Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical and A Highland Song were among the winners of the 2024 Games for Change Awards.
Games for Change crowned 13 winners across 16 categories at its annual award showcase, held at Parsons School of Design in New York.
Stray Gods emerged victorious in the Best in Innovation category, while A Highland Song took home the award for Best Gameplay.
Stay Alive, My Son (Chapter 1 & 2) was the biggest winner on the night, taking home three awards for Best in Impact, Best Narrative, and Game of the Year. The VR title was developed by UME studios and plunges players into an interactive historical odyssey.
Other winners included The Plastic Pipeline (Best in Environmental Impact), Minecraft (Industry Leadership Award), and Venba (G4C Indie Breakout Award).
“This year’s Games for Change Awards showcase a remarkable evolution in the power of games and immersive media to address complex global issues,” said Games for Change president Susanna Pollack.
“From Stay Alive, My Son tackling historical trauma through VR, to The Plastic Pipeline gamifying environmental policy, we’re seeing this medium push boundaries not just in technology, but in their capacity to foster empathy, drive social change, and redefine how we engage with pressing societal challenges. These winners exemplify how games and immersive media are a tool for imagining and creating better futures.”
You can find the full list of 2024 Games for Change Award winners below:
Game of the Year: Stay Alive, My Son–Chapter 1 & 2 (UME Studios)
Best in Impact: Stay Alive, My Son–Chapter 1 & 2 (UME Studios)
Best Narrative: Stay Alive, My Son–Chapter 1 & 2 (UME Studios)
Best in Innovation: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studios)
Best Gameplay: A Highland Song (Inkle)
Best in Civics: Headlines and High Water (Field Day Lab)
Best in Learning: Headlines and High Water (Field Day Lab)
Best in Environmental Impact: The Plastic Pipeline (FableVision)
Best in Health & Wellness: Soul Paint (Hatsumi & Monobanda)
Best in XR: MLK: Now Is The Time (Flight School Studio, TIME Studios, Meta VR For Good)
Best Student Project: Stop and Breathe (One Must Imagine Games)
Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact: Daybreak (CMYK)
Industry Leadership Award: Minecraft (Mojang Studios)
G4C Giving Award: Twitch
G4C Indie Breakout Award: Venba (Visai Games)
Vanguard Award: Alyssa Sweetman