Yes—other games have won The Game Awards’ Best Independent Game since Disco Elysium took the prize in 2019. The verified later winners include Sea of Stars in 2023, Balatro in 2024, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in 2025. The available official records here do not establish the winners for 2020, 2021, or 2022, so they cannot support a complete year-by-year claim about the six years after Disco Elysium.
What the verified winners show
The category is The Game Awards’ Best Independent Game. The official description calls it an award “for outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.” That wording describes the award’s scope; it is not a comprehensive definition of independence for the games industry.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Maximum Entertainment 34 Sports Games - World Edition (PS5) | $26.70 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Perp The Persistence Enhanced Amélioré(e) Anglais PlayStation 5 | $18.18 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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KARMA: The Dark World - Limited Edition - PS5 | $45.44 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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DEATHLOOP - PS5 | $10.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| Year | Best Independent Game winner | Officially stated credits |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Disco Elysium | Developed by ZA/UM |
| 2020 | Not verified in the official historical pages available here | Not stated |
| 2021 | Not verified in the official historical pages available here | Not stated |
| 2022 | Not verified in the official historical pages available here | Not stated |
| 2023 | Sea of Stars | Not stated in the cited result |
| 2024 | Balatro | Official material names LocalThunk and Playstack |
| 2025 | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive |
The official records confirm that Disco Elysium won in 2019 and that three different games won in 2023–2025. They do not establish a continuous “six years later” streak or provide the missing 2020–2022 results. The 2026 show is presented as upcoming, with nominees expected in mid-November; 2025 is the latest completed result in the official materials cited here.
What “independent” means for this award
The category’s stated test is creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system. That is the award’s own framing, not a ruling on every disputed case involving budgets, outside funding, publishing arrangements, or industry definitions of indie. The category wins alone also do not reveal why voters selected one nominee over another.
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#1 Best Overall
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What the record cannot tell us
The cited official material establishes category winners and selected developer or publisher credits, but it does not supply a consistent basis for comparing the games’ budgets, sales, audience ratings, or category vote shares. The Game Awards reported 171 million global livestreams for the full 2025 show and 154 million for the full 2024 show; those are event-wide figures, not viewership for this award. Its 2024 report of more than 112 million viewer votes across participating platforms is likewise show-wide, not a Best Independent Game vote total.
No category-specific vote margin or official statistic about how many people played Disco Elysium is established by these sources. Without a statement from the organizers or judges explaining their choices, attributing a particular reason for a win would be speculation.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Value for money
- Good product with exc\
- Perfect puzzling: Puzzles slowly increase in complexity enabling seamless progression and rewarding exploration.
Rank #3
- UK PSN account may be required for any online features
Rank #2
- PS5 Features include raytracing modes and immersive haptic feedback for DualSense
- Use darkness and cover to avoid being overwhelmed by the ship's deadly new inhabitants
- Seek out the weapon fabricators to increase your firepower as you journey deeper, into the dark and terrifying depths, but beware ammo is limited
- Gather materials & schematics for weapon upgrades and suit customizations with buffs
- Harvest DNA material to improve health, toughness and defensive capabilities.Survive an ever changing labyrinth. Each and every expedition into The Persistence will be disorienting and different.Death is just the beginning. Fatal encounters will result in Zimri's consciousness being uploaded into a new cloned body, ready to try again, with any upgraded stats, suits & weapon schematics kept to aid the next attempt to save the ship
Sources
- The Game Awards: 2019 rewind
- The Game Awards: 2023 rewind
- The Game Awards: 2024 rewind
- The Game Awards: 2025 rewind
- The Game Awards: category description and nominees
- The Game Awards: 2026 event information
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