Apple Design Awards 2025 Honor Balatro, Dredge, PBJ The Musical

• The 2025 Apple Design Awards have concluded.
• Prominent winners this year include Balatro and Dredge.
• The awards celebrate outstanding achievements across various categories on iOS.

Amidst this year's exciting releases, you might have missed the recent Apple Design Awards! This annual event honors exceptional iOS apps and games across diverse categories, from technical innovation to the more subjective realm of 'delight and fun.' This year's ceremony saw several major titles take home honors.

Take a look at the standout winners below!

• Balatro (Delight & Fun) - LocalThunk's indie deckbuilding roguelike winning an award is no shock. This accolade further solidifies the game's massive breakout success, which was significantly boosted by its mobile release.

• PBJ: The Musical (Innovation) - Another predictable yet deserved victory. It's hard to imagine a more innovative—or bizarre—concept than a musical puzzle game reimagining Romeo & Juliet with peanut butter and jelly.
• Dredge (Interaction) - Successfully adapting a game like Dredge, an eldritch fishing-horror hybrid, for mobile is a feat worthy of praise. Apple clearly agrees with that assessment.

• Art of Fauna (Inclusivity) - This deceptively simple wildlife puzzle game is built from the ground up with a focus on conservation and inclusive design.
• Neva (Social Impact) - This action-adventure title, following a young girl and her wolf companion, tackles themes of environmental loss through the contemplative, artistic lens common to indie storytelling.

• Infinity Nikki (Visuals & Graphics) - Another well-known release. Regardless of your feelings about its dress-up gameplay, Infinity Nikki is undeniably a visual masterpiece.

The Apple Design Awards serve as a valuable reminder of mobile gaming's influence and creative potential. It's particularly noteworthy that this adds another accolade to Balatro's impressive collection and marks another significant win for Dredge's successful mobile transition, where the innovative horror-fishing sim has truly made waves.

However, there are still plenty of awards left to be given! Do you have a favorite game that deserves recognition? Want to champion a title you love? Then head over to the 2025 Pocket Gamer People's Choice Awards and cast your nomination!