Hosted by Taipei Game Show, the Asia-leading Indie Game Award 2026 officially announced its winners, capping off the largest edition in the event’s history as this year’s awards were held in collaboration with PlayStation, drawing 515 entries from 51 countries and regions. The surge marked a 1.5 fold increase compared to previous years.
Japanese developer TearyHand Studio’s and Roger emerged as the night’s standout title, sweeping both the Grand Prix and Best Audio awards. The judges praised the game’s deeply emotional storytelling, refined controls, and a soundtrack that was seamlessly woven into the experience, which moved the panelists to tears.
In total, seven winning teams from around the world gathered in Taipei to celebrate their achievements, sharing the stage alongside dozens of finalist teams and exhibitors. Below are the winners of Indie Game Awards 2026:
Grand Prix
Winner: and Roger by TearyHand Studio
An interactive novel putting you in the protagonist’s eyes, whether what she sees makes sense or not. It’s three chapters, playable in about an hour, with user-friendly right-click operation. This game is inspired by and pays homage to “Florence”.
Best Narrative
Winner: the Berlin Apartment by Blue Backpack
A 120-year-old apartment building in Berlin, Germany, a city that has undergone constant change over the years. The “remnants” left behind by former residents hide stories of past adventures. Each era has its own protagonists, atmosphere, and stories.
Nominees:
- All Our Broken Parts by Tin Bird
- CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs by Bastinus Rex Critical Reflex
- Above the Snow by Above the Desk
- NODE: The Last Favor of the Antarii by Lapsus Games
Best Visual Art
Winner: 亞路塔 Aeruta by FromDawn Games
A bread revolution across the world now begins! Aeruta is a side-scrolling action game with a shop management twist! Fight monsters for materials and use them to make bread, then finally make the deserted town popular again!
Nominees:
- Doloc Town by RedSaw Games Studio
- Breathedge 2 by RedRuins Softworks
- Toy Smash Kaboom! by Free Particle Studio
- The Northern Path by Triluna
- Graytail by Concode
- The Wandering Village by Stray Fawn Studio
- Back of Beyond by Poly Poly Games
Best Design
Winner: BALL x PIT by Kenny Sun & Friends
A brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite. Batter hordes of enemies with ricocheting balls and gather the riches of the pit to expand your homestead, generate resources and recruit unique heroes.
Nominees:
- MotionRec by HANDSUM Playism
- 9 Kings by Sad Socket Hooded Horse
- Telebbit by IKINA GAMES_Traveler The King Is Watching by Hypnohead Roots Devour by Rewinding Games
- Net.Attack() by ByteRockers’ Games
Best Audio
Winner: and Roger by TearyHand Studio
An interactive novel putting you in the protagonist’s eyes, whether what she sees makes sense or not. It’s three chapters, playable in about an hour, with user-friendly right-click operation. This game is inspired by and pays homage to “Florence”.
Nominees:
- ENDLESS™ Legend 2 by Amplitude Studios
- Breathedge 2 by RedRuins Softworks
- Star Birds by Toukana Interactive
- Gloomy Juncture by Filipe Rodrigues (Subtales)
- Always With You by SNOWYOWL ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED
- YARETA by Mariana Games
Best Innovation
Winner: No Players Online by Beeswax Games
You find an abandoned FPS game on an old computer. You decide to play it.
Nominees:
- MotionRec by HANDSUM
- WHAT THE CLASH? by Triband AiliA by IceToad Studio
- SU: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH by UOU Games
- Consume Me by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken
Best Mobile Game
Winner: Graytail by Concode
A small island in the Pacific. The greatest female pilot has vanished. Suffering from severe headaches, our protagonist depends on medication as they search for her, but… what is real and what is hallucination? A Zelda-like mystery adventure to uncover the island’s truth.
Nominees:
- Consume Me by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken AiliA by IceToad Studio
- Gambonanza by Blukulélé
- Lost Castle 2 by Hunter Studio
Best Student Game
Winner: Froggo’s Adventure: Drifting Sky by Smelly Frog
Froggo’s Adventure: Drifting Sky is a 2D pixel art platformer about Froggo, who embarks on a journey to a floating island in the sky. Froggo can run, jump, and even extend his tongue to interact with the world. Using his tongue, he can also catch enemies and use them as projectiles.
Nominees:
- Glintseeker Island by Half Soup Labs
- One More Mix by Annulus
- Hermit Computer by Jiwoo Lee
- Weefager by Monodo
With the list of winners and nominees being announced, which of these games was your favourite? Leave your comments down below and make sure to stay tuned as we continue to cover what went down at Taipei Game Show 2026. See you next time!
