Sponsored by Renaissance PR and Curve Digital, The Indie Publishing Awards aim to celebrate the business side of indie video games, such as the games' publishers, community management, funding, and marketing. While some 2020 winners are expected, others might come as a bigger surprise.
For example, it's not a surprise to see Steam take home the gold for the Storefront of the Year award, as many indie developers choose to go through Valve to get their games greenlit and oftentimes leading to success. Epic Games Store, Itch.io, and Limited Run were among others nominated for this award. Likewise, Devolver Digital is one of the most prominent indie publishing companies, taking home the award for Publisher of the Year against companies like Humble Games and Team17.
Kowloon Nights won the award for Investor of the Year. This award follows the February announcement of the organization funding 23 upcoming indie games. Kowloon Nights aims to "quietly revolutionize game funding," and one of the games now on its roster is Sea of Stars, winning the award for Crowdfunding Campaign of 2020. From Sabotage Studio, Sea of Star's Kickstarter campaign soared past its original goal of $133,000, earning more than $1.6 million from over 25,000 backers.
Among Us rose to unexpected ranks in 2020 thanks to prominent Twitch streamers. Though its developers at InnerSloth weren't expecting the onslaught of attention, Victoria Tran rightfully took home the Community Manager of the Year award. Similarly, Fall Guys won PR & Marketing Campaign of the Year for its involvement with the community, mostly through Twitter.
Additionally, Unsigned Game of the Show, or best game without a publisher, went to Harmony's Odyssey from MythicOwl. Wings Interactive won the Special Recognition award for investing in diverse teams as well as its GDC relief fund, an initiative to assist indie developers left out to dry after the Game Developers Conference was canceled.