Caves of Qud Wins Top Video Game Prize at the 2025 Hugo Awards

Attending the Hugo Awards, as always, can be lively and unpredictable. This year, we had hosts who struggled with name pronunciation, and lots of singing (later, we attendees found out that a lack of rehearsal didn't help). But we now also have a seemingly permanent awards category to celebrate video games. The Best Game or Interactive Work Award started as a one-off; in 2021, members submitted a proposal to make this category permanent. Hades won this award in 2021, but it did not become a regular fixture until 2024, with Baldur's Gate 3 winning that year's Hugo.

Cave of Qud won the second annual 2025 Hugo for Best Game or Interactive Work. Given the sheer amount of cheers from the audience, I could tell there was a lot of love behind it. The game was actually in development for more than 17 years when the 1.0 full release came out on December 5th, 2024. The developers were thrilled to come onstage and thank the Hugo-attending audience for the nominations. This category was also one of the few announcements that didn't receive some level of criticism about the choice. 

Other nominees included Dragon Age: The Veilguard, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Tactical Breach Wizards, and 1000xRESIST. Admittedly, I haven't played Caves or these other games, as the 2024 games I did play tend to be underdogs that don't end up on award dockets. Nevertheless, witnessing this camaraderie and appreciation for the visual narrative reminds me why WorldCon can be fun to attend.

Why did Caves of Qud win? I believe that Hugo voters appreciated the care that goes into the game's user experience. You can and will die a lot, but the right player mode can make you feel better about it. Yes, you can pet the cat (they are their own faction in the game), and though they have nothing to say or trade with, you get some nifty perks as a result. And with the right choices, you can convince some cats not to hate your player character.

What is Caves of Qud?

Caves of Qud is a 2D adventure roguelike with four modes. In what the developers describe as a "retro future" with sentient planets, the player can choose their territory. You can find long-lost civilizations and go on quests while choosing to play as a True Kin — the game's term for humans — or a mutant. What used to be Earth is now Qud, and you occupy a land of deserts and mountains. No tropical rainforests or oceans for this player.

But there's a catch: your character is assigned a random reputation. That reputation determines just how many tribes and NPCs tolerate you or attack on sight (my people-pleasing side screamed on the inside when finding out about that mitigating factor). Doing water rituals, since water is a necessary resource and a form of currency, can help you build or destroy that reputation. 

Although the art pays homage to early roguelikes, the developers add another crucial element: user settings customization. There are four modes: Roleplay allows save points, while Classic pays homage to traditional Roguelikes by eliminating save points. Daily is Classic mode with the option to choose the town where you start, while Wander reduces your player's reputation to zero, so specific NPCs won't attack you on sight. The game is still hard, but it understands the player wants to have fun. 

One thing about roguelikes is that they can frustrate a newbie. Also, practically every NPC or obstacle hates you. You may die even if you play as a pacifist! I remember when I played Spelunky for a few hours and only learned after the fact that there were no save points. By then, however, spite and determination mixed with the sense of accomplishment I got after reaching a level, and I was in too deep to quit and find another addictive game. 

Games need to be fun when they present near-impossible goals to the player. The enjoyment is why we boot up our PCs, Switches, and other gaming devices.

Learn more about Caves of Qud with this amazing, in-depth feature from Leonard Orloski here at SUPERJUMP.

Caring about the user

I appreciate that the Caves of Qud dev team cares about the players. The various gameplay modes let players decide for themselves how much of a challenge they'd like to experience. Other roguelike developers make the user experience the same, with little flexibility. Spelunky creator Derek Yu has explained in some interviews how he maximized the game's difficulty as punishment. He characterizes the player as a villain, a treasure robber rather than an archaeologist. I always found this sus because it's not like a player can play Pacifist on their first run, even if they wanted to stay peaceful. Most roguelikes toss hostile NPCs at you so that you don't have a choice but to retaliate in self-defense. 

I think Hugo voters responded to this care and attention. Text expositions detail what happens when you travel to a distant city or cross a river, and what surprises might ambush you. NPCs give you the necessary backstory as standard, but they also explain how society evolved accordingly.

Everything is hostile in the land of Qud, but it doesn't have to be that way forever. Your choices determine that; a player can learn to live with the hostile creatures and minimize conflict.

The 2026 Hugo Awards will take place on 30 August, 2026 in Los Angeles. Stay tuned to SUPERJUMP to learn more about the game that takes home the big prize!