Games Connection Awards winners revealed

Game Connection America has announced the winners of this year’s Development Awards.

Previously known as Selected Projects, the awards aim to reward promising titles that have yet to be signed or seek further investment and help with publishing – although there are familiar names such as Square Enix and Bigpoint among the mix.

There were 170 applicants to this year’s awards, with 24 shortlisted across the ten categories. The winners were named during an awards ceremony at the Metreon’s AMC Theater in San Francisco.

The big winners were Japanese studio Active Gaming Media, which picked up two prizes for Best Hardcore and Best Console/PC Hardcore Game with its side-scrolling shooter Astebreed.

Germany and Canada both proved to be productive nations, each home to two winners. German studios Brainseed Factory and Bigpoint won Best Casual and Best Desktop/Downloadable respectively, while the Canadian winners were Square Enix Montreal for Best Mobile/Tablet and Hololabs for Best Social.

The full list of winners can be found below:

• Best Console/PC Hardcore: Astebreed by Active Gaming Media
• Best Mobile/Tablet: Hitman Go by Square Enix Montreal
• Best Desktop/Downloadable: Shards of War by Bigpoint
• Best Casual Game: Typoman by Brainseed Factory
• Best Social Game: Papercase by Hololabs
• Best Hardcore Game: Astebreed by Active Gaming Media
• Excellence in Art: Monzo by Madfinger Games
• Excellence in Story & Storytelling: Blues & Bullets by A Crowd of Monsters
• Most Promising IP: Shadow Puppeteer by Sarepta Studios
• Most Creative & Original Project: LyteShot by LyteShot Inc