One of New Zealand’s best games in recent years, plus an immersive Apple Vision Pro experience, have been recognised as part of Apple’s 2025 App Store Awards.
The prestigious awards, given by Apple’s team of App Store editors, recognise some of the highest-quality apps across a range of different devices. Doing the heavy lifting for the ANZ region this year (we’ll take any chance to claim New Zealanders as our own), Dredge won iPad Game of the Year, while Explore POV won Apple Vision Pro App of the Year.
Made by Black Salt Games, a small independent studio based in Christchurch, Dredge originally launched in 2023, becoming a bit hit on Steam before its iPad port this year. A spooky game with fishing at its core, Dredge has a lot going on underneath the surface — in more ways than one.
Also based in Christchurch, James Hustler’s Explore POV app presents stunning real-world locations in an immersive 180-degree perspective through the Apple Vision Pro headset.
Elsewhere, the AI-powered visual planner Tiimo won iPhone App of the Year, video editing app Detail won iPad App of the Year, and the academic essay companion app Essayist won Mac App of the Year.
As part of the 2024 App Store Awards, Apple also recognised multiple apps within the Cultural Impact category. As described by Apple, apps and games such as Despelote and StoryGraph drove “meaningful change” and “were recognised for their positive impact”.
2025 App Store Awards winners
Apps
- iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo, from tiimo.
- iPad App of the Year: Detail, from Detail Technologies B.V.
- Mac App of the Year: Essayist, from Essayist Software Inc.
- Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV, from James Hustler
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava, from Strava, Inc.
- Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max, from WarnerMedia Global Digital Services, LLC.
Games
- iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket, from The Pokémon Company.
- iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE, from Black Salt Games
- Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, from CD PROJEKT S.A.
- Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi, from Michael Temper.
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?, from Triband ApS.
Cultural Impact winners
- Art of Fauna from Klemens Strasser
- Chants of Sennaar from Playdigious
- despelote from Panic, Inc.
- Be My Eyes from Be My Eyes
- Focus Friend by Hank Green from B-Tech Consulting Group LLC
- StoryGraph from The StoryGraph
