In 2021, the Hugo Awards added a category for Best Video Game, which went to Hades that year. While it hasn’t appeared every year since, Baldur’s Gate 3 took home the trophy in 2024. This year, that honor goes to the science-fantasy roguelike Caves of Qud. Nominated alongside Caves of Qud were Dragon Age: The Veilguard, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Tactical Breach Wizards, and 1000xRESIST.
The 2025 Hugo Awards were presented at Seattle Worldcon 2025. For those unfamiliar, the Hugos were first presented in 1953 and became an annual award starting in 1955. They are widely considered science fiction’s most prestigious award and typically honor novels, short stories, series, graphic stories or comics, related works, artists, fanzines, and more.
Caves of Qud, co-created by Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat, comes from Freehold Games and is published by Kitfox Games. The game spent over 15 years in development and exited Early Access on December 5, 2024, to high praise from the community. It currently has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, with over 10,000 reviews, 95% of them positive.
