One of the yr’s largest shock hits on Steam, the Vampire Survivors-like Megabonk, was nominated on the Recreation Awards within the “Best Debut Indie Game” class. However the sport’s developer has now formally withdrawn Megabonk from the ceremony since, because it seems, it’s not truly their debut indie sport.
On November 18, a day after The Game Awards announced all of the 2025 nominees, the official Megabonk account on Twitter posted a message from the game’s creator, who’s listed humorously as “John Megabonk.” Within the social media message, the developer, who’s listed as Vedinad on Steam, defined that whereas it was an “honor” to be nominated, they don’t assume Megabonk ought to qualify for the class as they’ve launched different video games earlier than.
“I’m withdrawing from The Game Awards,” mentioned the creator. “It’s an honor and a dream for Megabonk to be nominated for TGA, but unfortunately, I don’t think it qualifies for the category ‘Debut Indie Game’. I’ve made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game.”
In a follow-up reply, the developer behind Megabonk added: “I really appreciate the nomination, support, and votes, but it doesn’t feel right in this category.” They then recommended folks ought to vote for “another one of the amazing debut titles” that have been nominated for a similar award, and ended the publish with: “They are all amazing games! Thanks again! new Megabonk update coming soon.”
Kotaku has contacted the Recreation Awards and Geoff Keighley about Megabonk withdrawing from the present like this and what is going to occur now. Will or not it’s changed or will the class simply be one sport quick this yr? As of November 18 at 3:20 pm EST, you can still find and even vote for Megabonk on the official Recreation Awards web site, although the sport’s creator would reasonably you not try this.
