The 2022 Games for Change Awards finalists have been revealed ahead of the ceremony on July 15, 2022.
This year’s nominees were selected by a group of 125 game developers, researchers, and experts and include familiar names such as Unpacking, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, and Road 96.
The Games for Change Awards aim to highlight the best social impact games from around the world across a variety of categories such as Best Civics Game, Best Learning Game, and Best XR for Change.
According to Games for Change organizers, this year’s awards were the most competitive and global in the festival’s history with over 400 submissions — spanning indie and triple-A projects — from 14 countries.
You can find the complete list of finalists below. The 19th annual Games for Change Awards will be streamed at 7pm EDT on July 15.
Games for Change Award 2022 finalists
Most Innovative:
• Before Your Eyes from GoodbyeWorld Games
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown from Falling Squirrel
• Inua – A Story in Ice and Time from Iko – The Pixel Hunt ARTE France
• Unpacking from Witch Beam
Best XR for Change:
• The Choice from Joanne Popinska
• DIAGNOSIA from Mengtai Zhang and Lemon Guo
• Gravitational from Electric Monkeys
• Steps of Privilege from REM5 Studio
Best Civics Game:
• Svoboda 1945: Liberation from Charles Games
• VOXPOP from Gigantic Mechanic
• Dot’s Home from Weathered Sweater & Rise Home Stories Project
• MadeVR: Take me to the end of the Assembly Line from Singing Cicadas
Best Gameplay:
• Road 96 from DigixArt
• Before Your Eyes from GoodbyeWorld Games
• Midnight Protocol from LuGus Studio & Sixty Four
• Lost Recipes from Schell Games
Best Learning Game:
• Lingo Legend from Hyperthought Games Inc.
• Ava from Team Ava
• Culture Overlord from Lucas Vially
• Math Makers from Ululab
Most Significant Impact:
• Svoboda 1945: Liberation from Charles Games
• Blackhaven from Historiated Games
• Dot’s Home from Weathered Sweater and Rise Home Stories Project
• MadeVR: Take me to the end of the Assembly Line from Singing Cicadas
Best Health Game:
• Smileyscope MRI from Smilescope
• REThink Game from Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca
• BeatNic Boulevard from skillsgapp
Best Narrative Game:
• Before Your Eyes from GoodbyeWorld Games
• Dot’s Home from Weathered Sweater and Rise Home Stories Project
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown from Falling Squirrel
• UNSIGHTED from Studie Pixel Punk
Best Student Game:
• There You Are from Funky Dango
• P.A.N.I.K.O. from Bluv Studio
• The Social Engineer from Pascal Jansen & Fabian Fischbach (Zefwih)
• Project Anomaly: Urban Supernatural Investigator from Dark Science