PIXEL AWARDS EUROPE 2025

13th Edition of Europe’s Largest Competition for Independent Game Developers.

SIMPLE RULES

1.Entries must be submitted no later than May 11, 2025, using the online application form available HERE. You may submit games developed for any platform, including board and card games. The submission form must include either a direct link to the game build or 16 individual access codes, one for each member of the Jury. When submitting your game, you do not need to assign it to a specific award category—the Jury will decide that. Platforms such as VR and Mobile are treated on equal footing with others like PC or PS5.

2. The promotional materials that can be sent together with the game are an addition and have no effect on the evaluation by the Jury.

3. There are no restrictions as to the theme, genre or subject of the game.

4. It is permissible to submit a game that has not premiered yet, in demo or prototype version.

5. If your game was in finals of the previous edition of the contest, you cannot submit the game you submitted last time.

6. Games that were available on the market before 28 May 2024 cannot be submitted for the contest, regardless of the form of distribution, model of payment, gameplay mode, and access (incl. Early Access).

7. The games will be judged by the Jury in the following categories. At the same time, the Jury stipulates that it may not award Prizes in all of the categories listed below, but only in selected ones. This will depend on the number of games submitted and their quality, which will be judged by the Jury.

COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Big Fish Grand Prix
Indie Grand Prix
Best Gameplay (best gameplay)
Best Art (best visuals)
Best Audio (best audio setting)
Best Soundtrack
Awesome Box (best physical release of the game)
Best Story (best script)
Retro Roots (best retro reference)
Big Bang! (biggest surprise)
Best Student (best student project)
Warsaw Excellence (best game native to Warsaw)
Players’s Choice (Secret Level community award)

8. The jury selects in each of the competition categories up to 3 games nominated for the prize. Each game can be nominated in more than one category.

9. The creators of the game that qualify (nominees) for the final will receive a 4 sqm. exhibition space. The organizer will provide each of the creators with an exhibition stand at the Pixel Expo area, which will comprise a 2×2 m area with a table, two chairs, a power socket, powerful PC and professional screen and WiFi access. The creator will also receive two free entry cards for the entire event. Should you need more free entry cards, please contact [email protected]. Furthermore, the creator can present a banner/roll-up advertising their game/studio.

10. The winners will receive the prizes funded by the Partners of Pixel Heaven Games & Pop Culture Festival 2025.

11. Additional contest categories may be added in cooperation with the Partners of Pixel Heaven Games & Pop Culture Festival 2025. We will inform about such decisions as they are made.

12. Good luck!

JURY MEMBERS

Michał Król
Passionate and collector of Polish games, journalist promoting Polish productions and gamedev companies. Editor and analyst of PolskiGamedev.pl and creator of the blog Gracpospolita.pl. Co-host of the Giermasz broadcast on Radio Szczecin, where he also runs the ?Gramy po polsku? corner – devoted to Polish games. Member of the editorial board of the PSX Extreme monthly, reviewer and author of the permanent column “Good, because Polish”. Webmaster and specialist in new and social media.

Maciek Miąsik
One of the pioneers of the Polish video game industry—game designer, programmer, producer, and sound engineer. Co-creator of Electro Body, the first commercially released Polish game for PC. He worked on Fire Fight, the first Polish game published by global entertainment giant Electronic Arts. At the turn of the millennium, he developed a series of live-action adventure games that reached audiences across all continents. He was the head of production for the first installment of The Witcher series. Maciek is deeply involved in industry education. Since 2012, he has been teaching at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology and at the Warsaw Film School, where he co-founded the Video Game Development program. He serves on the advisory boards of Poland’s most important game industry conferences—GIC and Digital Dragons. For many years, he has been an independent expert for the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels. He is also an active member of the Indie Games Poland Foundation.

Radosław Nałęcz
Author of radio and television programs. Almost 30 years of professional experience gained in commercial and public media. Privately a father of 2 children and a fan of video games. Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts. Journalist for Polish Radio Third Program.

Pawel Schreiber
Video game researcher and critic, lecturer at Kazimierz Wielki University. He has written about games for Pixel, Dwutygodnik, jawnesny.pl blog and Culture.pl portal.

Agnieszka Szóstak
In gaming industry since forever, though at first it was a rather informal relationship. Adventure Zone website editor and CD Action magazine journalist. Working as a PR Specialist at CD Projekt RED studio for several years, being responsible for The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. Now managing her own PR company called PR Outreach, helping independent developers effectively promote their amazing games.

Rafał Szrajber
Organizer of the Team Computer Game Development competition and the Game Graphics Contest competition, industry-specific initiatives dedicated to students. Lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and the Institute of Computer Science of the Lodz University of Technology, where he teaches narrative through space and game design. Ambassador of sectoral education and inter-university cooperation. In his free time, an independent artist focused on using heritage as a soft power carrier.

Mateusz Witczak
Former editor-in-chief of the website PolskiGamedev.pl. A critic, columnist, and journalist, he served for many years as the head of features at the monthly magazine CD-Action. His work has appeared in Play, PC Format, Playbox, Pixel, Świat Wiedzy, and Kawaii, as well as on major Polish media platforms such as WP, Interia, Onet, Krytyka Polityczna, and OKO.press. He is a recipient of the Bauer Media Journalists’ Award and the Digital Dragons Award. He collaborates with Dwutygodnik, Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka, and Replika. His writing focuses on digital culture, as well as minority issues, social exclusion, and human rights.