{"id":13577,"date":"2025-11-22T08:55:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T00:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13577"},"modified":"2025-11-22T08:55:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T00:55:32","slug":"katamari-and-cyberpunk-lead-apples-2025-app-store-awards-gaming-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13577","title":{"rendered":"Katamari and Cyberpunk lead Apple\u2019s 2025 App Store Awards gaming finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">Apple has revealed the shortlisted finalists for its <b>2025 App Store Awards<\/b>, with a total of 45 apps and games across 12 categories recognised for innovation, user experience and cultural impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">Among the game finalists, two titles of particular note for me are <b>Katamari Damacy Rolling Live<\/b> and <b>Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition<\/b>. Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is shortlisted in the <b>Apple Arcade Game of the Year<\/b> category, and I find it to be one of the best games to play while commuting. In a market increasingly dominated by high-end realism, the inclusion of a classic whimsical title in the finalists list serves as a reminder that creativity still holds sway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition has been shortlisted for the <b>Mac Game of the Year<\/b> category, recognised for its \u201cstunning, futuristic visuals\u201d, which is impressive considering the game is five years old now. Its inclusion underscores how big-budget console\/PC titles are continuing to find new life on Mac platforms, alongside another AAA title \u2013 Ubisoft\u2019s Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">Other notable finalists include <b>BandLab<\/b> for the <b>iPhone App tf the Year<\/b>, for helping musicians record and mix tracks with a community; and <b>Acorn <\/b>in the<b> Mac App of the Year <\/b>for being the go-to tool for pro-level photo edits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">Winners will be announced in the coming weeks; this shortlist has already given a useful snapshot of the gaming trends Apple sees as resonant \u2013 from high-end visual spectacle to off-beat arcade design. But I also want to give a shout out to the finalists in the <b>Cultural Impact<\/b> category whose apps have made a key difference or contribution to their communities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"_figure_8nc2s_1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_base_12j3k_1\" alt=\"Cultural Impact\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/c15e07aeb7d44cda9f8a45bfe8d2b90e6cb236751ecc559419027846338645be?w=330&amp;q=85 330w,https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/c15e07aeb7d44cda9f8a45bfe8d2b90e6cb236751ecc559419027846338645be?w=530&amp;q=85 530w,https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/c15e07aeb7d44cda9f8a45bfe8d2b90e6cb236751ecc559419027846338645be?w=660&amp;q=85 660w,https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/c15e07aeb7d44cda9f8a45bfe8d2b90e6cb236751ecc559419027846338645be?w=1320&amp;q=85 1320w\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/c15e07aeb7d44cda9f8a45bfe8d2b90e6cb236751ecc559419027846338645be?w=660&amp;q=85\" style=\"--custom-aspect-ratio:1.7777777777777777;contain-intrinsic-size:1920px 1080px\"\/><figcaption class=\"_figureCaptions_8nc2s_113\">\n<p>Image: Apple<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul class=\"_listElement_8nc2s_62\">\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Art of Fauna<\/b>, for capturing wildlife\u2019s beauty in accessible puzzles.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>A Space for the Unbound<\/b>, for exploring mental health through a touching slice-of-life narrative.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Be My Eyes<\/b>, for empowering users who are blind or have low vision.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Chants of Sennaar<\/b>, for celebrating the power of language and connection.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>despelote<\/b>, for creatively crafting culturally grounded gameplay.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Focus Friend<\/b>, for gamifying focus sessions into enjoyable challenges.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Is This Seat Taken?<\/b>, for fostering empathy and inclusivity.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Retro<\/b>, for creating a privacy-friendly social platform that keeps loved ones in the loop.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>StoryGraph<\/b>, for building an inclusive book community.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Venba<\/b>, for spotlighting cultural cuisine with heartfelt storytelling.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Whoscall<\/b>, for protecting users against scams.<\/li>\n<li class=\"_listItem_8nc2s_67\"><b>Yuka<\/b>, for helping users make conscious choices about what they consume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"_base_1s8rd_1 _default_1s8rd_12\">For a full list of the finalists across all categories, click here.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_subHeading1_b62n6_111 _base_b62n6_1\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hardwarezone.com.sg\/entertainment\/apple-app-store-awards-2025-iphone-ipad-mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple has revealed the shortlisted finalists for its 2025 App Store Awards, with a total of 45 apps and games across 12 categories recognised for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[524,4428,21,10412,10413,705,6222,3867,2177],"class_list":["post-13577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-app","tag-apples","tag-awards","tag-cyberpunk","tag-finalists","tag-gaming","tag-katamari","tag-lead","tag-store","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}