This year’s Australian Game Developer Awards winners have been announced, with Beethoven & Dinosaur’s Mixtape taking home three awards, including Game of the Year, Excellence in Art, and Sound Design.
AGDA judges commended Mixtape as “a virtual storytelling triumph, combining a unique visual style with heartfelt music to deliver an unforgettable experience.”
Tempo Lab Games’ Bits & Bops rhythm game received two awards for Excellence in Gameplay and Accessibility.
Uppercut Games, based in Canberra, was named Studio of the Year for their dedication to fostering a diverse and collaborative team culture.
Uppercut Games, known for the Submerged series, is currently developing Magicians: The Devil’s Deal, set to release in 2027.
Other winners included Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar for Excellence in Narrative, Malys for Excellence in Music, and Key Fairy for Excellence in Debut.
The Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) Legacy Award was presented to Tony Albrecht, a principal software engineer at Riot Games, for his advocacy and commitment to the ANZ video game community.
Amy Potter-Jarman from Synty Studios and Tyson Butler-Boschma from Gameloft received the 2026 Rising Star Award.
The Adam Lancman Award went to Paris Buttfield-Addison, the creative director at Secret Lab and Yarn Spinner.
Ron Curry, CEO of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), commented on the industry’s talent and diversity showcased in this year’s winners and finalists.
Curry emphasized the importance of government support in driving growth and innovation within the Australian games industry.
The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) recently doubled its Digital Games Fund (DGF) to $1 million, offering support to local developers through various funding streams and the Game Studio Placement Program.
Here is the complete list of winners for the Australian Game Developer Awards 2026:
- Game of the Year: Mixtape (Beethoven & Dinosaur)
- Excellence in Art: Mixtape
- Excellence in Gameplay: Bits & Bops (Tempo Lab Games)
- Excellence in Narrative: Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar (Abandoned Sheep with SuperTonic, Actuator Digital & Translationz)
- Excellence in Sound Design: Mixtape
- Excellence in Music: Malys (Summerfall Studios with Belinda Coomes and Montaigne)
- Excellence in Accessibility: Bits & Bops
- Excellence in Extended Reality: Hyper Bullet (Protostar)
- Excellence in Impact: Bluey’s Happy Snaps (Gameloft Brisbane with BBC Studios, Ludo Studio & Bandai Namco)
- Excellence in Debut: Key Fairy (Owl Machine)
- Excellence in Ongoing: Static Shift Racing (Timbo Jimbo)
- The Rising Star: Amy Potter-Jarman and Tyson Butler-Boschma
- The Adam Lancman Award: Paris Buttfield-Addison
- The GCAP Legacy Award: Tony Albrecht
- Studio of the Year: Uppercut Games