Entry Guidelines

About SHIBA GAME AWARD 2025 WINTER

SHIBA GAME AWARD (hereinafter SGA) is an online game award that supports game creators worldwide. It is held twice a year, in winter and summer.

Eligibility

You must be a developer of the relevant title or a member of the development team. Or, you must be a publisher who holds the publishing rights to that title.

Please carefully review the conditions for entry titles listed below before applying.

Platforms

We accept titles published on platforms and websites where general users can purchase or download for free, including smartphones, Steam, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, other distribution sites, and personal websites.

Release Date for Eligible Titles

We accept titles that have been released between June 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025, including full versions, early access versions, demo versions, and other playable releases for the general public.
Titles published on UnityRoom, personal websites, etc., are also eligible.
Titles published only in closed communities such as Discord groups or limited PlayTests are not eligible for judging.

※Starting with 2025WINTER, in addition to titles that have already released full versions or demo versions, titles currently in development that users cannot yet play are also eligible for entry if they have a store page or are publicly available. However, titles that users cannot play as of November 1, 2025, will not be eligible for award judging. Even non-judging titles will be featured on this website and Steam's special page, and we plan to introduce them during YouTube streaming, so please feel free to apply. Note that YouTube streaming has time limitations, so we will prioritize judging-eligible titles. Therefore, not all titles will be streamed, so please understand this in advance.

Development Scale

There are no restrictions on the scale of titles.
SGA's policy is to support small-scale game development teams.
Therefore, when selecting titles, we give preference to small-scale development titles (indie, doujin, etc.).
We also accept and judge AAA games and games from major manufacturers, as well as games from studios that have received investment from major companies, but please understand that the selection criteria will be stricter compared to small-scale titles.

The SGA Executive Committee will determine whether development is small-scale or not. The criteria for this determination will not be disclosed, so please understand.

Paid Titles

For titles sold for a fee on Steam, Switch, PlayStation, etc., please send us 5 download keys.
The keys will be used for judging and streaming.

For paid smartphone titles, we generally target those priced at approximately 1,000 yen or less.
This is a measure to prevent spam-like behavior where numerous high-priced titles are submitted from specific publishers, so we ask for your understanding.
Note that paid app games exceeding 1,000 yen are not necessarily excluded. If you wish to apply with such an app game, please contact us separately by email.

Also, for smartphone games that display in-game advertisements, we require that advertisements can be removed through in-app purchases. This condition is in place because we stream on YouTube, to prevent unintended advertisements (such as sexual content) from being displayed.
If advertisement removal is implemented through in-app purchases, the amount should be approximately 1,000 yen or less.
Even if advertisement removal functionality is not implemented, it may be possible to accommodate if advertisement positions are fixed, etc. If you wish to apply with such a game, please contact us individually.
Note that video reward advertisements can be optionally displayed, so their implementation is not a problem.

Number of Eligible Titles

You can apply with multiple titles if they meet the application requirements.
However, if you apply with too many titles, it may not be possible to judge all titles. We ask for your cooperation within reasonable limits, such as limiting to approximately 5 titles.
Publishers with many titles can apply with 6 or more titles, but if possible, we would appreciate it if you could focus on your best works for judging convenience. Note that if multiple titles pass the selection and are streamed on YouTube, it may be difficult for the same person to appear multiple times due to program composition, so please understand.

Re-application of Previously Submitted Titles

You can apply again if conditions such as release dates match. However, please understand that judging will be stricter if there are no updates and the content is the same.

Application Fee

Free

Application Deadline

Japan Time: October 6, 2025 (Monday) 0:00 - October 31, 2025 (Thursday) 23:59

Other

Adult titles (18+ titles) are not eligible.
Games that are illegal in Japan, such as gambling games, are also not eligible.
Other games that the SGA Executive Committee determines to contain discriminatory content or ethical problems are not eligible.

Judging Criteria

SGA judges under the policy of wanting to support various games, and especially wanting to support small-scale game developers.
However, this does not mean that large-scale titles will absolutely not win awards.
We do not disclose more detailed judging criteria, so please understand.

Award Benefits

We plan to select Grand Prize, Streamer Award, and other subsidiary awards. Grand Prize winners will receive commemorative items and some kind of future PR support from SGA. PR support will be provided free of charge.
We also plan to organize streaming on the YouTube channel for those other than Grand Prize winners.

How to Apply

Please enter the required information in the application form.

SGA2025 Winter Application Form

Content Use and Media Coverage

SHIBA GAME AWARD can be freely quoted in articles and reports by SQOOL.NET and other game media and general media.
Therefore, information, images, gameplay videos, etc., of games you submit may be used in articles, videos, reports, etc., without prior confirmation from applicants. However, the SGA Executive Committee will request that each publication site be considerate of spoilers so that the appeal of submitted titles can be better conveyed.

Information Sharing with External Parties

Information you submit will be shared with the SGA Executive Committee, SQOOL.NET editorial department, SGA's business contractors, and related parties such as SHIBA GAME AWARD 2025 sponsors.
Due to the nature of the event, it also serves as a matching platform between developers and publishers and other business operators. Therefore, by participating in SHIBA GAME AWARD, you may receive contact via email from sponsor publishers, advertising companies, and other business operators, so please understand.
For applications from publishers, we will adjust and request that no contact be made from competing publishers, but there may be contact for business partnership purposes. We hope you can understand this in light of the event's purpose.

Other

Entry guidelines will be updated as necessary. The effectiveness will be valid from the time of update and publication. Major changes will also be announced on this site's News, X, Discord, etc.

SGA2025 Winter Application Form