The inaugural Game Developer Awards ceremony, hosted by Trudy Kerr at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julian's, Malta, recognised the achievements of both the industry's biggest names and emerging studios across 14 categories.  

The Relax Gaming team enjoyed a pair of wins in the Game Performance section, as Money Train 2's Slot of the Year 2021 success was followed by Book of 99 being named Slot to Watch 2021. 

Alchemy Gaming's Wheel of Wishes claimed the Slot Studio Debut 2021 title, while SG Digital's Rainbow Riches took the Slot Legacy Title honour, and the Slot Collaboration of the Year award went to Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming for Gonzo's Quest MegaWays.

In the Game Creation categories, AvatarUX took the Game Innovation honour for the CherryPop, TikiPop and HippoPop titles from its series of releases using the PopWins mechanic.

Blueprint Gaming's Rick and Morty MegaWays took the Game Licensed Content prize, while Rainbow Riches Race Day gave SG Digital its second success of the night, this time in the Game Retro-Style category.

Push Gaming's Dinopolis secured the Game Design & Art Direction title, iSoftBet's Moriarty Megaways came out on top in the Game Narrative category, and NetEnt's Hotline 2 won the Game Music / Soundtrack trophy. 

The Game Marketing section of the ceremony saw Evoplay take the Innovation in Marketing honour, LetsGiveItASpin of CasinoGrounds crowned Streamer of the Year, and ELK Studios named Content Creator of the Year for its work to promote Nitropolis 2.

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of the event's organiser SBC, said: "Huge congratulations to all the winners at the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards.

"The judges and voters faced some very difficult choices when deciding the winners. The shortlists were full of fantastic entries that demonstrated the depth of talent in the industry, the continuing excellence of the established players, and the emergence of some really exciting new studios."

Sojmark added: "Events such as the Game Developer Awards are made possible by the ongoing support of our sponsors and partners. I'd like to thank BetConstruct, AvatarUX and Internet Vikings for being headline sponsors, as well as all the other companies that continue to work with SBC." 

The Game Developer Awards were the concluding event of the two-day CasinoBeats Summit conference, which took place in an integrated live and digital format, with a select group of senior executives attending in person at the venue in Malta and an international audience joining an online broadcast of the content.  

All conference sessions from the event are available to view online by registering for a free digital pass at the CasinoBeats Summit website. 

CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards Winners 

Slot of the Year 2021

Winner: Relax Gaming - Money Train 2 

Silver: Nolimit City - East Coast vs West Coast

Bronze: Pragmatic Play - The Dog House Megaways

Slot to Watch 2021

Winner: Relax Gaming - Book of 99

Silver; Push Gaming - Jammin' Jars 2

Bronze: Fantasma Games - Golden Castle TITANWAYS

Slot Studio Debut 2021

Winner : Alchemy Gaming - Wheel of Wishes

Silver: Peter & Sons - Johnan Legendarian

Slot Legacy Title

Winner : SG Digital - Rainbow Riches

Silver: NetEnt - Starburst

Bronze : Blueprint Gaming - Fishin' Frenzy

Slot Collaboration of the Year

Winner : Red Tiger + Big Time Gaming - Gonzo's Quest MegaWays

Silver: Relax Gaming + CasinoGrounds - Iron Bank

Bronze : AvatarUX + Yggdrasil Gaming - CherryPop

Game Innovation

Winner : AvatarUX - CherryPop, TikiPop, HippoPop

Silver: Spribe - Aviator

Bronze: Nolimit City - East Coast vs West Coast

Game Licensed Content

Winner: Blueprint Gaming - Rick and Morty Megaways

Silver: SG Digital - Cluedo Cash Mystery

Bronze : Playtech - Rubik's Cube

Game Retro-Style

Winner : SG Digital - Rainbow Riches Race Day

Silver: Triple Edge Studios - Attack on Retro

Bronze : Evoplay - Fruit Super Nova

Game Narrative

Winner: iSoftBet - Moriarty Megaways

Silver: Relax Gaming - Money Train 2

Bronze : SG Digital - Cluedo Cash Mystery

Game Design & Art Direction

Winner : Push Gaming - Dinopolis

Silver: Evoplay - Dungeon: Immortal Evil

Bronze: Stakelogic - Candyways Bonanza Megaways

Game Music / Soundtrack

Winner: NetEnt - Hotline 2

Silver: Kalamba Games - Sadie Swift: Guns 'n Glyphs

Bronze : Hacksaw Gaming - Chaos Crew

Innovation in Marketing

Winner : Evoplay

Streamer of the Year

Winner: CasinoGrounds, LetsGiveItASpin

Silver: Brian Christopher Slots

Bronze : CasinoDaddy

Content Creator of the Year

Winner : ELK Studios - Nitropolis 2

Silver: Push Gaming - Jammin' Jars 2

Bronze : FunFair Games - AstroBoomers: To The Moon!