, I knew it was our generation’s duty to restore the glory of Taiwan’s independent games. Oh, sorry, I got sidetracked.

As far as satisfaction goes, I’d say I’m “pretty dissatisfied” with most of the award winners in the spotlight projects. This feeling comes from knowing it’s reasonable, but still wanting the hell to swear.

In fact, TGA’s unique sense of “pride” and “arrogance” in cultural terms has been present since its inception, though one could argue that it wasn’t intentional at the time—or that its influence was limited back then. However, it is only in recent years that these traits have been amplified and his desires have gradually become more unrestrained.

Much like him, the Hugo Awards are getting more and more crap.The Hugo Awards are quite famous in the sci-fi world, aren’t they? They’re the hall of fame that every sci-fi fan dreams of, but how many Asian winners have there been? If we look only at the most prestigious categories—Best Novel and Best Novella—you can count them on one hand.

Then take a look at how many weirdos and misfits are among the winners—and the Hugo Awards have been held 70 times now; it wasn’t always this “blatant” in the beginning.

We live in an age where desires are magnified: those who do not deserve awards yearn to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great figures of the past, while those who bestow the awards attempt to prove immortality through fleeting success.

▍An exclusive game publisher who wishes to remain anonymous: Zuo Zuo Zuo

TGA? What’s the TGA Awards? Isn’t everyone just there for the game trailers at the ceremony? Aren’t they there for the trailers for The Elder Scrolls VI, Divinity: Original Sin 3, and Prototype 3? Does anyone actually care about this crappy “Breaking the Wall” award? You’d be better off going to the dam to join the “Breaking the Wall” operation (just kidding).

Oh, so aside from Larian, there aren't any other noteworthy new game announcements this year?Just asking to get a laugh, CA. TGA held its 30th-anniversary press conference a few days ago and dropped a teaser—a teaser!—and only today did they finally unveil Total War: 40K, something the community’s been speculating about for two or three years. The UI even looks like an RTS. I don’t want to play a Total War game in the “Minesweeper” style!

Let’s talk about the awards instead. I’ll skip over that certain “Year in France” trip that’s been the hottest topic—the Best Racing game went to *Carriage*, which was solid but unremarkable, and Best Community Support went to *Baldur’s Gate 3*, which was well-deserved.after all, it genuinely delivered a ton of post-launch updates. Best Action and Most Anticipated were both predictable choices, and for Best Strategy—given that traditional strategy giants like Paradox, 2K, and CA all struggled with misjudgments or production bottlenecks in 2025—awarding it to *The Chronicles of Ivalis* was a reasonable decision.

Finally, let’s talk about Expedition No. 33.

This game has been sitting in my Sbeam library the whole time, and I’ve never even opened it. The main reason I don’t play it is because I’m just that kind of person—unless a game perfectly matches my personal tastes, the more people rave about it, the less I want to play it right away.I joined Mondstadt in *Genshin Impact* during the Sumeru update. I’ve bought *Duckov* but haven’t played it yet. The main reason is that some of my influencer and writer friends, who got early access through sponsored deals, complained about some issues with the game’s core quality. Basically, they said it felt like a 70–80 out of 100 game, but since they were paid well, they were happy to play it.After all, I’m not a heavy JRPG player myself, and since I didn’t make any money off this game, I didn’t jump right into it after buying it.At first, the marketing pitch was that it was a “JRPG made by the French” or a “masterpiece of the JRPG revival,” but then, for some reason, it suddenly became a “masterpiece of indie games”—I’ve never seen an indie game that was so generous with its marketing budget.

Of course, we can’t judge whether a game is an indie title based solely on whether or not it has funding; after all, by conventional standards, an indie game is “a game developed without commercial investment, with the developer covering all development costs out of pocket.”It can also refer to creative games that embody an independent spirit—ones that don’t follow the mainstream market in terms of gameplay, style, and other aspects.” Could No. 33 fit the former definition? After all, I have no evidence; maybe all the positive reviews from content creators and marketing accounts across the web, along with the media hype, are entirely voluntary?The latter might also be true—after all, “independence of spirit” is like “XX awakening” or “gender identity”: as long as you claim it, you have it. Anyone who says you don’t must have taken money from American big capital and deserves to be labeled a rightist.

Based on this line of reasoning, I believe that Expedition 33’s sweep of nine awards—especially winning Best Independent Game—is precisely a testament to the TGA’s professionalism.On the one hand, it broadens the definition of indie games, transforming them from a synonym for niche and impoverished to something mainstream and prosperous—much like the Newspeak of 1984’s Oceania (“War is Peace! Independence is Wealth!”).On the other hand, by awarding the vast majority of prizes to a single game that fits the TGA’s definition of an indie title, it has fostered an atmosphere of a thriving indie gaming industry—a kind of statistical beauty akin to claiming that the average savings of “me and Jack Ma” exceed 100 million. These two aspects also fully demonstrate Jeff’s political acumen and emotional intelligence; he’d have no trouble serving as a deputy division-level official in China.

Finally, with the Lunar New Year just around the corner, let’s share some auspicious words. When producing films and TV shows, domestic investors tend to take the admirable qualities of these poor characters—such as resilience, frugality, andkindness—these admirable qualities of the poor—and assign them to the wealthy protagonists in their productions. Similarly, foreign investors tend to attribute creativity, originality, and a refusal to follow the mainstream to “independent games” backed by ample financial resources. In the end, we all share the same essence, but we all have a bright future ahead of us.

▍Wu Kenan, Head of kingnagame

One of the most controversial topics in the industry recently has been *Light and Shadow: Expedition 33* winning the Best Independent Game award. Independent games have always been a somewhat contentious topic within the industry, and everyone has their own views on them. Some believe that an independent game must be developed without any capital involvement and entirely based on the developer’s personal vision, while others believe that as long as it embodies an independent spirit, it qualifies as an independent game.We once conducted a similar survey in our community. Some players believe that, compared to mainstream games, indie games are of lower production quality—they have obvious flaws as well as obvious strengths—but they must possess characteristics that distinguish them from mainstream games. In short, there are all kinds of opinions, but most players actually just care about whether a game is fun to play—or whether it suits their tastes.

Personally, I believe that since games have a price tag, they essentially possess the characteristics of a commodity. Works of art can also be commodities—just as when you appreciate an exhibition by a certain artist and are willing to pay to see it,and he displays the works in a bright, clean, and well-organized gallery, he’s bound to think about how to provide his audience with a good viewing experience. This comfortable experience itself is already the beginning of a service.To put it another way, if the artist were to display the works in a dim, damp space—or even skimp on lighting—the audience would feel neglected. Similarly, if you were to use a Da Vinci piece to falsely advertise and attract Picasso’s audience, it would backfire.

As a developer, there’s no need to deliberately define your work—such definitions aren’t all that important to players anyway. When promoting your game, be open and honest about what you want to convey and what the visuals look like. Most players will notice any flaws in your work, so focus on attracting players who are willing to support it, then gradually incorporate their feedback. Let the players define the rest.

▍Mu Mu, Head of Game Publishing at Fengju Culture

That’s absolutely perfect—33 is the age at which Jesus was crucified, and 33 is TGA’s new savior. Inspired by 33, TGA has redefined what an indie game is with a fresh perspective,Thanks to *Light and Shadow: Expedition 33*, its brilliance has overshadowed other indie games still struggling on the front lines and ushered in a new era.

This year’s TGA was marked by a constant tension between commercial interests and “artistic merit.” On the one hand, the title of “Nine-Time Champion” awarded to No. 33 demonstrated the potential of “independent games” to many players, which is a positive development. On the other hand, it did create some ambiguity regarding the selection criteria.

In my humble opinion, genuine feedback from players is perhaps the most valuable “medal” worth pursuing. Everyone has their own perspective; expert opinions do not necessarily represent the views of the general public, and behind those expert opinions often lie complex power struggles.I believe we should increase the weight of public votes or establish more awards with a higher weighting for public votes. Only by striking a balance between the development of professional artistry and the emotional expression of players can our gaming industry continue to improve.