The developer of the popular roguelike survival game Megabonk has voluntarily withdrawn its nomination from The Game Awards 2025, which has shocked the gaming community. The game was nominated for Best Debut Indie Game, which is a big deal for any creator.
The project’s only developer, who goes by the name vedinad, decided that the nomination wasn’t right for them, though. He said that Megabonk couldn’t honestly be called his first game because he had made games before under different studio names. This choice shows the honesty that is often hidden in the game development scene.
The reason why the Megabonk withdrawal was made clear
The creator of Megabonk decided to pull it from The Game Awards. Shortly after the announcement of the nominations, the developer publicly explained his decision to withdraw from Megabonk.
The developer said on the game’s official X account, “I’ve made games before under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my first game.” ” I sincerely appreciate the nomination, support, and votes, but this category doesn’t feel right for me.” This act of honesty is the main reason for the Megabonk withdrawal.
The Best Debut Indie Game category is for the “best debut game made by a new independent studio.” During the nominations livestream, host Geoff Keighley explained that teams that “published their first games this year” are eligible. Since Vedinad had worked on games before, the Megabonk withdrawal made sure that the nomination went to a real debut studio.
Geoff Keighley, who hosted the Game Awards, quickly answered the request. He said that the game would not be in the category anymore and thanked the developer for being open.
The game withdrawal became official with this formal acceptance. Keighley said that the developer had been acting like a new creator named Vedinad, but he was really an experienced solo developer.
Fans and reporters have discussed this issue, noting that “indie” and “debut” can be vague at award shows. Even though the game has pulled out, the game is still doing well commercially, with over 100,000 people playing at the same time on Steam.
This Megabonk withdrawal is a rare thing in the business. This is the first time a developer has willingly taken down a nomination, but The Game Awards did take down nominations for two fangames in 2016.
The Best Debut Indie Game nominees are now Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Despelote, and Dispatch. The gaming community mostly agrees with the decision to pull Megabonk, seeing it as a stand for honesty.
