The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards is such a lovely name for a showcase because it instantly tells you what to expect and it kind of takes aim at the three-hour marketing nightmare that is Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards.
The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards (TGAGWCAGAs) will instead air tomorrow, December 13 on YouTube, to spotlight more than 70 indie games of all different genres. The show will be split between brand-new reveals for upcoming indie games and funny, hyper-specific awards for games that came out this year like the 'Most Likely to Make You Quit Your Job and Become an Artist' award.
Organizers Pengonauts Studio explained that the show was setup as a "last-minute" idea to promote its own game and to sidestep the big marketing budgets that the industry often demands. Most developers can't get a trailer to air during The Game Awards without handing over the big bucks - Gamescom ONL fees were reportedly $127,000, for reference - drowning out countless interesting but smaller games. In that sense, the TGAGWCAGAs are pretty much a natural extension of that social media trend that decried purportedly astronomically-priced trailer spots.
After posting on social media, Pengonauts' Hansen Liu thought they'd maybe attract the attention of 15 other games. "But within days, we had nearly 600 submissions," he said. "It was clear that the indie scene was looking for more opportunities to showcase their work."
The confirmed line-up includes strategy-deckbuilding hybrid As We Descend, pussycat parkour party game Jumping Jazz Cats, above-the-clouds survival sandbox ALOFT, and Pengonauts' very own mecha roguelike StarVaders, which jumped onto our radar thanks to a tip from Balatro's creator, plus more surprises.
For more non-TGA accolades, check out our list of the 25 best games of 2024.
