Overview & Rules (as of June 20th, 2024)

Section 1. Description and General Overview

Founded in 2023, the Romanian Game Awards (“RGA”) gala aims to acknowledge and celebrate the most notable achievements and products created by the Romanian game development industry. Organized by RGDA – the Romanian Game Developers Association (the “Organizer”), the RGA Gala is an annual in-person event taking place in Bucharest which awards companies, institutions and games with the most notable results throughout the year.

The categories awarded during the RGA are listed here.

The RGA features a panel of independent jury members, which are listed here. Several categories are judged exclusively by the RGDA Board and are indicated as such in the Categories section.

The timeline for the RGA is:

  • Call for submissions: Jun 28th – Sep 15th  
  • Jury deliberations: Sep 30th – Oct 27th
  • The awards Gala: Nov 13th  

Section 2. Submissions & Rules

Important notes:

  1. All submitting participants acknowledge that they have read and agreed to these rules – including the Disclaimers section below – and are fully responsible for the information provided through the submission forms. If at any point you decide you no longer agree to these rules, please notify the organizers at contact@rgda.ro to withdraw your participation.
  2. The submission forms will require the participants to include download links for certain assets. The links provided must remain active until the end of the jury deliberation period, as indicated above.
  3. Submissions for most categories in this section (exceptions indicated below) need to be done by the participating studio / company / institution, by filling in the form below and providing all required information and assets for the respective category. Unless otherwise specified, a company may have only one project submitted for any given category.
  4. The following categories are judged and awarded directly by the RGDA Board or experts appointed by the RGDA Board, based on their direct experience and knowledge of the local industry companies and individuals. Submissions are not open for these categories (marked with “*” in section 2.1).
    • Best Streamer Support For Romanian Games
    • Game Industry Star Supporter Award
    • Romanian Industry Legend Award

2.1. Award Categories

The Romanian Game Industry Awards section of the RGA Gala will present awards for the following categories:

  1. Independent Studio Of The Year
  2. Game Development Company Of The Year
  3. Best Co-Development Project
  4. Best Support Services Project
  5. Best Marketing Campaign For A Game In Romania
  6. Best Streamer Support For Romanian Games*
  7. Best Upcoming Game
  8. Best Student / Game Jam Project
  9. Romanian Game Of The Year
  10. Best Social Change Project
  11. Game Industry Star Supporter Award*
  12. Romanian Games Industry Legend Award* (formerly, “Outstanding Achievement for the RO Game Dev Industry”)

2.2. General Eligibility Criteria

Participants for the open submission categories of the Romanian Game Industry Awards section of the RGA must be Romanian individuals or legal entities.

The time period evaluated for the Romanian Game Awards 2024 is 01-September-2023 to 15-September-2024 (the “Eligible Time Period”). Unless otherwise specified for any category, all submissions will be evaluated based on the activity during the Eligible Time Period. Additional eligibility criteria specific for each category are covered in the next section.

2.3. Category Judging And Specific Requirements

Indie Studio Of The Year

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating studios must have released a title (at least in a public beta) or must have made a significant announcement during the Eligible Time Period.
  • For the purposes of awards consideration, an “Indie Studio” is defined as a company which:
    • a) employs a maximum of 30 staff OR has annual revenues of no more than $500,000;
    • b) is based in Romania and not majority owned by a non-Romanian third party.
    • c) has not made a submission for the “Game Development Company Of The Year” award.

When evaluating this category, judges will take into account the game(s) released by the studio in the Eligible Time Period (including – if available – user reviews, critical reviews, download figures, etc), notable media or press materials about the studio, marketing campaigns led by the studio, or any other notable achievements. When applying for this category, studios should consider including links to such public information / materials.

Game Development Company Of The Year

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating studios must have released a title (at least in a public beta) or must have made a significant announcement during the Eligible Time Period.
  • For the purposes of being considered for this category, a company must meet the following criteria:
    • a) employs over 30 staff OR has annual revenues of over $500,000;b) is based in Romania;
    • c) has not made a submission for the “Independent Studio Of The Year” award.

When evaluating this category, judges will take into account the game(s) released by the studio in the Eligible Time Period (including – if available – user reviews, critical reviews, download figures, etc), notable media or press materials about the studio, marketing campaigns led by the studio, or any other notable achievements. When applying for this category, studios should consider including links to such public information / materials.

Best Co-Development Project

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating games must be submitted by the development studio. Up to two submissions per studio are allowed for this category.
  • For the purposes of eligibility for this category, the term “co-development project” refers to non-Romanian game IPs which were partially or fully developed by Romanian-based studios. High production value titles are preferred for this category (AA+, whether it’s PC / Console or mobile). Submissions can include product launches and also significant content updates.
  • Details about the sections of the game developed in Romania will be required in the submission form. Development contributions which are not material enough may not be considered eligible. Contributions must include work in the areas of engineering, game design or art production. Contributions consisting exclusively of QA, localization and player support are not eligible for this category (see “Best Support Services Project”).
  • Public proof of development participation is required (i.e. credits mention, press release, etc).
  • Participating games must have been released (at least in a public beta) during the Eligible Time Period.

When evaluating this category, judges will take consider the effort contributed by the development studio and its impact on the game, as they are reflected from the information submitted and from the submission and the commercial and critical success of the title (based on publicly available information).

Best Support Services Project

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating games must be submitted by the development studio. Up to two submissions per studio are allowed for this category.
  • Contributions must consist primarily of QA, localization and player support. Details about the sections / services supported in Romania will be required in the submission form. Development contributions which are not material enough may not be considered eligible.
  • Public proof of development participation is required (i.e. credits mention, press release, etc).
  • Participating games must have been released (at least in a public beta) during the Eligible Time Period.

When evaluating this category, judges will take consider the effort contributed by the nominated studio and its impact on the game, as they are reflected from the information submitted and from the submission and the commercial and critical success of the title (based on publicly available information).

Best Marketing Campaign For A Game In Romania

Specific eligibility:

  • Campaigns can be submitted either by the game’s developer or by their marketing / PR agency.
  • Campaigns must have been active at least partially during the Eligible Time Period and must have been active globally and including Romania.

When evaluating this category, judges will take into account the overall notoriety of the campaign, the channels / media used, any innovative aspects, and the impact of the campaign. When applying for this category, studios will be asked to include information relevant to the above, including KPIs indicating the results of the campaign.

Best Streamer Support For Romanian Games

Through this category, the RGDA Board aims to acknowledge content creators who have dedicated time and effort to the promotion and support of Romanian studios and games, during the Eligible Time Period. Submissions are not open for this category.

The winner of this category will be decided by the RGDA Board, after careful consideration by its members or by experts appointed by the board members.

Best Upcoming Romanian Game

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating game must NOT be fully released during the Eligible Time Period, but must have some playable version available for players (Early Access, public Beta, demo, etc).
  • Any Romanian games company (“indie studio” or otherwise) can submit projects for this category.

When evaluating this category, judges will consider the notoriety of the game, size and livelihood of the game’s existing community, and the expected level of quality of the game, based on publicly available materials of the game (store page, social media pages, community hubs), existing press coverage, and the actual available game build, as well as any additional information provided by the studio during the submission.

During the judging process, each jury member will decide on their own a shortlist of three titles for this category. Then, all jury members will meet and decide together on a winner. In certain situations (such as a very close call between two titles), the jury may decide to appoint a Runner-Up for the category.

Romanian Game Of The Year

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating games must be submitted by the development studio or a delegated representative.
  • Participating games must have released during the Eligible Time Period (full release, excluding Early Access or public Beta).
  • Development studio must be an “Indie Studio”, as defined above.

When evaluating this category, judges will consider the game’s quality, notoriety, commercial performance and critical performance, based on the game build and information such as user reviews, critical reviews, download figures or other publicly available commercial information, notable media or press materials about the game, marketing campaigns for the game, or any other information provided in the submission form and publicly available materials.

During the judging process, each jury member will decide on their own a shortlist of three titles for this category. Then, all jury members will meet and decide together on a winner. In certain situations (such as a very close call between two titles), the jury may decide to appoint a Runner-Up for the category.

Best Student / Game Jam Project

Specific eligibility:

  • Projects must be submitted by their development teams.
  • Participating projects must be either:
    • Winner or shortlisted in a game jam or related competition which took place In Romania during the Eligible Time Period.
    • A game project created by students enrolled in a Romanian academic program, at least partially created during the Eligible Time Period.
  • Average team member formal employment experience in the game development industry must be 1 year or less.

When evaluating this category, judges will consider the fun factor and/or artistic expression of the project, as well as overall aesthetics, adherence to competition theme (if applicable) and any innovative elements.

Best Social Change Game Project

Specific eligibility:

  • Participating games must have released during the Eligible Time Period (full release, excluding Early Access or public Beta).
  • Any Romanian games company (“indie studio” or otherwise) can submit projects for this category.
  • Participating games must include features or content which can be considered notable initiatives towards improved social change, for examples in areas such as: education, serious gaming, accessibility, DE&I (“diversity, equity & inclusion”), or others. Such features must be pointed out and duly described in the submission form.

When evaluating this category, judges will primarily the features or content related to social change, based on the information outlined in the submission form and the actual game, as well as the overall critical performance of the game (user reviews, critical reviews).

Games Industry Star Supporter Award

Through this category, the RGDA Board aims to acknowledge the persons or institutions which have contributed significantly (whether through time, effort, knowledge or paid sponsorship) to RGDA’s campaigns or events, during the Eligible Time Period. Submissions are not open for this category.

The winner of this category will be decided by the RGDA Board, after careful consideration by its members or by experts appointed by the board members.

Romanian Games Industry Legend Award

Through this category, the RGDA Board aims to acknowledge sustained and significant contributions by a person to the development of the industry in Romania, throughout their entire professional activity. Submissions are not open for this category.

The winner of this category will be decided through voting by past winners of this category (or similar “lifetime achievement” awards), based on nominations from the RGDA Board or category alumni themselves.

The SUBMISSION FORM for the Romanian Game Awards can be found HERE

Section 3. Disclaimers

  1. All submitting participants acknowledge that they have read and agreed to these rules – including this Disclaimers section – and are fully responsible for the information provided through the submission forms. If at any point you decide you no longer agree to these rules, please notify the organizers at contact@rgda.ro to withdraw your participation.
  2. The information provided in the submission forms will be used by the Organizer and RGA jury for the assessment of the awards categories. Strictly confidential information (protected by NDAs) should not be included in the submission forms. The Organizer cannot be held liable for any information disclosed through the submission forms for the Romanian Game Awards.
  3. The assets provided through the submission may be used by the Organizer to prepare materials necessary for the production of the awards Gala. By submitting a form for RGA, participants grant permission to the Organizer to use the submitted assets on the event website, in marketing materials for the RGA and during the awards Gala.
  4. Submissions which do not respect the eligibility criteria mentioned above will be disregarded.
  5. In the case of incomplete submissions (information provided is not sufficient or asset links are not functional), the Organizer will send one (1) notice at the provided contact email. Submissions which are still incomplete at the end of the call for submissions will be disregarded.
  6. The Organizer reserves the right to decline participation for submissions which include illegal content or are deemed discriminatory in any way.
  7. The Organizer will make best efforts to ensure the independence of jury members for each category. Jury members with will not participate in judging categories where they have a conflict of interest.
  8. The Organizer reserves the right to change these conditions and regulations or to add and remove categories for the Awards, taking into account logistics, public interest and feedback. Any changes which would require awards participants to be notified in advance will be announced to the public in due time.
  9. The Romanian Game Awards Gala takes place exclusively in-person. We reserve the right to decline access to persons which are not appropriately dressed or bother other attendees. Recommended dress code is smart casual or more formal.
  10. By participating at the Romanian Game Awards, you accept to be photographed or filmed by our professional staff. Such materials may be used by organizers for promotional purposes (for example, on social media, etc).