Developer of Indie-hit ‘Megabonk’ Withdraws Nomination from The Game Awards

Well, you don’t see this everyday! Being nominated in The Game Awards brings with it a ton of visibility, and presumably, additional sales, but the developer of indie-hit ‘Megabonk’ has asked The Game Awards to remove the game from it’s nominated category of ‘Debut Indie Game’, sharing that he felt it didn’t qualify.

‘Vedinad’ is the solo developer for Megabonk, a hit indie title in the vein of games like Vampire Survivors, and has been very popular on Steam. Megabonk had been nominated for ‘Debut Indie Game’ at The Game Awards, alongside titles like Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Despolote and Dispatch. Despite the additional recognition the nomination could have brought the game and the developer, it is now being withdrawn from the category.

The developer shared his thoughts on Megabonk’s official Twitter account, saying “I’m withdrawing from The Game Awards. It’s an honor and a dream for Megabonk to be nominated for TGA, but unfortunately I don’t think it qualifies for the category “Debut Indie Game”. I’ve made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game.”

They continued in a follow-up tweet, saying “I really appreciate the nomination, support and votes, but it doesn’t feel right in this category. You should vote for another one of the amazing debut titles, they are all amazing games! Thanks again! New megabonk update coming soon!”

Geoff Keighley Responds

Following the public announcement of the withdrawal from the category, The Game Awards creator and host, Geoff Keighley responded, sharing that The Game Awards team were ‘grateful for his honesty.’

Sharing the public response on Twitter, Geoff said “Megabonk, a nominee for Best Debut Indie Game, reached out to clarify that he is an established solo developer who had been presenting himself as a new creator under the name Vedinad. We’re grateful for his honesty. As a result, MegaBonk will be removed from the category.“

In a follow-up, he continued “He’ll share more about his story when he’s ready, but we respect that he didn’t want to take recognition away from other debut teams — even though the game itself is outstanding.“

All in all, a pretty classy move from the developer of Megabonk. If you want top play it for yourself, you can check out the game on Steam.

What do you think about Megabonk removing itself from The Game Awards? Let us know in the XboxEra Forums or make some noise in the lively XboxEra Community Discord Server. If you’re looking to be a bigger part of an amazing community, then either choice is a good one!

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