Eight award categories, 40+ nominated titles honored ahead of Japan’s pioneering indie game festival, May 22–24 in Kyoto.
KYOTO, Japan – May 14th, 2026 – With less than two weeks to go before BitSummit PUNCH opens its doors at Miyako Messe, we’re proud to reveal the full nominee roster for this year’s awards and the second wave of stage event programming. We’re also thrilled to announce that Shuhei Yoshida will be joining us as judge and awards presenter for the International Award.
BitSummit PUNCH — the 14th edition of Japan’s largest indie game festival — runs May 22nd (Fri.) to May 24th (Sun.), 2026, at Miyako Messe in Kyoto. May 22nd is a dedicated Business Day, with public days on May 23rd (Sat.) and May 24th (Sun.).
The official event page is live now at bitsummit.org/14th/ and will continue to be updated as new announcements are revealed.
BitSummit PUNCH Awards — Nominees
This year’s awards span eight categories. Six are determined by jury vote, with nominees selected from exhibiting titles based on judge recommendations and final deliberation during the event. The remaining two — the Popular Selection Award and Kids Selection Award — are decided by attendee vote on-site.
The awards ceremony takes place on the evening of Saturday, May 23rd. The fun doesn’t end there, though, with the two visitor-voted awards being announced on Sunday, May 24th, and the full ceremony will be broadcast via our official livestream for everyone watching from home.
VERMILLION GATE AWARD / 朱色賞 《 Grand Prize 》
Awarded to the most outstanding title exhibited at BitSummit PUNCH.
- Denshattack! — Undercoders
- Am I Nima — HO! Games
- Algolemeth — Medium-Rare Games
- Satoyama Note: Spring Stroll (里山のおと 春さんぽ) — Satoyama Note
- City of None — Extremely OK Games, Ltd.
- Artis Impact (アーティス インパクト) — Mas
INTERNATIONAL AWARD / インターナショナルアワード賞
Awarded to the most outstanding title submitted from outside Japan.
- The King Is Watching — Hypnohead
- Sledding Game — The Sledding Corporation
- the Berlin Apartment — PARCO GAMES
- TCG Card Shop Simulator — OPNeon Games
- Surfpunk — Double Stallion Games
- Whisper Mountain Outbreak — Toge Productions
- Dungeon Clawler — Stray Fawn Studio
INNOVATIVE OUTLAW AWARD / 革新的反骨心賞
Awarded to a title pushing boundaries in technology, concept, or design.
- On Air! Taxi Detective Casebook (放送開始！タクシー推理事件簿) — 373 STUDIO
- Surface Maze Kurumab (表面迷宮くるまぶ) — KUMAZASA
- Type & Magic — Decoboco Games
- YaoyoroZOO — AlSH
- Sloppy Forgeries — Playful Systems
- Bytes and Knights – ADVENTURE — Jonathan Holmes (crait)
- Hermit Computer — VIA studio (Visual Interactive Arts)
- The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time — Coin Drop Game
EXCELLENCE IN GAME DESIGN AWARD / ゲームデザイン最優秀賞
Awarded to a title demonstrating outstanding game design.
- Lost and Found Co. — Bit Egg Inc
- Werewolf Burger (人狼バーガー) — uracon
- Astromine — Alientrap Games
- Parking Together! — Yaneuragames Co., Ltd.
- OPUS: Prism Peak — SIGONO
- NIGHTMARE OPERATOR — DDDistortion
VISUAL EXCELLENCE AWARD / ビジュアルデザイン最優秀賞
Awarded to a title with outstanding visual design.
- High Fructose — Chazak Games
- Satoyama Note: Spring Stroll (里山のおと 春さんぽ) — Satoyama Note
- FEAR FA 98 — Jacob Jazz
- Finding Polka — lidlocks
- Moldwasher — Anshar Publishing
- ダレカレ (Darekare) — yona・TearyHand Studio
- Into The Haunted Land — Kevin Lai
EXCELLENCE IN SOUND DESIGN AWARD / オーディオデザイン最優秀賞
Awarded to a title with outstanding audio design.
- Katuba’s Poacher — Joe Yu Studio
- Liquid Abyss: The Melted Jelly (リクイッド・アビス – The Melted Jelly -) — Hello Quest
- Starless Umbra — Alcuria Games
- DEATH A LIVE — Rabbit Trigger
- Cento — Hoshimadara Lab.
- Toroa: Skycall — Atawhai Interactive
POPULAR SELECTION AWARD / ポピュラーセレクション賞
Voted on by event attendees on-site — winners will be announced on May 24th (Sun.). Cast your vote when you’re here!
KIDS SELECTION AWARD / ビットキッズアワード
Voted on by young attendees on-site — also announced on May 24th (Sun.). Cast your vote when you’re here!
Rounding out the ceremony, sponsor awards from PlayStation® and ID@Xbox, media partner awards from Famitsu, Dengeki Online, Gizmodo Japan, Game*Spark, IGN Japan, 4Gamer, VGC, and Game Makers, and the BitSummit Game Jam Award — recognizing the most outstanding title created during the BitSummit Game Jam — will also be presented on the night.
Shuhei Yoshida Joins BitSummit PUNCH as International Award Judge and Presenter
Long one of the games industry’s most prominent voices for independent development, Shuhei Yoshida has joined our esteemed panel of judges and presenters and will present the International Award prize at the awards ceremony on May 23rd. His decades of experience — and his well-known passion for indie games from around the world — make him an ideal champion for the international titles exhibiting at BitSummit PUNCH this year.
BitSummit has always aimed to connect outstanding indie games from Japan and around the world with the developers, publishers, media, and players. Yoshida’s participation in judging the International Award reflects exactly that spirit — bringing greater visibility to the diverse range of international titles coming to Kyoto, and signaling to the global indie community that BitSummit is a place where great work gets recognized.
“BitSummit has always been about building bridges — between Japanese indie developers and the world, and between the industry and the players who love these games. Having Shuhei Yoshida join us to judge and present the International Award is a perfect reflection of that mission. His passion for indie games and the incredible depth of his experience make him exactly the right person to champion the international titles coming to Kyoto this year.”
— John Davis, BitSummit Director and Game Curation Lead
Additional information regarding stage events, special programming, and exhibiting titles will be announced in the coming weeks. Please bookmark the
Additional information regarding stage events, special programming, and exhibiting titles will be announced in the coming days. Please bookmark the BitSummit website and follow us on X, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky for the latest announcements as they’re revealed.
BitSummit PUNCH is organized by the BitSummit Executive Committee and Japan Independent Game Aggregate (JIGA) — comprising Q-Games, Pygmy Studio, Skeleton Crew Studio, and BlackSheep — in cooperation with Kyoto Prefecture. Co-hosted by KYOTO CMEX. Produced by Oricom.