Games for Change Unveils 2024 Award Winners

Games for Change revealed the winners of the 12th annual 2024 Games for Change Awards. The event was hosted by Anjali Bhimani of Ms. Marvel, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Dead to Me. The awards honored 13 winners across 16 categories, including Stay Alive, My Son Chapter 1 & 2 from UME Studios, which was named Game of the Year and also won Best in Impact and Best Narrative Awards. The ceremony, which took place at Parsons School of Design at The New School, also celebrated previously announced Special Award Honorees, Alyssa Sweetman with the G4C Vanguard Award, Twitch for the G4C Giving Award, Minecraft and Mojang Studios for Industry Leadership, and Venba as the inaugural G4C Indie Breakout Game.

“This year’s Games for Change Awards showcase a remarkable evolution in the power of games and immersive media to address complex global issues,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “From ‘Stay Alive, My Son’ tackling historical trauma through VR, to ‘The Plastic Pipeline’ gamifying environmental policy, we’re seeing this medium push boundaries not just in technology, but in their capacity to foster empathy, drive social change, and redefine how we engage with pressing societal challenges. These winners exemplify how games and immersive media are a tool for imagining and creating better futures.”

The 2024 Games for Change Winners are: 

Game of the Year, Best in Impact, Best Narrative – Stay Alive, My Son Chapter 1 & 2 (UME Studios)
This virtual reality feature combines cinema and gaming, immersing viewers in a groundbreaking, interactive emotional odyssey. It unfolds Yathay Pin’s painful journey through locked memories, family separation, and redemption.

Best in Innovation – Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Games)
An epic tale of gods, magic, and a millennium-long journey to rediscovery. Players take on the role of Grace in a world where Greek Gods live in hiding among us, using musical powers to unravel mysteries.

Best Gameplay – A Highland Song (inkle)
A wild adventure through the Scottish Highlands where players guide Moira McKinnon as she runs away across a wilderness of paths, peaks, and dangers. Players climb peaks, spelunk through caves, and find their way to the sea.

Best in Civics, Best in Learning – Headlines and High Water (Field Day Lab)
Players become a young journalist in the fictional town of Twin Lakes, covering a catastrophic flood during the annual Cherry Festival. They interview locals and write stories to keep the town informed while staying safe.

Best in Environmental Impact – The Plastic Pipeline (FableVision)
This game takes players through points on the ‘lifecycle’ of a single-use plastic product, empowering them to learn about policies being used to fight ocean plastic pollution.

Best in Health & Wellness – Soul Paint (Hatsumi & Monobanda)
Soul Paint is an immersive experience taking participants on a journey to explore and creatively express feelings of emotion and sensations in the body.

Best in XR – MLK: Now Is The Time (Flight School Studio, TIME Studios, Meta VR For Good)
An immersive journey exploring key themes of Dr. King’s famous speech, highlighting systemic inequities that persist in our society through first-person stories and interactions.

Best Student Project – Stop and Breathe (One Must Imagine Games)
A game that teaches youth the importance of proper breathing techniques to help overcome anxiety.

Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact – Daybreak (CMYK)
A cooperative board game about stopping climate change, where players work together to decarbonize the world while striving to build a just and safe future for all.

In addition to the winners above, the ceremony also highlighted the Special Award Recipients below:

Industry Leadership Award: Minecraft
Minecraft, the revolutionary sandbox game created by Mojang Studios, has been awarded this honor for its unparalleled influence on the gaming landscape over the past 15 years. With its open-world format and limitless creative potential, Minecraft has empowered millions of players worldwide to build, explore, and collaborate in ways never before imagined, leaving an indelible mark on the industry and showcasing the boundless creativity of its players.

G4C Giving Award: Twitch
Twitch, the world’s leading live-streaming service, has been recognized for its instrumental role in driving real-world change through its innovative charity tools for creators. The Twitch community has raised millions for various charitable causes, demonstrating the service’s commitment to rallying its users to support a wide range of causes and organizations, amplifying its impact on a global scale.

G4C Indie Breakout Award: Venba
The G4C Indie Breakout Award celebrates a studio’s first game, demonstrating outstanding innovation in bridging entertainment and commercial success with real-world impact. Venba, the recipient of this year’s inaugural award, has been honored for its meaningful and authentic representation of the immigrant experience. By addressing important issues of cultural identity through innovative gameplay mechanics and a thought-provoking narrative, Venba exemplifies the power of games to create awareness, foster empathy, and bridge the gap between entertainment and real-world impact.

Vanguard Award: Alyssa Sweetman
Alyssa Sweetman has been recognized for her leadership in driving real-world change through her dedication to charity fundraising and social impact. From establishing Gallant Gamers to her impactful work at Twitch, Sweetman’s journey showcases her commitment to fostering inclusivity and positive change within the gaming industry, aligning perfectly with the values and goals of Games for Change.

Anjali Bhimani was also announced as the inaugural G4C Ambassador at the ceremony. As a G4C Ambassador, Anjali will collaborate with the organization to participate in global events and inspire a new generation of changemakers to harness the power of games for social impact. Her commitment to celebrating diverse voices and stories in the gaming industry and her influential platform and engaged audience make her an ideal ambassador to help drive the games for good movement forward.

About Games for Change
Since 2004, Games for Change (G4C) has empowered game creators and innovators to drive real-world change, using games and immersive media that help people learn, improve their communities, and contribute to making the world a better place. G4C partners with technology and gaming companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies to run world-class events, public arcades, design challenges, and youth programs. G4C supports a global community of game developers using games to tackle real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education.