CGAs 2025, Toronto

by David Carcasole on assignment for IGR

Stepping into Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox Theatre, finally inside after braving a winter storm carrying the most snow Toronto has seen in years, by my memory, I was a snow-covered body of anticipation. I was there for my first-ever Canadian Game Awards, which marked a few firsts for me.

It was the first time in my career I was covering an awards show in-person, and as a journalist who has always worked remotely, it was the first time I wore a tie for work. The latter wasn’t a part of my anticipation because, of course, that was focused on the night ahead of me.

Created by Carl-Edwin Michel in 2020, the Canadian Game Awards was back for its fifth showing after sitting out 2024. Michel took that year to reassess the CGA after 2023’s poor outing. 2023’s event was marked with myriad issues, which I only heard second-hand from those who had been there. From what I’ve heard, technical issues of all kinds were just the beginning of the show’s issues. Thankfully, this year’s show was a much better night all around.

The production staff at the TIFF Lightbox made sure everything ran as it should, with the only on-the-fly adjustments being the height of the mic stand, which one of the co-hosts, Matthew “Dapper Tux” Rodina was on top of the whole night.

This meant that the show’s awkward moments came from elsewhere. A personal point of friction came from the fact that every time LocalThunk’s addictive card game Balatro appeared in a nominee sizzle reel, the video clip chosen included tutorial narration on how to play the game. It felt especially silly when Balatro was being shown for ‘Best Audio Design,’ which it lost to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Both Dragon Age and Balatro were also the clear winners of the night, with Balatro taking home five awards, and Dragon Age taking home four. Sunset Visitor’s 1000xResist, which was nominated in just as many categories as Balatro and Dragon Age, only walked away with a win for Art Direction.

The rest of the awkwardness came from the other segments included in the CGAs. A new “First Look” segment was introduced, during which Canadian developers with upcoming games could show a new trailer. Save for the first ‘First Look,’ which was instead used by Overactive Media to announce that Toronto would host the Call of Duty League Championships in June 2025. I’m someone who doesn’t love that Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards every December is more about the trailers than the actual awards, so I couldn’t help but feel turned off by the CGA’s doing something even remotely similar.

The key difference here was that the awards were still front and center, so I can’t complain about that.

Overall though, the Canadian Game Awards 2025 were a step in the right direction. Co-hosts Rodina and Naomi Kyle were polite and pleasant, and I felt great pride seeing the work of talented Canadians across the country get a spotlight all their own. The CGAs still feel like they are in a junior phase, but I left the theatre with the bright hope that the event will grow bigger and better year by year.

You can see a full list of the nominees and the winners below.

Best Art Direction

• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor) – Winner
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• Été (Impossible)
• Venture to the Vile (Cut to Bits)

Best Game Design

• Balatro (LocalThunk) – Winner
• Été (Impossible)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Beastieball (Wishes Unlimited)
• The Outlast Trials (Red Barrels)

Best Score/Soundtrack

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Winner
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Été (Impossible)
• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor)
• Spirit City: Lofi Sessions (Homework Radio)

Best Narrative

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare) – Winner
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• Times & Galaxy (Copychaser Games)
• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor)
• Venture to the Vile (Cut to Bits)

Best Performance

• Humberly González – Winner
• Nhi Do (1000xResist)
• Ben Burnes (Moving Houses)
• Matt Mercer (Dragon Age: The Veilguard)

Best Audio Design

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Winner
• Balatro (LocalThunk)
• Été (Impossible)
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studios)
• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor)

Best Technology/Innovation

• Homeworld 3 (Blackbird Interactive) – Winner
• Moving Houses (Gordon Little)
• Times & Galaxy (Copychaser Games)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best Debut Indie Game

• Balatro (LocalThunk) – Winner
• Spiral (Folklore Games)
• Été (Impossible)
• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor)
• Nightingale (Inflexion Games)

Best Debut Studio

• LocalThunk – Winner
• Folklore Games
• Impossible
• Sunset Visitor
• Inflexion Games

Most Innovative Studio

• BioWare – Winner
• Folklore Games
• Lucid Dreams
• Red Barrels

Esports Player

• Sarah_frags – Winner
• Twistzz
• Scarlett
• TenZ
• Arteezy

Esports Organization

• Toronto Ultra – Winner
• Lazarus Esports
• Luminosity Gaming
• Toronto Defiant
• Shopify Rebellion

Esports Event

• Call of Duty League: Stage 3 Major – Winner
• Electric Clash Tekken World Tour Challenger Event
• Toronto Ultra Major III Tournament 2024
• Bell Esports Challenge
• BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024

Content Creator

• Pokimane – Winner
• GHOST Cece
• NickEh30
• Aiekillu
• AshleyRoboto
• Shroud

Studio of the Year

• LocalThunk – Winner
• Inflexion Games
• Hilltop Studio
• Behaviour Interactive
• BioWare

Game of the Year

• Balatro (LocalThunk) – Winner
• Biomorph (Lucid Dream Studios)
• Lil Guardsman (Hilltop Studio)
• Été (Impossible)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)
• 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor)