Pocket Gamer 2025 People's Choice Award Winner Announced This Month

Voting for the Pocket Gamer People's Choice Award 2025 is officially closed, and the final tally is underway. So, who will claim the top honor? You'll have to wait until the Mobile Game Awards ceremony in Cologne on August 19th. If you'd like to be there, a limited number of tickets are still available—be sure to secure yours soon. It promises to be a fantastic evening.

In case you missed our updates about the event, here is the full list of nominees for the People's Choice Award:

• Balatro
• Battle Cars: Nitro PvP Shooter
• Bloons Card Storm
• Etheria: Restart
• Fortnite
• Gordian Quest
• I Am Your Beast
• Lara Croft: Guardian of Light
• Marvel Mystic Mayhem
• Monument Valley 3
• Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Scattered Verse
• Shogun Showdown
• Songs of Conquest
• Squid Game: Unleashed
• Sunset Hills
• The Star Named EOS
• Thronefall
• What the Clash?

It's an impressive lineup, as I'm sure you'll agree. The mobile gaming landscape has been incredibly strong in recent years, especially over the past twelve months. This is highlighted by the notable absence of some major titles—for instance, neither Dredge nor Jump King made the shortlist, and that's just a couple of examples. Situations like this make me relieved I'm not on the judging panel; the quality and variety make choosing a single winner a genuinely difficult task.

Tough competition

To spotlight a few of the contenders: Balatro captivated players worldwide upon its release. Its premise is elegantly simple, yet the Joker system allows for seemingly infinite ways to master the game. Meanwhile, Bloons Card Storm is the latest hit in Ninja Kiwi's celebrated series, demonstrating once again that the tower defense genre remains vibrant and engaging. We've also seen several outstanding ports this year, including Lara Croft: Guardian of Light, Gordian Quest, and Sunset Hills.

Whoever is crowned the winner on August 19th will have triumphed over exceptionally tough competition, and that deserving victor will have been selected by the community. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the voting.