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MamaGBoyMamaGDeveloper Relations
21h

The Roblox Innovation Awards (RIAs) are back! We’re excited to honor our community’s creativity and innovation this year.

We want to hear from you as we prepare to celebrate you all. Nominations are officially open, and we need your voice to help us recognize the best of the best across the community in our reimagined categories. Whether it’s rising stars, groundbreaking technical innovation, standout creative direction, or your favorite genre-defining games, send us your top picks. Let’s celebrate the creators and games that defined the year — submit your nominations today!

– Submissions are now closed due to the overwhelming number of entries we received. Thank you for your incredible participation! See you in September!

2026 Award Category Description
Best New Game Awarded to the most outstanding game released this year.
Innovation in Tech Recognizes groundbreaking technical achievements that push the platform forward.
Best Plugin Celebrates the most useful and innovative tool created to improve the development experience.
Innovation in Creative Direction Highlights unique and imaginative artistic or design choices in a project.
Best UGC Creator Honors an individual who has consistently delivered beloved, high-quality avatar items.
Innovation in Branded Game Honors the most creative and engaging game built in collaboration with a brand.
Party & Casual Recognizes games designed for short play sessions and social enjoyment.
Survival Honors games that challenge players to endure and thrive in hostile environments.
Puzzle Awarded to games that masterfully test players’ logic and problem-solving skills.
Sports Celebrates the most engaging and well-designed sports-themed games.
Strategy Honors games that require deep tactical planning and critical decision-making.
Action Recognizes high-intensity games focused on physical movement and combat.
Shooter Celebrates excellence in fast-paced, precision-based combat games.
RPG Honors immersive games that emphasize narrative, character progression, and world-building.
Classic Celebrates enduring games like obbys and tycoons that define the legacy and history of the platform.
Best Video Star Honors the most influential creator for their exceptional video content.
People’s Choice Voted on by the community to recognize the most beloved game of the year.
Best Studio Recognizes an entire development team for their consistent output and engaging gameplay.
Builderman Award Presented by Builderman himself for outstanding contributions that embody the spirit and values of the platform.
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RockeriteProgrammer
21h

Looks like Best UGC Creator and Innovation in Branded Game are there twice :sweat_smile:

thestudmastaGame Designer
21h

Not gonna lie but slime physics sandbox should be nominated for best use of tech. Literally the sickest soft body simulation I’ve seen on roblox platform, yet it has low CCU.

StormGuyXD_Storm20101Builder
21h

I think Zenith Tower could be a pretty great candidate for an “Action” game, it’s a pretty recent fast-paced platformer with very unique art direction and gameplay.

WishtapGame Designer
20h

Simulation not a category anymore is wild

SirDapper
20h

I’ll do a lil self-promo, but it’d be really cool if y’all would vote UGC Creator for Innovation in tech! We constantly try to find ways to push editablemesh and editableimage. Plus, our recode is coming in a few days and includes big improvements, too!

jolib342
20h

Roblox would be the best platform if you didn’t have all these publishing restrictions.

Noble_DraconianProgrammer
20h

I’m straight up not going to the awards ceremony this year because of that. Last year was a slap in the face to the community. Tons of genuinely creative, well-made games and instead brainrot & repeat winners win.
I also didn’t go in 2024, because the voting process in 2024 was rigged - they were showing the current vote totals, and rewarding you with avatar items for voting for the most voted game.

jolib342
20h

Innovation awards looks cringe plus the food they cater looks stale. Better off going to a restaurant with your Roblox dev friends and celebrating there.

StormGuyXD_Storm20101Builder
20h

Can’t blame you man, even if i had the opportunity to attend one of these, i wouldn’t because of similar reasons as the ones you’ve stated. These last few Innovation Awards have been a joke. I wonder if they’ll disqualify nominees for attempting to “bribe” their playerbase with rewards for voting on them?

jolib342
20h

There trying to hard to be the Oscars awards for Roblox. It just comes off as cringe especially when JParty sung at last years awards.

MikkelMikkelDevs
19h

All of these genres totally suck - where are the Simulator and Obby genres?

Using a broad, generic “Classic” genre to represent games that millions of people still play today really shows how disconnected Roblox is from its own identity.

gewfyneergewbiguyModeler
19h

boy i sure do hope a majority of the winners arent brainrot games (probably will be)

Mirawjmra_oow
19h

If any brainrot game wins I’m bouta call in the payday crew in front of the Roblox HQ and raid their Robux stash.

FinanzamtFinanzamtsFinest
19h

is it allowed to promote your game vis group announcements? with the link of the survey and game link?

Rowan HerobrineDaRowanHerobrineProgrammer
19h

They removed Obby/Platformer, Roleplay/Avatar Sim, and Horror from the categories too… really strange. Where are games like Twisted (Simulation) and Eternal Towers of Hell (Obby & Platformer) supposed to go now?

Additionally, we lost the audio category AGAIN. Year after year sound designers and music composers get screwed over at the awards because Roblox for some reason does not want to recognize their contribution to the platform.

NabNabHeykaProgrammer
18h

lord please don’t let this be like 2025 where games start offering updates to their player base for winning an award :folded_hands:

GrensimplygrenProgrammer
18h

do you think Animal Hospital Anomaly would get nominated this year :eyes:

Unbid533Builder
18h

The qualifying factors for the best classic roblox experience are broad enough for EToH to actually fit in… but because of that broadness it’s likely not going to get nominated over an actual classic like Natural DIsaster Survival or some other decade old game that I’ve forgotten about

SpeedySanikJrProgrammer
18h

Nominated? For sure. At least in Best Survival or maybe even Best New Game.

Unbid533Builder
17h

A serious problem I’m seeing here is that the removal of some of those more “specific” categories from last year just eliminates games of certain niches that would have gotten a chance with the 2025 format that won’t get that same chance this year. “Favourite genre-defining games” should mean that we actually get to nominate for some of those said genres. Lumping the removed categories with the rest of the existing ones diminishes that opportunity (and the classic roblox category being used as a replacement is not helping with this either).

Also, even ignoring the quality of the games themselves, could we at least get some sort of moderation for the awards this year so that the games nominated actually fit the category they’re in? I know that defining a game’s genre does not boil down to neatly distinguishable boxes, but stuff like GaG getting in best roleplay/avatar sim last year was ridiculous.

Unbid533Builder
17h

also this just came up to me and i can’t believe i didn’t think about this sooner: what exactly is stopping someone from repeatedly botting the form so they can get their desired game nominated? there doesn’t seem to be much stopping someone from doing so

AymeeTranslator
17h

I’d love to see MAFIA nominated! Goodluck to the future nominees! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

PokvonialsProgrammer
16h

I know who I’ll be voting! But as said by others above, strange removals of categories, no?
No simulation, obby, roleplay, etc.

bobertbobertpmProgrammer
16h

i think builderman does not find obby games innovative

PokvonialsProgrammer
16h

Hm fair, they should allow for more non-game categories so things like admin systems can get a chance in the spotlight? (Kohl’s, HD, Adonis, etc.) :eyes:

PebPebbles4563Programmer
13h

guys WE need to all agree WE are NOT voting for GAG 2 as best new game, OK?

juhggsfdhfdhhfd55
13h

Knowing Roblox, “Best shooter” will go to GAG2 and “Best Video Star” will somehow go to GAG2 as well :sob::sob:

ReditectProgrammer
7h

Or, rather popular enough, and intentionally so. Many in the obby & platformer genre are known to innovate with custom characters and push the engine to its limits graphically [with a stylized aesthetic] or with gameplay mechanics or otherwise.

Think Stars Align, Robot 32, Microwave Dinners, my game even.

However, these are more often than not story games that aren’t what Roblox [the platform, not players] is after. Roblox keeps these games more of a niche due to lacking discoverability systems and an algorithm that favors long-term retention, microtransactions, and multiplayer compared to single-player short-but-fun low monetized games.

The Search & Discovery team has consistently sidelined Filters & Tags [in favor of things like Moments and algorithm tweaks that don’t fix the crux of diverse content discovery] despite community sentiment that I think would more solidify this and other currently niche genres.

JoePCIKEEBuilder
18m

Yes this one very helpful plugin for builders like me I hope this one won the best plugin award

scootscooter_userProgrammer
15m

i’m nominating 4 player femboy obby for the best new game

JoePCIKEEBuilder
11m

for survival award for me I choose “CHAIN” its very deserving for this award I would larp for this its beacuse how beautiful it made might as well check it and its very fun survival game realistic models and very interactive animation with the monsters, too bad this game only has 500 to 1k active players if im not wrong

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