The Day of the Devs initiative, established by Double Fine Productions and iam8bit, regularly spotlights high-quality titles from independent creators worldwide, offering platforms for developers to present their work through virtual and live gatherings. The 2025 edition, tied to The Game Awards, delivered a one-hour online presentation featuring 22 forthcoming independent titles, among them six global debuts and three newly revealed launch dates.
Deconstructeam, a compact team based in Spain, has built a reputation for crafting thought-provoking, intimate, and grimly reflective titles such as Gods Will Be Watching, The Red Strings Club, and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood. Their forthcoming release, Virtue and a Sledgehammer, shifts to a fresh style with three-dimensional, cel-shaded visuals and a third-person viewpoint, departing from their usual pixel-art approach, while retaining the dark, contemplative atmosphere.
In Virtue and a Sledgehammer, players navigate a somber narrative of personal growth in an eerie, forested abandoned settlement inhabited by machines and wandering residents. Engage in serene interactions with longtime companions before wielding a hammer to demolish structures in the area, revealing suppressed recollections that aid in letting go of the past. The interactive nature of the structures and items enhances the emotional release throughout the experience.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer is slated for release on Steam in 2026 under the Devolver Digital label.
UN:Me, developed by Historia and issued by Shueisha Games from Japan, delivers a chilling, psychologically twisting journey into fundamental terrors. The protagonist is a young female character harboring four distinct essences within her, each vying for dominance over her mind. She traverses stark, nonsensical corridors filled with nightmarish entities embodying everyday dreads, including acrophobia, oppressive leaders, and tight enclosures. The essences alternate unpredictably, each tied to a unique phobia, and players must select which to purge until a single one endures, with its authenticity unveiled only in the finale.
UN:Me is currently available for adding to Steam wishlists.
Funktronic Labs, recognized for its virtual reality offerings like Cosmic Trip, Fujii, and The Light Brigade, introduces Scramble Knights Royale, a non-VR title heading to PC and Xbox in 2026. This entry blends battle royale elements with exploratory adventure mechanics. It starts with groups of 30 to 40 participants aboard a vessel, progressing to a massive turtle's shell for shore access, followed by survival challenges reminiscent of wilderness endurance scenarios: gathering supplies, combating wildlife, enhancing equipment, and clashing with rivals only upon chance meetings.
Despite its charming, claymation-inspired visuals, Scramble Knights Royale boasts sophisticated and polished fighting systems, according to Funktronic. The game also includes support for local multiplayer in split-screen mode.
Mografi, celebrated for the charming investigative adventure Jenny LeClue, now presents Mirria, an evocative puzzle title created by Carl Burton, the mind behind ISLANDS: Non-Places, and published by the studio. Mirria evokes a fusion of Kentucky Route Zero's mood and Monument Valley's illusions, where players delve into parallel dimensions via mirrors, aligning the dual realms through precise observations and subtle tweaks to achieve flawless symmetry in the disquieting surroundings. The overall presentation promises a calming, meditative quality.
Adam Saltsman, the founder of Finji and a contributor to notable independents including Overland, Night in the Woods, Tunic, and Usual June, returns to his origins in straightforward, gameplay-focused design with Corgispace. This anthology compiles retro 8-bit experiences with unconventional concepts, such as the action-oriented Rat Dreams limited to evasion maneuvers, the jump-free traverser Skeleton Jeleton, and the exploratory Prince of Prussia, which involves confronting Nazis in an innovative, engaging manner, as described by Saltsman. He claims the collection contains no hidden elements, a statement that hints at potential surprises.
Corgispace launched immediately on Steam and Itch.io.
The team at Panic Stations, composed of ex-Fall Guys creators, excels in chaotic, physics-based group play, and Frog Sqwad embodies that expertise. In this cooperative outing, amphibian characters scour underground pipes for provisions to appease a demanding marsh ruler. Consume items to expand in size and transform into a colossal version, regurgitate to reduce scale, and deploy an extendable adhesive appendage for swinging, clinging, or propelling companions. The pipe networks generate dynamically each time, ensuring varied arenas, with escalating difficulty as the ruler's hunger intensifies.
Frog Sqwad will arrive on Steam in 2026, preceded by a testing phase.
Additional swift updates included Dogpile from Studio Folly, Toot Games, and Foot, which became playable instantly during the event; Big Hops from Luckhsot Games, set for January 12, 2026; and Demon Tides from Fabraz, scheduled for February 19, 2026.
The presentation also showcased around a dozen more projects in progress, such as the haunting Lucid Falls, the grunge-inspired 1990s rock band rhythm title Rockbeasts, the serene extraterrestrial harmony of Soundgrass, a striking sequel to The Invincible titled Into the Fire, and Unshine Arcade, which uncovers the eerie underbelly of virtual pets and arcade grabbers.
The 2025 Day of the Devs: The Game Awards Digital Showcase concluded with a noteworthy reveal: a collaboration with the Video Game History Foundation to unveil Xcavator 2025, a completed iteration of an abandoned project by acclaimed coder Chris Oberth. Initially crafted by the Big Buck Hunter developers at Incredible Technologies without securing distribution, it has been restored by Mega Cat Studios, Retrotainment Games, and iam8bit. Pre-orders for an NES physical edition are open via iam8bit, with sales supporting the Video Game History Foundation.