Megabonk Bows Out of the Game Awards and Honestly It’s One of the Classiest Moves of the Year

One of the funniest things about the gaming world is that every now and then a completely random little game comes out of nowhere, grabs the entire internet by the throat, and says you will play me. And this year that game was Megabonk, the chaotic Vampire Survivors style smash that streamers could not stop bonking each other with. You could not open YouTube without seeing at least three thumbnails of someone yelling MEGABONK in big red letters. It was a whole vibe.

So when it got nominated for Best Debut Indie Game at the Game Awards, everyone basically nodded and said yep, that tracks. Except the developer. Who took one look at the nomination and said actually, no, this does not track at all.

In a refreshingly honest message on social media, the creator behind Megabonk politely declined the nomination because the game is not technically a debut. They have made other games before under different studio names, which means Megabonk is not their first rodeo. And instead of quietly letting it slide, they withdrew themselves and told fans to vote for one of the other debut titles instead.

That is… incredibly wholesome. And also incredibly rare in an industry where everyone is usually fighting for every inch of spotlight.

The Game Awards confirmed that Megabonk is officially removed from the category, and Geoff Keighley himself said the dev did not want to take recognition away from true first time teams. Respect.

For a game that kind of exploded out of nowhere, this whole thing makes me like Megabonk even more. The dev handled it with such sincerity that it almost feels old school, like something from the pre social media days when people made games because they loved making games.

Also, the dev casually ended their message with a new Megabonk update coming soon, which is the most perfect mic drop ever.