GAM3 Awards Nominees Explained: Finalists and How to Check

The GAM3 Awards is an awards event for the web3 gaming sector, covering games that use blockchain features such as tokens, NFTs or wallet-based ownership. Coverage of the 2024 cycle describes it as a large industry event with 21 award categories, more than 70 industry leaders taking part, and a prize pool reported at $5 million. Reporting on the 2023 cycle described a shortlist of 40 nominated games and more than $2 million in prizes, with winners announced on 14 December 2023.

The event follows a familiar pattern: open nominations, a finalist round, a voting or judging stage and a winners announcement. It has also been streamed online, which makes the ceremony easy to follow from anywhere.

The official organizer website is the authority for category lists, eligibility rules and results. Third-party news articles are useful for a quick overview, but they can contain errors or figures that were correct only at the time they were written. Compare any number you plan to repeat with the primary source.

The topic behind this guide describes the nominees as belonging to the inaugural GAM3 Awards. Public reporting do not support that. They show nomination and finalist announcements for both 2023 and 2024, so the event had already run before any newer list was published.

The word inaugural is often used by mistake when a news article covers a new category, a new season or a new organizer. It can also be confused with other events. For example, the Indie Game Awards announced its first full nominee list in November 2024 for a show on 19 December 2024. That is a different event with its own judging.

When a headline says first or inaugural, check the organizer's history page. Look for the year the event began, the edition number and a list of past winners. If previous editions are listed, the nominees you are reading about belong to a later cycle rather than a debut. This habit saves time and prevents repeating a wrong claim.

Public reporting confirm the headline numbers for the 2023 cycle but do not provide a full list of nominee names that can be checked here. They show that the organizer announced its final nominees before the winners were revealed, that the shortlist included 40 games, and that winners were announced on 14 December 2023.

Because the individual names are not in the results, this guide does not list them. To find them, open the archived announcement for that edition on the organizer's official site, or look at the category pages for that year. Note the category next to each name, since a game can be nominated in one category and not in others.

A nomination is a recognition within a specific category and year. It does not mean that the project is safe to use, that its token has value or that its team is still active. Nominees can be early-stage, can change direction after launch and can close or rebrand. Keep the year, category and source together whenever you record a nomination.

Reporting from October 2024 listed five web3 nominees for Game of the Year: Off The Grid, Pirate Nation, Parallel, Nyan Heroes and Pixels. The same reporting pointed readers to the organizer's site for the full list of nominees across all categories.

Off The Grid is a cyberpunk battle royale shooter from Gunzilla Games with in-game NFTs. It is aimed at console and PC shooter fans who are curious about blockchain gaming. Pixels is a web3 farming and exploration game with its own PIXEL token, guilds and ecosystem staking. It suits players who are comfortable managing a crypto wallet and the risks that come with tokens.

Pirate Nation, Parallel and Nyan Heroes appear in the same reporting. This guide does not have further details on them from the results, so check their official pages before forming a view. A finalist place in one category is not the same as winning that category or the overall Game of the Year award, so confirm the final results separately.

The results do not describe the full selection process, so treat this section as an outline of how awards in games usually work. Confirm the exact method on the organizer's official site for the edition you are reading about.

A typical process has several stages. Nominations may come from industry members, the public or both. A panel or jury reviews eligible entries and produces a shortlist. A vote may then decide the finalists or the winners. Some awards publish the judging criteria, and some do not.

Useful questions to check include: who is eligible, such as whether a game must have a live release or can be in development; whether self-nominations are allowed; when the nomination and voting windows open and close; whether votes are weighted or one per person; and whether the organizer discloses conflicts of interest, such as a jury member who works for a nominated studio.

If these answers are missing, be cautious about reading too much into a finalist list. The absence of clear rules is a reason to look for more evidence about the event before relying on its results.

Each edition sets its own category list, so the best source is the official category page for the year in question. Coverage of the 2024 cycle reported 21 categories. Coverage of the 2023 cycle described more than $2 million in prizes, and 2024 coverage described a $5 million prize pool.

Prize pools can include cash, tokens, partner-funded rewards or a mix. Public reporting do not state the form of each prize for each edition, so read the official prize terms before assuming how a winner is paid. Check the asset, the payment timing, any tax or eligibility notes and any conditions attached to a prize.

The table below summarizes the detail reported in the results and what to verify on the official pages.

Cycle	Reported detail	What to verify
2023	40 shortlisted games, more than $2M in prizes, winners announced 14 December 2023	Official announcement and winner list
2024	Game of the Year finalists reported, 21 categories, more than 70 industry leaders, $5M prize pool	Official category list and prize terms

A large prize pool is a headline figure, not a measure of how a game will perform after the event. Judge the award by its published rules and results rather than by its size.

Coverage of The Game Awards 2025 reported that web3 studios did not secure a single nomination at that show. That result is useful context. Mainstream awards generally judge game design, production quality and critical reception without regard to whether a game uses blockchain features. Web3-specific awards, by contrast, recognise projects within the blockchain gaming sector and often weigh factors such as token design, community and on-chain features.

A web3 award nomination therefore shows peer recognition inside a niche. It does not prove that the game is fun to play, that the economy is sustainable or that the project will be supported for years. A mainstream nomination also does not confirm that a web3 feature is well designed.

A practical way to read a nominee is to ask four questions. What does the blockchain feature actually do for a player? Is the game playable without spending money? Is development active, with updates that can be checked by date? Are the team and the funding clearly described? The answers matter more than the award itself.

Use this sequence to check any claim about nominees or winners. It takes only a few minutes and works for any edition.

1. Open the organizer's official website and find the edition year. Confirm that the page you are reading matches that year.
2. Check the category list and the date the finalists were announced. Note whether the page is a draft or a final announcement.
3. Confirm the winners after the ceremony date. Finalists and winners are often published on separate pages.
4. Compare any figure in a news article, such as a prize pool or a count of nominees, with the official page. If they differ, trust the official page and note the difference.
5. Record the date you checked. Shortlists and winner pages can be edited, so a date makes your notes easier to verify later.

Security note: do not connect a crypto wallet or sign a message to vote or claim anything unless the request comes from the official site and you know the process. Be wary of social posts or direct messages that link to voting or claim pages. Type the official address yourself or use a bookmark you saved earlier, and never enter a recovery phrase on any site or in any message.

A nomination should not be the main reason to buy tokens or NFTs. Awards measure recognition at one point in time, while your costs and risks continue afterwards.

Before you spend money on a nominated game, check the basics. Look for a clear description of what the blockchain features do and whether the game works without them. Find out who develops and funds the project, and whether the team has published updates you can date. Read how the token or NFT supply works, who can mint more, and whether there are lock-ups or unlock schedules. Use the blockchain explorer or the project's documentation to check contract details rather than relying on a summary.

For games such as Off The Grid or Pixels, read the official terms for in-game items and any token rules that apply in your region. Some features may not be available everywhere, and rules on digital assets vary by location. Check local laws before you buy.

Only spend what you can afford to lose. Token and NFT prices can fall sharply and may not recover. This guide is general information, not financial advice.