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Gamescom LATAM 2025: Nine Sols Wins Game of the Year at BIG Festival


nine sols and neva

The first night of Gamescom LATAM 2025 in São Paulo, Brazil, ended with excitement as Nine Sols, a hand-drawn 2D action-platformer, took home the prestigious Game of the Year award at the BIG Festival.


The event, which runs until May 4, celebrates Latin American game developers and showcases upcoming titles from the region.


Starting on April 30, this gaming convention has been packed with special guests and activities. The Pokémon Company partnered with Gamescom LATAM to offer exclusive merchandise and special Pokémon GO on-site AR missions for attendees.


Steam made its first appearance at the event to help guide new developers, while Xbox showcased various indie titles.


Red Candle Games, the developers of Nine Sols, received a prize of R$5,000 (Brazilian reais) for their story-rich game inspired by Sekiro. The game features beautiful hand-drawn artwork and challenging platforming elements that impressed both judges and fans.


Other winners at the BIG Festival included Neva, which won Best Narrative, and Mullet Madjack, which was named Best Brazilian Game. The developers of Mullet Madjack expressed heartfelt thanks to their supporters during their acceptance speech. This game has been quite successful, with 500,000 wishlists and more than 200,000 units sold to date.


The Innovation Award went to Sol Cesto, a unique tactical roguelike developed by Geraud Zucchini and Chariospirales.


Meanwhile, Animal Well won Best Gameplay. This popular Metroidvania game was created by solo developer Billy Basso and was previously named Game of the Year by Balatro creator LocalThunk, who called it a "true masterpiece."


A special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Shu Yoshida, who spent over 30 years at Sony PlayStation championing indie games. Rodrigo Terra, CEO of Abram Games (the Brazilian game association), presented the award to Yoshida, who will participate in a fireside chat later in the event.


Gamescom LATAM 2025 BIG Festival Winners:


  • Game of the Year: Nine Sols (Red Candle Games)

  • Best Game: Latin America: Grizzly Man (LCB Game Studio)

  • Best Game: Brazil: Mullet MadJack, (Hammer 95 Studios, published by Epopeia Games)

  • Best Casual Game: Paper Trail (Newfangled Games)

  • Best Art: Naiad (HiWarp)

  • Best Narrative: Neva (Nomada Studio, published by Devolver Digital)

  • Best Gameplay: Animal Well (Shared Memory, published by Bigmode)

  • Innovation Award: Sol Cesto (Geraud Zucchini and Chariospirales, published by Goblinz Publishing)

  • Best Mobile Game: Level Devil (Unept, LLC)

  • Best Multiplayer Game: Bang Bang Barrage (Monkey Bread, published by Spiral Up Games)


Gamescom has been expanding its reach globally. The main Gamescom event in 2024 attracted over 335,000 attendees in Germany, while the first-ever Gamescom LATAM in 2024 brought in more than 100,000 visitors.


Looking ahead, Gamescom 2025 will take place from August 20-24 in Cologne, Germany, starting with Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 19. This year's event will also launch The Witcher in Concert tour, celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 3.


As Gamescom LATAM 2025 continues until May 4, more award announcements are expected to follow, further recognizing the talents and innovations coming from Latin American game developers.

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