- Megabonk developer, vedinad, has announced that they'll be withdrawing the title's nomination at The Game Awards.
- The 3D bullet-hell earned a nomination in the Best Debut Indie category.
- The game's developer explained that Megabonk isn't their first game, which is why it cannot be a considering a 'debut.'
Megabonk, the roguelike 3D bullet-hell that dominated Steam charts for a solid few weeks, was recently nominated in the Best Debut Indie category at The Game Awards. But instead of celebrating the achievement, the game’s developer, who goes by vedinad, has opted to withdraw the game from consideration for an admirable reason.
Megabonk was nominated alongside other indie smash hits, including Dispatch, Blue Prince, Despelote, and the GOTY frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. However, it’ll now be leaving this fine company, leaving four games to tussle it out for the gold.
Megabonk Developer Explains Withdrawal From The Game Awards
vedinad, benelovently referred to as ‘John Megabonk’ by the community, took the game’s offical X page to announce their decision. They stated, “I’m withdrawing from The Game Awards. It’s an honor and a dream for Megabonk to be nominated for TGA, but unfortunately, I don’t think it qualifies for the category ‘Debut Indie Game.’ I’ve made games in the past under different studio names, so Megabonk is not my debut game.“
“I really appreciate the nomination, support, and votes,” they added, “but it doesn’t feel right in this category. You should vote for another one of the amazing debut titles, they are all amazing games!”
All things considered, that’s a pretty classy move, and players online felt the same. John Megabonk’s post was quickly filled with comments of appreciation, with some fans naturally stirring up theories around what the developer’s other studio names could be. The most popular of potential names is ‘Danidev,’ the Norwegian creator behind Crab Game and Karlson 3D, but there’s no way to know for sure.
It’ll be interesting to see if TGA decides to run with four games in the Best Debut Indie, or if they choose to induct a new title to fill Megabonk’s vacancy. What do you think their approach should be? Let us know in the comments.
