Palworld lead and Pocketpair founder says Megabonk dev is "one of the game developers I respect the most" as the solo indie creator withdraws his roguelike hit from The Game Awards

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John Megabonk is an admirable man

Megabonk
(Image credit: Vedinad)

Palworld lead Takuro Mizobe has expressed his adoration for the creator of Megabonk after its creator decided to remove the game from the "Debut Indie Game" category at The Game Awards 2025.

Megabonk is a banger, plain and simple. In a year with games like Death Stranding 2, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Ghost of Yotei, Megabonk stands among them as one of the most exciting games of the year. Major fans include Baldur's Gate 3's publishing director, Expedition 33 developers (who are rooting for it to win Game of the Year), and Palworld developer Pocketpair's publishing director and communications lead, John "Bucky" Buckley, who hasn't stopped talking about the game since it launched.

Turns out Bucky isn't the only fan at Pocketpair, as Palworld lead Takuro Mizobe has commented on Megabonk developer Vedinad (also known as John Megabonk) removing the game from contention at The Game Awards for its frankly criminal single nomination for "Best Debut Indie Game." This is due to the developer creating games under a previous name – although, given how many developers who have previously made games under other companies get put up for the award, it doesn't feel like an especially egregious nomination.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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