Games for Change has named Compulsion Games' South of Midnight as Game and Experience of the Year at its 2026 awards, announced at the G4C Awards ceremony during the organization's annual festival in New York.
Hexecutable's Consume Me was the night's most decorated entry, taking Best Narrative, Best Gameplay and the Indie Breakout Award. Paintbucket Games' The Darkest Files won Best in Learning.
Winners were drawn from submissions representing 42 countries, a spread Games for Change president Susanna Pollack pointed to when the results were announced.
They come from studios and institutions across five continents, each one turning to a game or interactive experience to say something that mattered to them.
Individual and industry honours
Thatgamecompany received the Industry Leader Award. The Vanguard Award went to Jenn Panattoni, founder and chief executive of Aizle Impact, who established the Xbox Social Impact team in 2018; that team has since raised more than $250 million for global campaigns. Special Effect received the Giving Award, and EA Sports FC 26 took the Accessibility Award.
The 2026 winners
- Game/Experience of the Year: South of Midnight (Compulsion Games)
- Best Narrative, Best Gameplay, Indie Breakout Award: Consume Me (Hexecutable)
- Best in Impact: And Roger (TearyHand Studio)
- Best in Learning: The Darkest Files (Paintbucket Games)
- Best in Community Empowerment: Relooted (Nyamakop)
- Best in Environmental Impact: Faceminer (Wristwork)
- Best in Health & Wellness: ARWell Pro (Augment Therapy)
- Best in XR & Emerging Media: A Long Goodbye (Timescapes & Polygoat)
- Best Platform-based Project: Planet Planners on Roblox (Playerthree & BBC Bitesize)
- Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact: Ciclo do Poder / Cycle of Power (Fiocruz)
The Games for Change Awards sit apart from the industry's commercial award circuit, judging entries on the social or educational aim behind them rather than on sales or technical craft alone. That framing is what makes the top prize for South of Midnight, a studio release from a Microsoft-owned developer, notable alongside a winners list otherwise weighted toward independent and institutional projects.
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