Yesterday, The Game Awards 2025 announced its nominees, and Megabonk received a nomination for Best Debut Indie Game, along with Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Despelote, and Dispatch. While Megabonk is one of my favorite games of the year, and possibly in my top 3, there’s a good chance it won’t be taking home a trophy. That won’t matter, though, as the unknown developer behind the game has announced on social media that Megabonk is withdrawing from The Game Awards. The reason? Well, “john megabonk” says that they’ve made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk isn’t their debut game.
That logic could be applied to some of the other nominees, though, considering Dispatch’s team is made up of former Telltale Games developers and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has Ubisoft veterans. Ultimately, though, the category is meant to honor a new studio releasing its first game, and by definition, everything applies. The more interesting question now, though, is who vedinad really is. Some have speculated that it’s Dani Dev, a Norwegian YouTuber who made Muck and Crab Game. I actually spent 17 hours in Muck and really enjoyed it, and I honestly could see the connection between that and Megabonk.
Hopefully, one day, vedinad will reveal themselves, and for those who played Megabonk, this really does feel like something its developer would do. If you haven’t played Megabonk, you really should. As I said in my review, it’s easily the most fun game I’ve played all year and its $9.99 price tag really can’t be beat.
