Romanian Game Awards: The Best Romanian Game of 2026!
Romanian Game Awards 2026, or the evening when the Romanian gaming industry stepped out of the options menu and into the spotlight…
There are moments when you realise you're part of something important right as it's happening, not afterwards, when you see the photos on social media or a few years later when someone asks you "were you there too?". For me, Romanian Game Awards 2026 was one of those moments.
When I arrived at the event, I honestly expected what you'd expect from an awards gala: well-dressed people, a few speeches, some awards, and probably the inevitable moment where you try to remember if the person greeting you is someone you know or someone you've followed for years on LinkedIn without ever exchanging a word. What I found, however, was much more than that. It was one of the few occasions where I saw so many people who contribute to the Romanian gaming industry gathered in one place, and who, for a few hours, weren't focused on the next milestone, the next build, or the next deadline, but on celebrating the achievements of a community that has grown enormously in recent years.
I think one of the things I liked most was that the event didn't have that rigid air you sometimes encounter at galas. Quite the opposite. The atmosphere was relaxed, and people seemed genuinely happy to be there. It was clear that many of those present weren't meeting for the first time. They were industry colleagues, collaborators, friends, and people who share the same passion for video games, whether they work on them, promote them, or just spend too many hours analysing trailers frame by frame to discover details developers didn't even intend to hide.
What I found interesting was the contrast between the image we sometimes have of the gaming industry and the reality behind it. For many people outside the field, game development seems like a combination of fun and magic. You press a few buttons, add some spectacular effects, and a few months later a new game appears. Anyone who has worked even a day in a technical environment knows that the reality is a little different. Behind every game there are years of work, hundreds or even thousands of decisions, meetings, changes of direction, iterations, and, of course, that mysterious bug that only appears during the live demo and instantly disappears when you try to investigate it.
More than awards: highlighting the people behind the industry
Why are the Romanian Game Awards important? Not because they offer trophies, although these have their value too. Not because they offer visibility, although that also matters enormously. It's important because it shines a spotlight on the people behind the games. In an industry where the final product receives almost all the attention, it's healthy to also have a moment to recognise the effort of those who make it possible.
Throughout the evening, I found myself looking around several times and thinking about how much the local industry has changed in recent years. If in the past discussions about Romanian gaming were limited to a few well-known examples and the promise of huge potential, today we are talking about a mature industry, with respected studios, talented developers, and projects that reach a global audience. Romania is no longer just a name that appears discreetly in the credits of big games. It is an important player in an extremely competitive international ecosystem, and this deserves to be recognised and celebrated.
Another thing that stuck with me is the energy of the conversations. If there's one place where networking doesn't feel like a professional obligation, it's probably a gaming event. Discussions flowed naturally and moved at an impressive speed from serious topics to shared passions. You could start a conversation about the state of the industry and a few minutes later find yourself in a heated debate about the game that consumed most of your hours in the last year. And, unlike in other fields, here no one judges you when you admit you've spent an absolutely absurd number of hours playing a single game. On the contrary, there's a good chance the person in front of you will raise the stakes and tell you they've spent double that.
An industry that has found its voice in Romania too?
The atmosphere reminded me in many ways of the feeling you get when watching The Game Awards. Obviously, we're talking about very different events and there's no point comparing sizes, budgets, or scope. However, they have something in common: the idea that games deserve to be celebrated and that the people who create them deserve recognition. If The Game Awards represents the global stage of the industry, Romanian Game Awards has the potential to become the stage where the local industry tells its own story. And honestly, I think we need this story more than we realise.
Many times we talk about the success of the Romanian industry through figures, investments, or international projects. All these things are important, but they only tell part of the story. Behind them are people who choose to build a career in this field, teams that take risks, and developers who invest years in an idea they believe in. Events like the Romanian Game Awards have the role of bringing all these stories to the public and giving them the context they deserve.
Moreover, I also liked the healthy dose of optimism that was palpable. Not the artificial optimism you sometimes see in corporate presentations where every slide promises a revolutionary future by 2030. An authentic optimism, based on what already exists. Because the truth is that the Romanian gaming industry has real reasons for confidence. There's experience, there's talent, there are successful projects, and there's a new generation of developers coming up with interesting ideas and an ambition that, if we're honest, can be a little intimidating for those who already have a good few years in the industry.
The beginning of a tradition and the light at the end of the tunnel
Perhaps the most important thing I took away from the Romanian Game Awards 2026 is the feeling that this is just the beginning. I'm not referring to the beginning of the industry, because it has already proven its worth. I'm referring to the beginning of events that celebrate excellence, creativity, and performance in a field that deserves much more attention than it usually receives. All mature industries have such moments of recognition. Film has them. Music has them. Technology has them. Romanian gaming also deserves its own space to celebrate its achievements.
At the end of the evening, I left with a simple but sincere feeling: pride. Pride that I had the opportunity to participate, pride that I saw so many talented people gathered in the same place, and pride that Romania continues to consolidate its position in one of the most dynamic creative and technological fields in the world. Romanian Game Awards 2026 was not just an awards gala. It was a demonstration that the local industry has its own voice, has real reasons for confidence, and, above all, has a future that looks increasingly bright. If this is the level the present is at, I am very curious to see what the next chapter holds.
Romanian Game Awards 2026 Winners
Independent Studio Of The Year: PST Games
Nominees:
- 16 Bit Nights
- Dreambuilder Studio
- Nerds Take Over
Game Development Company Of The Year: EA Romania
Nominees:
- Alset
- Amber
- Quantic Lab
- Ubisoft Romania
- Wolcen Romania
Best Co-Development Project: EA Sports FC (EA Romania)
Nominees:
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes (Ubisoft Romania)
- Courtroom Chaos feat Snoop Dogg (Amber)
- Dunecrawl (Funtaptic)
- Mafia: The Old Country (AMC Romania)
Best Support Services Project: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Quantic Lab)
Nominees:
- Dune Awakening (Funcom Romania & Alset)
- Going Medieval (Amber)
- Star Wars: Outlaws – Switch 2 (Ubisoft Romania)
Best Ongoing Game: Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Ubisoft Romania)
Nominees:
- Football Rivals (Green Horse Games)
- Gridpunk (neverGames)
- Squid Game: Unleashed (Amber)
Best Student / Game Jam Project: Half Grip
Nominees:
- Memento Pictura
- NoTES
- RGBird
- Roomscape
- Sena’s World
Most Popular Game: Gods, Death & Reapers (Wolcen Romania)
Nominees:
- Global Conflagration (CTLN7, Neok)
- Midnight Special (Scared Stupid Inc)
- Pinnacle Point (Ready2Run Games)
- RadCity: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (babadokia)
- The Crimson Maid (GrimTalin & Darkania Works)
- Vuntra City (Aevica Software)
- Darkblade Ascent (PST Games)
- NETBREAK (Galactic Crows)
- Stellar Wanderer DX (Dreambuilder Studio)
- Tearscape (Nerds Take Over)
- Valor of Man (Legacy Forge)
Best Upcoming Romanian Game: Global Conflagration (CTLN7, Neok)
Nominees:
- Gods, Death & Reapers (Wolcen Romania)
- Midnight Special (Scared Stupid Inc)
- Pinnacle Point (Ready2Run Games)
- RadCity: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (babadokia)
- The Crimson Maid (GrimTalin & Darkania Works)
- Vuntra City (Aevica Software)
Romanian Game Of The Year: Tearscape (Nerds Take Over)
Nominees:
- Darkblade Ascent (PST Games)
- NETBREAK (Galactic Crows)
- Stellar Wanderer DX (Dreambuilder Studio)
- Valor of Man (Legacy Forge)
