The Deutscher Computerspielpreis (DCP; German Computer Game Awards) is an annual awards ceremony that aims to honour achievements in the Germanvideo game industry. In addition to the awards themselves, various amounts of prize money are donated by supporters of the ceremony to the chosen categories.
The German Computer Game Awards (Deutscher Computerspielpreis, DCP) were first awarded on 31 March 2009. The awards are presented by the organisers, the BMFTR and the game association.
The ceremony includes a certain amount of prize money for specific categories. The requirement to receive the money is that the winner must prove that they will use the check to develop a new computer game that meets the DCP criteria. The distribution of the prize money is also clearly regulated: the developer receives 70 percent of the sum, while the publisher (if available) receives 30 percent. The prize money is donated by supporters and most recently amounted to a total of €800,000 in 2023.
Format
The German Computer Game Awards consists of a main jury and ten specialist juries. The main jury is composed of two representatives from each specialist jury. In addition, the German Bundestag may appoint two more members. Berlin and Bavaria, as the hosting federal states, may each appoint one more member of the jury as well. Specialist juries, the Bundestag, and the hosting federal states ultimately select eleven more individuals to join the main jury. This results in a total of 35 responsible members. The main jury determines the winners of the categories "Best German Game", "Special Jury Award", and "Best International Game". The specialist juries are assembled by the two organizers, the BMFTR and the game association. The jurors come from politics, research, or a field related to gaming. This includes the DCP developer, active players, the press, media educators, and youth media protectors. On average, the specialist juries consist of four people and determine the winners of the remaining ten categories. The format includes the possibility of games being nominated after the official announcement.
Awarded games
2009
In March 2009, the nominations for the first award ceremony were announced, consisting of nine categories with the ceremony being announced to happen on 31 March 2009. The winners were set to receive a total of €600.000 in all categories except for "Best International Game". The winner in the “Best German Game” category was chosen from the winners of the other categories, with the exception of the school and student concepts and the special prize. The ceremony was held in Munich, Germany, with Drakensang: The Dark Eye receiving two awards overall.
The second ceremony took place on 29 April 2010, where Anno 1404 took the lead by securing two awards. The game was nominated for "Best International Game" after the official announcement of nominations was given out. Gamestar observed that the heightened level of violence in the preceding nominees, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Dragon Age: Origins, might have influenced the expansion of nominations.
Best Concept of the Young Talents Competition: 1. Cubiverse (Mediadesign Hochschule Munich), 2. Lost Ember (HAW Hamburg, Mooneye Studios), 3. Leaves (TU Cologne)
Best German Game: Anno 1800 (Ubisoft Mainz/Ubisoft)
Best Family Game: Tilt Pack (Navel/Super.com)
Young Talent - Best Debut: The Longing (Studio Seufz/Application Systems Heidelberg)
Young Talent - Best Prototype: Couch Monsters (Laurin Grossmann, John Kees, Marie Maslofski, Dennis Oprisa, Luca Storz, Jaqueline Vintonjek – HTW Berlin)
