gamescom award 2025 Nominees: Resident Evil Requiem Leads With Five Nods
The race for gamescom's trophies is on. An international jury of games journalists and content creators has picked the nominees for the gamescom award 2025, and one game towers over the field: Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem leads with five nominations, including Best Visuals, Best Audio, Best Gameplay, and Most Epic. Borderlands 4 and Crimson Desert follow with four nods each, while Donkey Kong Bananza, cozy Scandinavian adventure Hela, and Mario Kart World each collect three. Community voting opens August 20, and this year, fans decide more categories than ever.
Requiem is the one to beat
Capcom arriving at gamescom with the strongest slate is no surprise to anyone following the pre-show buzz, but five nominations for a single title is a statement. Resident Evil Requiem dominates the ARTS category group, the awards' craft-focused section, appearing in nearly every major category. With Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword also in Capcom's lineup, the publisher looks set for a big week in Cologne.
The chasing pack is strong, though. Gearbox's Borderlands 4 and Pearl Abyss' long-awaited Crimson Desert each landed four nominations across the ARTS and PLATFORM groups, and Nintendo arrives with a double punch of Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World. The pleasant surprise of the list is Hela from Windup, a wholesome adventure inspired by Scandinavian nature that snuck into three categories alongside the blockbusters. Indie representation extends further with nominees like MIO: Memories In Orbit, Cairn, and Bye Sweet Carole scattered across the craft categories.
New categories, more community power
The GLOBAL category group has been expanded for 2025. Alongside the HEART OF GAMING Award, the jury now hands out Best Lineup, Best Booth, and Best Business Booth. More interestingly for visitors, the consumer-decided categories grow too: Best Trailer/Announcement is joined by new Best Merch and Best Booth consumer awards, all decided exclusively by community vote.
Voting runs from Wednesday, August 20 to Thursday, August 21 at 2 p.m. CEST, online at gamescom.global and on site via QR codes. If you are walking the halls those days, your ballot actually matters: fan votes decide a meaningful share of this year's winners.
Our read on the field
Award nominations at gamescom double as a snapshot of the industry's momentum, and this year's snapshot is telling: a Japanese horror juggernaut leading, two huge open-world hopefuls chasing, Nintendo's new-generation lineup asserting itself, and small teams like Windup punching far above their weight. It mirrors the show itself, blockbusters and indies sharing more space than ever.
The winners will be announced on Friday, August 22 at the gamescom studio powered by IGN. Our prediction: it will take something special to stop Requiem.
