Emma Kidwell Is Your Host for the 2025 IGF Awards

It’s showtime! Join us in welcoming Emma Kidwell as she steps onto GDC’s Main Stage to host the 2025 Independent Games Festival Awards, the premier event for recognizing outstanding indie game achievements.

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Emma Kidwell is a writer currently at Firaxis working on Sid Meier’s Civilization 7. Her credits include Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Borderlands 4, and Life is Strange 2. The game she wrote, Hindsight, was nominated for multiple awards in categories where a piece of media made an impact on a meaningful or societal level. Kidwell continues to make independent games and posts them to her itch.io page.

Check out her welcome video and highlights from last year’s event.

The Independent Games Festival Awards will take place Wednesday, March 19 on the Main Stage at GDC 2025, and will be available to watch live for free via GDC Twitch. For those eager to see the awards for themselves, make sure to buy a pass for GDC 2025!

GDC returns this March 17-21, 2025, and our Early Rate is currently live (for a limited time)! For more information, be sure to visit our website and follow the #GDC2025 hashtag on social media.

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Source: Beth Elderkin /GDC