INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022, the sixth entry in the biannual live digital showcase connecting indie game fans worldwide via a two-day broadcast in English, Japanese, and Chinese, continues to break viewership records. Viewers from all over the world tuned in over the two-day event to catch the news of 200-plus indie game updates, reveals, and the third annual INDIE Live Expo Awards.
Unpacking was elected by public vote as INDIE Live Expo 2022’s Game of the Year, along with Stray and Vampire Survivors taking home trophies in distinct categories during the ceremony. In a special segment, gaming studio Fahrenheit 213 founded by Yosuke Shiokawa, best known for his work on celebrated titles like Kingdom Hearts II (Lead Planner), Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Concept Director), and Fate/Grand Order (Creative Director), revealed TSURUGIHIME, a side scrolling action RPG in a fully hand-drawn world coming to PC in 2024.
Winning titles include:
- Game Of The Year: Unpacking (Witch Beam, Humble Games)
- Trailer of the Year Award: STRAY – Launch Trailer (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)
- Most Addictive Game Award: Vampire Survivors (poncle)
- Best Short Game Award: Unpacking (Witch Beam, Humble Games)
- Most Stream Friendly Game Award: Needy Streamer Overload (WWS playground, xemono)
- Best Game Feel Award: Neon White (Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive)
- Theme Of The Year Award: OMORI (OMOCAT, LLC)
- Rule of Play Award: 7 Days to End with You (Lizardry)
- Local Cultural Representation Award: A Perfect Day (Perfect Day Studio)
- Rediscovery Award: Potato Flowers in Full Bloom (Pon Pon Games, PLAYISM)
- Late Bloom Award: Raft (Redbeet Interactive, Axolot Games)
- Best New Characters Award: Needy Streamer Overload (WWS playground, xemono)
INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022 broadcasted a special segment dedicated to the reveal of the debut title from Fahrenheit 213, a new studio founded by Yosuke Shiokawa, best known for his work on celebrated titles like Kingdom Hearts II (Lead Planner), Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Concept Director), and Fate/Grand Order (Creative Director). The studio’s first title, TSURUGIHIME, is an RPG in a fully hand-drawn world coming to PC in 2024.
Other announcements include the Steam Early Access release of psychological visual novel Mindhack by VODKAdemo?, and the launch of MUTAN’s asymmetrical 3-vs-1 party game Goonya Monster. New content for the 2D adventure game BOKURA was revealed by Kondansha, and a number of upcoming Switch releases were announced, including Rakuen by Laura Shigahara and published by 8-4, as well as horror pixel RPG Ib by PLAYISM.
Sekai Project surprised fans with a release date for Alice Escape!, coming to Steam for PC, and Shueisha Games provided viewers with fresh information on the upcoming deckbuilder RPG The Tower – To the Bottom (Working Title). A new trailer was revealed for the highly anticipated open-world co-op survival game by Pocketpair, PalWorld, and Aniplex announced a new local multiplayer game mode for the award-winning hand-drawn scholar adventure RPG Time: The Legend of Wright.
The INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022 Steam event will remain accessible until Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 – 3:00 JST, offering discount prices for titles that took part in ILE Winter 2022 or previous editions of the show.
“We are blown away by the amazing community we have been building over the past three years which contributed over 3,000 votes to 2022’s awards program. Thank you to all who have given their voices to vote for their favorite games.” said Ryuta Konuma, Founder of Ryu’s Office. “We couldn’t have done it without our audience, judges, and sponsors. Their endorsement empowers us to bring these fantastic games to a dedicated audience, and we will continue our efforts toward growing our show, strengthening our support, and providing game developers the visibility their work deserves.”
Developers and indie game enthusiasts interested in information about future INDIE Live Expo events and opportunities can sign up for the INDIE Live Expo Letter here.
For more information, please visit the INDIE Live Expo website, follow @INDIELiveExpoEN on Twitter, and search for #INDIELiveExpo on social media
Related: INDIE Live Expo Winter 2021 Returns Nov. 6, Award Nominations Now Open
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