IGN and Rogue Games teamed up to produce the first-ever Rogue Jam that not only offered publishing deals to indie developers, but also $800,000 in total prize money that will be used to help bring these games to life. Now, the winners have been revealed.
Throughout five episodes over the past few weeks, a team of judges that includes IGN EVP and CCO Peer Schneider and former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has selected the top games in five categories – Huge Potential Winner, Eye-Poppingly Beautiful, WTF?, Overall Winner, and Audience Choice.
If you’d like to watch all the episodes before seeing all the winners, be sure to check out each one below before checking out more details of the victorious games and a video preview of each one.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Rogue Jam!
Rogue Jam Episode 1: Huge Potential Winner – Enter the Chronospherse
Enter the Chronosphere won the Huge Potential award at Rogue Jam 2022 and took home $50,000 and Rogue Games right of first refusal. In Enter the Chronosphere, players must master a turn-based “bullet hell” roguelike game where the action only takes place when they move. While this allows players all the time in the world to plan their next move, the challenges that wait will still require precision and careful thinking.
Rogue Jam Episode 2: Eye-Poppingly Beautiful Winner – I See Red
I See Red won the Eye-Poppingly Beautiful award at Rogue Jam 2022 and won a cash prize of $100,000 and a Rogue Games publishing deal. In I See Red, players take on the role of a space pirate who loves nothing more than invading enemy spaceships and stealing weapons and other goods. The game is a fast-paced, frantic twin-stick shooter that also proudly wears its roguelike aspects on its sleeve.
Rogue Jam Episode 3: WTF? Winner – Zapling Bygone
Zapling Bygone was named the ultimate WTF? game at Rogue Jame 2022 and is taking home $100,000 for that honor and a Rogue Games publishing deal. Zapling Bygone is a mix of open-world, roguelike, and metroidvania styles and puts you in control of a hive mind that must platform through the world, defeat their enemies, and wear their skulls to absorb their consciousness. These skulls give you new powers that help you navigate an alien world.
Rogue Jam Episode 4: Overall Winner – Seadog
Of all the games to enter Rogue Jam 2022, Seadog took home the ultimate prize to become the Overall Winner. In doing so, the developers earned $500,000 and a publishing deal with Rogue Games. So, what is this game that secured victory above all others? It is a game about a skateboarding frog that also happens to be a sailor.
Seadog puts players aboard a ship that is stranded in a ship graveyard and tasks them with traversing through the world by using the skateboard and the many tricks this sailor frog can learn. You won’t be alone in this mission, however, as you will be accompanied by your ship’s captain – an A.I. that’s stored on a flash drive.
Rogue Jam Episode 5: Audience Choice Winner – Mysplaced
In the final episode, Mysplaced took home the award for Audience Choice alongside $50,000 and a Rogue Games right of first refusal. This Zelda-like game doesn’t shy away from its inspiration and should feel right at home for those who loved the top-down entries of the franchise like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, specifically the remake! While not much has been revealed about the game, we do know it follows a hero who finds himself in a mysterious world.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.