Japan Game Awards 2025 Awards Ceremony Report! What works symbolize this year’s game industry?

On September 23, the ” Japan Game Awards 2025 Annual Awards Ceremony ” was held at Iino Hall. The award ceremony brought together many masterpieces that colored the game scene this year, and the winners were announced.

In this article, the author, who attended the awards ceremony, provides an in-depth report on the award-winning works in each category as well as trends in this year’s game industry.

A selection of the prestigious award-winning works!

first prize

• Title: Metaphor︓Refantasio (Atlas Inc.)

To be honest, I was surprised that this work was highly acclaimed. Personally, I saw it as a hard and difficult game like “Megami Tensei,” and since it is a new IP rather than a sequel IP, which is one of Atlus’ strengths, and since the worldview is quite fantasy-oriented, I had a lot of concerns. However, the result was very different. The worldview is based on a unique philosophy, and the music is suited to it. Furthermore, as user representative Mr. Tani said, “The first magic born in this world is music,” and I think that was the deciding factor.

The music for “Metaphor,” performed by guest Harami, was also unique and expressed the world view beautifully.

Award of Excellence

This year, 11 entries received awards, compared to 10 in previous years.

• Work Title 1: Metaphor︓Refantaggio

• Title 2: Urban Legend Demolition Center

It is a work that fits today’s needs, like a comic strip that unfolds on social networking sites. The intriguing horror elements of the approaching unknown and the sense of bushiness, which are different from the usual horror of urban legends, are habit-forming for many people, and perhaps that is why the game won the award. The author who was on the stage said that he developed the game almost entirely as an independent developer, so the fact that this game won the award despite having Shueisha as the publisher is likely to have a significant impact on the game industry in the future.

• Title 3: Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven

It is a remake that carries over the elements and BGM of the original work. Personally, I wish this work had won the Grand Prize. I think it was well received because it kept all the interesting systems of the previous Romancing Saga series, but remade the difficult parts and the parts that are not in tune with the modern age. I also think it is strong in that it retains elements for fans of the old series.

• Title4: Dragon Quest III: And to the Legend…

The 38-year-old film has been reborn as an award-winning HD-2D film. Adding new elements to the elements of the original work, this work is a remake, for better or worse. However, I believe that these elements were supported by the old fans and many modern fans, and that is why it won the award.

• Title 5: Shin-Sangoku Musou ORIGINS

The “Shin-Sangoku Musou” series features some of the most handsome men of the previous titles. I would like to congratulate them for winning the award for the first time in 20 years. I thought this one was also a candidate for the Grand Prize.

• Title 6: Tokyo X tremeRacer

It was awarded as it was in its Early Access version, which was not supposed to be. It is a reintroduction of the past “Metropolitan Highway Battle” with improved quality to the present day. I think it won the award because of the popularity of its many customization elements, such as sticking behind the wheel and suddenly racing battles with numerous cars.

• Title 7: Pirates in Hawaii

The award was unexpectedly given to an outside story from the “Ryu ga Gotoku” series. It was truly a surprise. As the producer who was on stage said, Goro Majima, one of the most popular characters in the “Ryu ga Gotoku” series, becomes a pirate and gets involved in various things on the ocean…or rather, it is an outlandish game in which he gets involved. First of all, the part about a modern yakuza becoming a pirate is already outlandish. However, it is not only outlandish, but the well-crafted ship battle elements and the high level of perfection that makes use of the know-how of the previous “Ryu ga Gotoku” games may have been the deciding factor in winning the award.

• Title 8: Monster Hunter Wilds

This is not the “Monster Hunter” of the past, but “Monster Hunter” on a large stage in an open world. I think that the romantic game play of running across vast lands and taking on large monsters, and the sense of accomplishment and fun of hunting with friends were the deciding factors in winning the award. The small number of contents is often talked about on the Internet, but I hear that they are putting a lot of effort into future updates, so I am sure that the contents will still be exciting.

• Title9: HUNDRED LINE -The Last Defense Academy

This game, which many of you may somehow associate with “Danganronpa,” is an extraordinary adventure game with as many as 100 endings. The fact that each one has a completely different ending makes it a game that you will never get tired of talking about with your friends. I also think that the company’s unique and captivating character design was also a deciding factor in winning the award.

• Title 10: Fantasy Life i: Guruguru no Guruguru no Black and the Time Traveller

This work was highly anticipated even before its release. Fantasy Life” has a large number of core fans, and we believe that the support from these fans and the high level of completion of this work led to the acquisition of new fans and the award.

• Title 11: ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN

This is a goal-oriented roguelike action game in which three players cooperate in a traditional hardcore “Elden Ring” game, and aim to defeat the boss by preparing equipment and other items within a limited time. This type of game is usually referred to as a “soul-like” game, but I myself consider this game to be a roguelike action game that takes over from “soul-like” games. Instead of the well-equipped people coming to the rescue and playing warriors like in the previous “Dark Souls” and “Eldenring,” everyone starts from scratch, and the only difference is the amount of knowledge about the game, which is both difficult and very interesting, and I think this is why it received high praise.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award is presented to individuals or organizations that have contributed to the development of the computer entertainment software industry in Japan.

• Name of Awardee/Organization: Nintendo Switch 2

Basically, this award is won by the console itself, so I thought if anyone would win this year, it would be the PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2. It is a very powerful device dedicated to gaming, incorporating many elements that I want in online gaming, such as the ability to call friends without the need for a calling app, while improving all the aspects of the Switch that were unpopular, and improving the specifications of the console as well. We thought there was no way it wouldn’t win an award.

Movement Prize

This award is given to a game that has had such a big boom or impact on so many people that it has become a social phenomenon in that year.

• Title: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket

It is a social game of “Pokemon Card Game”, also known as “Poke Poke”. I was very surprised because it was unexpected that a social game would win an award. I think that the feeling as if you are peeling off a real pack of cards and the elements of adding new movements while keeping the existing card illustrations in place have made the game very popular even among users who do not play as a card game.

special award

This award is given to works that the selection committee has specially evaluated for their future potential and topicality.

• Title: PlayStation®Store

We thought it was significant that it was an advanced platform that permeated Xbox Games, Steam, and other platforms.

Breakthrough Award

This award is given to works that open up new possibilities for games with original ideas and new, unprecedented gameplay.

• Title: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

As the author mentioned, this work was greatly influenced by Japanese JRPGs. I think that the unique worldview and the fact that the author made a JRPG for foreign users and made it interesting were very well received.

Game Designers Award

The award is given to works that are highly acclaimed in terms of originality, novelty, and other aspects of game design, as selected by prominent game creators from Japan and some other parts of the world.

• Title: INDIKA

The unique worldview and gameplay of the game won the award. The narration using the setting where the main character Indika can hear demonic voices, and the perspectives of the human and demonic worlds. I also thought the strong representation of the medieval Russian worldview and other aspects of the game were wonderful. As Mr. Sakurai mentioned, when playing this game, I found myself asking myself, “What is the point of this? Are there really demons? I think the most decisive factor for me was the metafictional aspect of the game itself.

Japan Game Awards” Weaving the Future of Games

Through my coverage of this year’s awards, I was reminded that the entertainment genre of games is constantly evolving. **The “Japan Game Awards “** recognized a wide variety of works, from blockbusters by large development companies to indie games created with passion by small teams.

This shows the limitless possibilities that games have to offer. In addition to the evolution of graphics and technology, the creators’ original ideas, such as “new ways to play” and “stories that appeal to the heart,” always surprise us.

The game industry will continue to develop further, incorporating various platforms and technologies. What will the “new fun” that will be created next look like? And what kind of excitement will the games of the future bring to us? My expectations for the games of the future have been heightened by this interview.

Let us, the players, look forward to seeing what games we will encounter next and watch the evolution of the game.

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Japan Game Awards 2025 Awards Ceremony Report! What works symbolize this year’s game industry?