“RPG Maker Award 2026” Winners Announced!

As Selected By The RPG Maker Community

Artis Impact

Creator: Mas
Genre: RPG
Voters’ Comments: I love Artis Impact. A small simple story but it's oozing with creative visuals and carefully crafted animations. Everything was placed with intention and created a world that I want to see expanded.

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These Awards Are For the Best In Each Genre

Best RPG Award

Beloved Rapture

Creator: Rapturous Studio
Genre: RPG
Voters’ Comments: This game is an amazing achievement, especially considering it was made in RM2K3, with many of its features implemented entirely through events. It also uses unique graphics (both tiles and characters) that set it apart visually from most RPG Maker games.

Voters’ Comments

This game is an amazing achievement, especially considering it was made in RM2K3, with many of its features implemented entirely through events. It also uses unique graphics (both tiles and characters) that set it apart visually from most RPG Maker games. It's clear to me that this was a true labor of love, developed over many years (and likely cost the developer many thousand of dollars in commissions?).

But, the results speak for themselves: in my opinion, this is one of the best RPG Maker games ever made.

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Best Adventure Award

Flower in Us

Creator: Chalkseagull, Team Gypsophila
Genre: Visual Novel
Voters’ Comments: The analog-style presentation combined with a cinematic level of immersion made for a highly satisfying experience, and I found myself completely engrossed in the game.

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Best Action Award

Creepy Creepy Love

Creator: BYYONI Entertainment
Genre: Action
Voters’ Comments: A fun and rewarding game built with uniquely original technology. It’s a fusion of a visual novel and a fighting game, where you battle and defeat rivals, each with their own distinct combat systems.

Voters’ Comments

A fun and rewarding game built with uniquely original technology. It’s a fusion of a visual novel and a fighting game, where you battle and defeat rivals, each with their own distinct combat systems.

The cast of characters is full of personality, making the experience genuinely enjoyable. The music is outstanding—I found myself going back again and again just to face Akio.

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Best Simulation Award

DRAPLINE

Creator: Vaka Game Magazine, KANAWO
Genre: Simulation
Voters’ Comments: This game was really fun! The daily calendar feature with different activities each day was a very unique gameplay loop. The art was also really nicely done and pushes RPG Maker to its limits. I definitely plan to buy the full game to discover more of the story!

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Best Free Game Award

Buy a Croquette!

Creator: 越青
Genre: Adventure
Voters’ Comments: The game features multiple different endings. Behind what initially seems like a simple story—“buying a croquette for a girl”—lies a surprisingly deep and layered narrative. Clever deduction and puzzle-solving elements add strong gameplay value to this otherwise simple 2D pixel game.

Voters’ Comments

The game features multiple different endings. Behind what initially seems like a simple story—“buying a croquette for a girl”—lies a surprisingly deep and layered narrative. Clever deduction and puzzle-solving elements add strong gameplay value to this otherwise simple 2D pixel game.

Despite being free, it offers around 10 hours of playtime. Themes such as “parallel worlds,” “emotional storytelling,” and “scientific theory,” combined with its richly developed story, are exactly why I chose to vote for this title.

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Best Free Game Award

Saihate Station

Creator: びぶ/viv
Genre: Adventure
Voters’ Comments: KYAAAAAA!!!!!! IVE BEEN SUCH A BIG FAN OF SAIHATEEKI FOR AGES!!!!!!!!!!
it genuinely changed my life…. i bought over $140 of merch when twilight railway dropped………..

Voters’ Comments

KYAAAAAA!!!!!! IVE BEEN SUCH A BIG FAN OF SAIHATEEKI FOR AGES!!!!!!!!!!
it genuinely changed my life…. i bought over $140 of merch when twilight railway dropped……….. its such a well told story of long term obsession and twisted romance.. the gameplay, visuals, storyline, and soundtrack encapsulated the player so deeply its wonderful!! i have met such a fun community of fan artists, and even if the DLC is the last full game in the franchise, ill contine to support bibusan and his works devotedly!!!! ♡♡♡shionharu forever!!!!!!!!!!

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Best Comment Award

Heroines of Swords & Spells 2

Creator: Kirillkrm
Genre: RPG
Voters’ Comments: Pretty non-trivial take on jRPG genre with a lot of influence from usually (disregarding The Witcher, of course) severely underrepresented slavic folklore. Witty, charming and mostly done

Voters’ Comments

Pretty non-trivial take on jRPG genre with a lot of influence from usually (disregarding The Witcher, of course) severely underrepresented slavic folklore. Witty, charming and mostly done by one guy with lots of passion. Perhaps it's not the most famous or best-made game out there in general, but it is really, really good.

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Best Comment Award

7 Days

Creator: Daver The Dave
Genre: Adventure
Voters’ Comments: This game made me feel so seen, im a 16 year old guy who suffers from depression and anxiety, and this game really made me feel visible and understood like no one ever did, i love how all the hard work is handdrawn,

Voters’ Comments

This game made me feel so seen, im a 16 year old guy who suffers from depression and anxiety, and this game really made me feel visible and understood like no one ever did, i love how all the hard work is handdrawn, i love the story, and the multiple choices you have to make during the game that are changing the plot, the music is gotta my favourite of all games ive ever played, the guitars, pianos, trumpets, all coming together in such a beautiful way, listening to it everyday now when im drawing at the park or sleep, and lets not forget about how relatable the main character is... how i literally cried with him during the game, and how he made me feel so strangely safe and understood. i genuinely cried when i finished the game, because it told me theres still hope, a light, and i should not give up and keep running away. I think this game deserves an award, a huge one, my favourite game forever <3.

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Given By Gotcha Gotcha Games To A Standout Title

Maker's Special Award

Seed of Nostalgia

Creator: James Sloan, Primitive Pixels
Genre: RPG
Comment from Gotcha Gotcha Games: This highly anticipated new title surpassed its funding goal by more than 2,000% on Kickstarter, attracting significant attention.
Its high-quality visuals, reminiscent of classic RPGs, are seamlessly combined with modern presentation techniques,

Comment from Gotcha Gotcha Games

This highly anticipated new title surpassed its funding goal by more than 2,000% on Kickstarter, attracting significant attention.
Its high-quality visuals, reminiscent of classic RPGs, are seamlessly combined with modern presentation techniques, building strong anticipation for the experience that awaits players.

In recognition of its appeal and remarkable level of attention, we have selected this title for a Special Award.
We are very much looking forward to its release.

View on Steam

Additional Information

Nomination Conditions

Titles were eligible for award nomination if they fulfilled the following requirements:

Was released (fully or in Early Access) no earlier than January 1, 2024.
Has an accessible Steam store page.
Agreed to participate in the RPG Maker Festival 2026 event and agreed to be an award eligible title as a part of the participation agreement.

Voting Period

December 17th, 2025 until December 23rd, 2025

Additional Notice

We are unable to answer questions about the games that receive the awards. Please contact the developers for any games you have questions about.