South of Midnight takes top prize at 2026 Games for Change Awards
Games for Change named its 2026 award winners in New York, with South of Midnight earning Game/Experience of the Year.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
South of Midnight has the biggest bragging right from this year’s Games for Change Awards: Game/Experience of the Year.
The nonprofit Games for Change announced the 2026 winners during its G4C Awards Ceremony, held as part of the annual Games for Change Festival in New York. The ceremony was hosted by Anjali Bhimani, whose credits include Overwatch and Ms. Marvel, and Osric Chau, known for Supernatural and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.
The awards spotlight games and interactive projects tied to social impact, learning, health, accessibility, environmental themes and community work. This year’s winners ranged from major studio titles to indie projects, XR experiences, Roblox-based learning and tabletop design.
Games for Change President Susanna Pollack said the winners reflected a strong year for purpose-driven games, with studios and institutions represented across four continents. Pollack said the honorees showed how creators are using games and interactive experiences to express ideas that matter to them.
2026 Games for Change Award winners
- Game/Experience of the Year: South of Midnight, Compulsion Games
- Best Narrative: Consume Me, Hexecutable
- Best Gameplay: Consume Me, Hexecutable
- Indie Breakout Award: Consume Me, Hexecutable
- Best in Impact: and Roger, TearyHand Studio
- Best in Learning: The Darkest Files, Paintbucket Games
- Best in Community Empowerment: Relooted, Nyamakop
- Best in Environmental Impact: Faceminer, Wristwork
- Best in Health & Wellness: ARWell PRO, Augment Therapy
- Best in XR & Emerging Media: A Long Goodbye, Timescapes & Polygoat
- Best Platform-Based Project: Planet Planners on Roblox, Playerthree & BBC Bitesize
- Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact: Ciclo do Poder / Cycle of Power, Fiocruz
Consume Me was the night’s most frequently named title, taking three categories: Best Narrative, Best Gameplay and the Indie Breakout Award. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight took the overall Game/Experience of the Year honor.
The organization also named special award honorees, a separate group recognized for wider contributions to games and social impact.
Special award honorees
- Vanguard Award: Jenn Panattoni
- Industry Leadership Award: thatgamecompany
- Giving Award: SpecialEffect
- Accessibility Award: EA Sports FC 26, EA Sports
The Games for Change Awards are part of the broader festival program, which brings attention to projects using games and interactive media beyond entertainment alone.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.