{"rewrite":{"id":"r_916e0dd6e19ab4215431f911","clusterId":"c_7d285ce8cda3eeaa917bc33a","slug":"game-designers-award-ends-after-17-winners","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Game Designers Award Ends After 17 Winners","summary":"The Game Designers Award, founded in 2010 by game director Masahiro Sakurai, will end in 2026. Sakurai, who is chief judge, announced the close at a ceremony on September 15. Seventeen works won the award across its run, from Heavy Rain in 2010 to Moji Yuge in 2026. The theme is the evaluation of games' originality and novelty.","whyItMatters":"An award built around a single criterion, originality, is closing after 17 winners, and its founder announced the end rather than a successor, so the beat loses a recurring measure of design novelty.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Game Designers Award was founded in 2010 by game director Masahiro Sakurai. Its stated theme is the evaluation of games\u0026#39; originality and novelty, and Sakurai sits as chief judge. He announced the award will end in 2026, speaking at the ceremony on September 15. The judging panel includes Kazutoshi Iida, Jiro Ishii, Hideki Kamiya, Keiichiro Toyama and Toby Fox, alongside a longer roster of creators who have worked on original games.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHeavy Rain\u003c/strong\u003e: Quantic Dream / Sony Computer Entertainment, 2010\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScribblenauts\u003c/strong\u003e: 5TH Cell Media, LLC. / Konami Digital Entertainment, 2011\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJourney\u003c/strong\u003e: thatgamecompany / Sony Computer Entertainment, 2012\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Unfinished Swan\u003c/strong\u003e: Giant Sparrow / Sony Computer Entertainment, 2013\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrothers: A Tale of Two Sons\u003c/strong\u003e: Starbreeze Studios / Spike Chunsoft, 2014\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIngress\u003c/strong\u003e: Niantic, Inc., 2015\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLife Is Strange\u003c/strong\u003e: DONTNOD Entertainment, 2016\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINSIDE\u003c/strong\u003e: Playdead, 2017\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGorogoa\u003c/strong\u003e: Annapurna Interactive, 2018\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eASTRO BOT: RESCUE MISSION\u003c/strong\u003e: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., 2019\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBaba Is You\u003c/strong\u003e: Hempuli, 2020\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMario Kart Live: Home Circuit\u003c/strong\u003e: Nintendo Co., Ltd., 2021\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInscryption\u003c/strong\u003e: Daniel Mullins Games, 2022\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRPG Time: The Legend of Wright\u003c/strong\u003e: DeskWorks Inc., 2023\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eViewfinder\u003c/strong\u003e: Sad Owl Studios, 2024\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINDIKA\u003c/strong\u003e: Odd Meter, 2025\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMoji Yuge\u003c/strong\u003e: Team9, 2026\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","blueskyPost":"The Game Designers Award spent 17 years judging originality and never became a career-making prize. Sakurai's name drew the judges and the attention; the winners' names are the part most players never learned.","twitterPost":"The Game Designers Award honored originality for 17 years, yet its winners stay niche. Sakurai was the draw; the award never became a launchpad.","threadsPost":"The Game Designers Award judged originality for 17 years and never turned that judgment into leverage. Sakurai's name brought the attention, but the winners, from Heavy Rain to Moji Yuge, rarely got the same lift from the prize.","newsletterBlurb":"The Game Designers Award, founded in 2010 by Masahiro Sakurai, will end in 2026. Sakurai announced the close at a ceremony on September 15, where he spoke about the award's legacy. Seventeen works won across its run, judged on originality and novelty.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Denfaminicogamer\",\"url\":\"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/2609162p\",\"title\":\"A look back at the winners of the Game Designers Award, founded by Masahiro Sakurai: 17 games recognized for their originality, including 'Moji Yuge', 'Baba Is You', 'Viewfinder', and 'Inscryption'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4821,"outputTokens":983,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1789540172,"createdAt":"2026-09-16T06:24:06.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-16T06:28:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-16T06:28:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_7d285ce8cda3eeaa917bc33a","canonicalTitle":"桜井政博氏が創設した「ゲームデザイナーズ大賞」歴代受賞作まとめ。『文字遊戯』『Baba Is You』『Viewfinder』『Inscryption』など“独創性”をテーマに17作品が受賞","representativeArticleId":"a_d64d6708a10aaaf236c52d85","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Game Designers Award\",\"Moji Yuugi\",\"Baba Is You\",\"Viewfinder\",\"Inscryption\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Masahiro Sakurai\",\"Kazutoshi Iida\",\"Jiro Ishii\",\"Hideki Kamiya\",\"Toby Fox\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":true}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-16T05:37:30.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-16T05:37:30.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-16T06:28:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Denfaminicogamer","url":"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/2609162p","title":"桜井政博氏が創設した「ゲームデザイナーズ大賞」歴代受賞作まとめ。『文字遊戯』『Baba Is You』『Viewfinder』『Inscryption』など“独創性”をテーマに17作品が受賞"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Game Designers Award","Moji Yuugi","Baba Is You","Viewfinder","Inscryption"],"studios":[],"people":["Masahiro Sakurai","Kazutoshi Iida","Jiro Ishii","Hideki Kamiya","Toby Fox"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":true},"keyFacts":null}