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Press release:
April 28, 2026 – The Finnish Game Awards 2026 gala will honor the best Finnish games of the last year and celebrate the Finnish games industry.

“The Finnish games industry experienced quite a renaissance last year in multi-platform and PC games, particularly as the visibility of games sold via the Steam store increased significantly,” says Joni Lappalainen, Chair of the Board of the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association.

“More broadly, Finland saw an indie carnival, with small and mid-sized studios releasing games at a faster pace and also succeeding in the market. At the same time, the traditionally strong mobile segment remained robust, driven by Supercell. This year, major studios will also begin releasing long-developed PC and console titles.”

However, indie games were not the only success story of 2025. According to preliminary estimates by Neogames Finland, the Hub of the Finnish Game Industry, the overall revenue of the Finnish games industry grew despite a globally challenging year.

Award categories and nominees

The Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association will present awards in five categories at the gala. A completely new category this year is Best IP Expansion of the Year, reflecting the industry’s shift from standalone game releases to long-lasting and expanding game services.

For the first time this year, Neogames Finland will also present its own Business Excellence Award.

The other categories are Finnish Game of the Year, Finnish Rookie of the Year, Power Player of the Year, and Creative Achievement of the Year.

The nominees for Finnish Game of the Year 2025 are Amistech Games (My Winter Car), Channel37 (The Last Caretaker), Cornfox & Brothers (Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon), Hanki Games (Sledders), Kimmo Factor (Sektori), MiTale (Willow Guard), Next Games (Puzzled), Notovia / Dreamloop Games (I’m on Observation Duty 8), and Zaibatsu (Squishmallows Match). Short game descriptions and links can be found at the end of the release.

Other industry organizations will present their own recognitions during the gala. IGDA Finland will award the IGDA Lifetime Award and IGDA Volunteer of the Year 2025. Finnish Game Jam will present the Jampion of the Year award, and W Love Games will grant the W Love Games Excellence Award for the best indie game. The Bit1 Game Award 2026 will also be presented to the winner of the Bit1 student competition.

The nominees and winners for Finnish Game of the Year 2025 have been selected through a member vote by the Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association. Nearly 100 commercial Finnish games released in 2025 were included in the voting.

The winners and award recipients will be announced immediately after the ceremony on the Neogames website and via a separate press release.
Gala on May 21 at White Hall and on YouTube

This year’s Finnish Game Awards gala will take place at a new venue, White Hall near Senate Square in Helsinki, on May 21, 2026. The event is open to invited guests and ticket holders. Ticket sales will begin by the end of April.

The awards ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube from 19:00 to 20:30 at https://www.youtube.com/live/oBdFR-ePgYc. The broadcast will be hosted by long-time Finnish games industry influencer Teemu Haila. The event can be followed on social media with the hashtag #fga26.

The 2026 gala sponsors are:
Gold sponsors: Housemarque and Small Giant Games
Silver sponsors: Dreamloop Games, Expa Game Business Cooperative, Fingersoft, Hanki Games, Kuuasema, Metacore Games, Next Games – A Netflix Game Studio, Supercell and Ubisoft RedLynx
More information

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Images: The Finnish Game Awards 2026

Neogames Finland / KooPee Hiltunen / +358 40 5324176 / [email protected]
Finnish Game Developers’ Association (Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry)

The Finnish Game Developers’ Studios Association is a network representing game development companies in Finland. The association fosters collaboration between companies and advocates for the interests of the game development industry. It organizes events, shares industry information, and ensures that the concerns of game developers are considered in relevant decision-making processes. Notable initiatives of Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry include the Pelimetsä project, breakfast events, and the annual Finnish Game Awards Gala.
Neogames Finland Association

Neogames is a member-based, non-profit game industry association. Its task is to coordinate, accelerate and support the growth and development of the Finnish game industry, as well as to connect stakeholders across the sector and promote shared interests. More information at www.neogames.fi.
Finnish Game of the Year nominees

My Winter Car is a simulation game where players repair and customize their own car while experiencing Finnish winter life. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4164420/My_Winter_Car/

The Last Caretaker is a survival adventure where the player is a robot awakening after a long sleep to save humanity on a water-covered Earth. https://thelastcaretaker.com/

Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon is an action-packed dungeon crawler offering a fresh take on the popular RPG series. https://www.oceanhorn.com/oceanhorn-chronos-dungeon

Sledders is a competitive snowmobiling simulator full of speed and thrills, featuring both single-player and multiplayer content. https://www.sleddersgame.com/

Sektori is a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled action shooter set to techno rhythms. https://www.gimblll.com/sektori/

Willow Guard is an RPG that combines narrative-driven storytelling with challenging hack-and-slash gameplay. https://www.willowguard.games/

Puzzled is a collection of puzzle games offering a fun and fresh Netflix-inspired approach. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/puzzled

I’m on Observation Duty 8 is a horror game where players monitor surveillance cameras, spot anomalies, and try to survive. https://www.notovia.net/fi/iood8/

Squishmallows Match is a casual puzzle game featuring soft and adorable Squishmallows characters. https://zaibatsu.fi/#projects

Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround