Cologne – September 07, 2026 -- German telecom provider congstar and the Gaming Ohne Grenzen initiative handed out the fourth annual Gaming ohne Grenzen Award at gamescom on August 26, expanding the ceremony to nine categories for the first time.
Three new prizes -- the Get Together Award, Best Feature, and Best Mobile Game -- joined the lineup this year, reflecting the growing range of accessibility tools built into modern games. Host Stefanie Langer led the ceremony at the Jugendforum NRW booth, with winners selected by a jury of gaming, inclusion, e-sports, and education experts, plus one community-voted prize.
Tiny Bookshop wins both the National and Community Choice awards
The relaxed bookstore simulation Tiny Bookshop took the National category for its point-and-click controls and lack of time pressure, then repeated the win in the Community Choice Award, edging out Forza Horizon 6 and Rhythm Doctor in the public vote.
Forza Horizon 6 takes the International prize for built-in accessibility
Microsoft's open-world racer, released in May, won the International Award for features including an AutoDrive autopilot, an integrated screen reader, and multiple visual accessibility settings. Kirby Air Riders and Rhythm Doctor placed second and third.
New categories spotlight niche accessibility innovations
The Get Together Award went to Games for Blind Gamers, a game jam pairing sighted and blind developers during production. PEAK won Best Feature for reducing emotional and visual triggers, beating Marvel Rivals' customizable Ping Wheel and Minecraft Bedrock Edition's closed captions. Art of Fauna claimed Best Mobile Game with full screen-reader support and simplified controls.
Find Your Words and QuadStick win for representation and hardware
The free camping-adventure title Find Your Words won the Representation Award for exploring non-verbal communication, ahead of an unplayable game?! and Paralives. In Technology & Hardware, the mouth-operated QuadStick controller won for giving people without arm or leg function a way to keep playing, beating the Xyras head-tracking adapter and a Brook adapter.
Blogger Marlene Beilharz earns the Personality Award
Marlene Beilharz won for her blog, events, and podcast promoting accessible gaming, ahead of blind content creators SightlessKombat and Steve Saylor. Eligible National, International, Representation, and Community Choice entries had to launch between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026; the three new categories allowed older projects to compete.
Timo Wakulat, congstar's senior expert for brand and communications, said inclusion and accessibility need to be considered from the start of game development, technical design, and community building.