Iris Games Awards 2026 | Spain Technology

Applications can be submitted until May 17, 2026 through www.premiosirisgames.com

This year the category “Best Video Game from a Training Center” is added, bringing the total prize money to 44,000 euros.

The Iris Games Awards gala will be held on July 3rd at FYCMA (Palace of Trade Fairs and Congresses of Malaga) as part of the Andalucía Play Fest event

The second edition of the Iris Games Awards has officially opened its call for entries, inviting developers across Spain to submit their finest work. Applications are open from 15 March to 17 May 2026 via the official website, which is considerably easier than posting your game on a USB stick and hoping for the best.

This is not just another industry pat on the back. The Iris Games Awards are positioning themselves as a serious fixture in Spain’s growing gaming ecosystem, with a healthy prize fund, a growing list of categories, and a gala event that promises to bring together everyone from indie developers to the sort of people who say “synergy” without irony.

A Growing Industry Gets Its Moment

Spain’s video game sector has been steadily expanding over the past decade. Once known primarily for a handful of standout studios, it now boasts a diverse mix of independent developers, mid-sized companies, and ambitious newcomers experimenting with everything from narrative-driven adventures to virtual reality.

The Iris Games Awards aim to capture that diversity. The competition is open to established studios, indie developers, and creative teams alike, which means a tiny team working out of a shared flat has just as much right to enter as a well-funded studio with ergonomic chairs and a functioning coffee machine.

Organised by the Academy of Television and Audiovisual Arts and Sciences, alongside Málaga City Council and the Regional Government of Andalusia, the awards are not short on institutional backing. In other words, this is not a hastily assembled event in a hotel conference room with a flickering projector.

Nine Categories and a Healthy Prize Pot

For 2026, the awards feature nine categories, covering a wide range of disciplines within game development. These include:

• Mobile games
• PC and console titles
• Narrative design
• Accessibility
• XR technologies
• Independent games
• Andalusian-developed projects
• International video games
• And, crucially, one brand new addition: Best Video Game from an Educational Centre

Each of the main categories comes with a €5,000 prize, which in the world of game development is unlikely to fund a yacht but will certainly help with rent, software licences, or a celebratory round of coffees. The total prize fund now sits at €44,000, which is a respectable sum and a clear step up from the inaugural edition.

An overall winner, crowned Best Iris Games 2026, will receive an additional €2,000. Glory, of course, is priceless, but it is nice when it comes with a small financial bonus.

The New Category: Future Talent Takes Centre Stage

The headline addition this year is the category for Best Video Game from an Educational Centre.

This is aimed at students and recent graduates working within universities, vocational training centres, and specialised schools. In short, it is for those who are still learning the ropes but already producing work that suggests they may soon be running the place.

Entries can include full games, playable prototypes, or academic projects, provided they demonstrate a clear creative and technical vision. It is a sensible move. After all, today’s student project is often tomorrow’s indie hit, assuming it survives contact with deadlines and group work.

More importantly, it highlights the role of education in shaping Spain’s gaming future. Training programmes in game design, animation, and interactive media have been expanding rapidly, and this category gives that pipeline of talent a well-deserved spotlight.

From Entry to Finalists

Once submissions close on 17 May 2026, a panel of industry experts will sift through the entries. This is likely to involve a great deal of playing games in the name of professional duty, which is, frankly, the sort of job many people would quite like.

From there, 36 finalists will be selected, with four nominees in each category. These finalists will be announced on 11 June 2026, giving everyone just enough time to practise their acceptance speeches or, more realistically, their “gracious in defeat” expressions.

The Big Night in Málaga

The awards ceremony itself will take place on 3 July 2026 at FYCMA, the Trade Fair and Congress Centre of Málaga.

Málaga has been quietly reinventing itself as a hub for technology and digital content in recent years. Hosting the Iris Games Awards here is therefore less of a coincidence and more of a strategic decision. Sunshine and serious industry ambitions make for a compelling combination.

The gala is expected to draw developers, studios, publishers, media, and a wide range of professionals from across the audiovisual and tech sectors. In practical terms, this means a room full of people discussing frame rates, storytelling, and whether anyone actually understands how game engines behave.

Andalucia Play Fest: Not Just One Event

The awards do not exist in isolation. They form part of the broader Andalucía Play Fest, a new event running from 3 to 5 July 2026.

This festival brings together three key events:

• Iris Games Awards
• Guadalindie
• RetroPixel

The idea is to create a single space where professionals, indie developers, creators, publishers, and the gaming public can all interact. There will be networking opportunities, demo areas, and public programming, which is a polite way of saying there will be plenty to see, play, and discuss.

It is an ambitious attempt to position Andalusia as a major player in the gaming world. Given the region’s increasing investment in digital industries, it is not entirely fanciful.

A Bit of BAFTA Ambition

The Iris Games Awards have been explicitly inspired by the BAFTA Video Game Awards. That is quite a high bar, rather like saying you are opening a small café and aiming to rival a Michelin-starred restaurant.

However, the ambition is clear. The organisers want the awards to become a central meeting point for Spain’s video game sector, promoting innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. It is about visibility as much as recognition.

Spain’s gaming industry is already contributing to the wider digital economy, and initiatives like this help reinforce its status as a serious cultural and technological force. Video games are no longer a niche interest. They are a global industry, and Spain would quite like a larger slice of it.

Why It Matters (Even If You Don’t Game)

Even if your last experience with a video game involved a pixelated tennis match in the 1990s, this still matters.

The video game industry sits at the intersection of technology, storytelling, design, and business. It creates jobs, attracts investment, and encourages innovation across multiple sectors. In regions like Andalusia, it also forms part of a broader strategy to modernise the economy and embrace digital transformation.

In short, it is not just about entertainment. It is about positioning Spain for the future.

Final Word (But Not a Grand One)

The Iris Games Awards may only be in their second year, but they are already shaping up to be a meaningful addition to Spain’s cultural calendar. With a growing prize fund, expanded categories, and a place within a larger festival, they reflect an industry that is both confident and evolving.

If nothing else, they offer a useful reminder that behind every polished game is a group of people who have spent months, if not years, solving problems, chasing ideas, and occasionally wondering why a character keeps walking through walls.

And now, at least, there is a chance they might win €5,000 for the trouble.