The jury selected the best games and teams in 13 categories from a total of 190 entries. In the top category "Best German Game", the winner was the build-up strategy game The Wandering Village by Stray Fawn Studio from Zurich. Presenters Melek Balgün and Deborah Mensah-Bonsu led through the entertaining show at the Flora in Cologne. After two years of digital award shows, the German Developer Award returned to the big stage. The award was hosted for the first time by games.nrw e.V., the representative body of the digital games industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 500 guests from the games industry accepted the invitation of the new organizer and took the opportunity for intensive networking and an extensive after-show party to end the year.

The German Developer Award is the oldest award in the games industry and has been presented annually since 2004. It honors the best achievements in the development of video and computer games from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For the first time since 2018, the main prize "Best German Game" goes to Switzerland again this year. With awards in the two categories "Best Technical Achievement" and the "Innovation Award," the city-building simulator The Wandering Village wins no less than three of the coveted trophies. The puzzle adventure LEGO Bricktales was also among the big winners of the evening with three awards, winning in the categories "Best Casual Game", "Best Game Design" and "Best Graphics". In the new category "Best Game Beyond Entertainment," a game that goes beyond pure entertainment was honored for the first time. The strategy game Beholder 3 by Paintbucket Games from Berlin takes players into the dark world of a totalitarian surveillance state.

The winners of the German Developer Award 2022

Best German Game
The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio, Zurich - Switzerland)

Best Indie Game
Revita (BenStar, Buchenbach)

Best Casual Game
LEGO Bricktales (ClockStone, Innsbruck - Austria)

Best Game Beyond Entertainment
Beholder 3 (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)

Best Game Design
LEGO Bricktales (ClockStone, Innsbruck - Austria)

Best Audio Design
ITORAH (Grimbart Tales, Kaiserslautern, Germany)

Best Graphics
LEGO Bricktales (ClockStone, Innsbruck - Austria)

Best Story
Beholder 3 (Paintbucket Games, Berlin)

Best Technical Achievement
The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio, Zurich - Switzerland)

Innovation Award
The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio, Zurich - Switzerland)

Special Award for Social Commitment
Antura &the Letters (Cologne Game Lab &Video Game Without Borders, Cologne)

Ubisoft Newcomer Award
Paws and Leaves - A Thracian Tale (grownarts, Brake)

NRW Promotion Award for Young Female Developers
Casilda de Zulueta (Cologne)

The best games of the year are determined in a two-stage jury process. First, 5-member expert juries deliberate on the best games in twelve categories. From the nominated games in the specialist categories, the "Grand Jury" then determines the "Best German Game" and the nominees in this category by voting. Games that were developed primarily in the German-speaking region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) are eligible for the award. This also includes that the majority of the development budgets were invested there and that the majority of the teams are based there.