Marvel Rivals, Warframe: 1999 among this year’s Game Maker's Sketchbook selections

This year’s Summer Game Fest Play Days was enriched not just with the cavalcade of colorful, sometimes astounding interactive art found in the video games on show, but also a gallery dedicated to the advancement and recognition of that art.

Placed under white umbrellas and hung on wood-slatted panels, the framed art of the 2025 Game Maker’s Sketchbook lined the bocce ball court that intersected the open space between the offerings of Epic Games and Annapurna Interactive.

This year’s selections ranged across six categories—Character Art, Environment Art, Impact, Iconography, Storyboard, and Curiosities—and included three picks from Marvel Rivals and one from Warframe: 1999, IKUMA – The Frozen Compass, Sorry We're Closed, and Two Falls.

“The artistic skill and creativity on display in this year’s Game Maker’s Sketchbook entries were truly inspiring,” said Meggan Scavio, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “We’re deeply grateful to our jurors for their time and thoughtful evaluation of such an outstanding body of work. Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists! We’re honored to present their artwork both online and in person at this year’s Summer Game Fest Play Days.”

Below is a look at this year's selections.

Character Art

Concept Art

Game: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Artist(s): Per Gullarp (Principal Concept Artist)
Developer: MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
 

Hero Design

Game: Marvel Rivals
Artist(s): Dino, Yuzhen Zhang, Peilin Zhong
Developer: NetEase Games
Publisher: NetEase Games
 

Michelle - Character Sheet

Game: Sorry We're Closed
Artist(s): C. Bedford
Developer: à la mode games
Publisher: Akupara Games

Curiosities

The Craftsman’s Heart Puppet Theatre Set

Game: The Midnight Walk
Artist(s): Klaus Lyngeled, Olov Redmalm, Victor Becker
Developer: MoonHood
Publisher: Fast Travel Games
 

Merch

Game: Bang Bang Barrage
Artist(s): zhudaoyu
Developer: Monkey Bread
Publisher: Spiral Up Games
 

Personality Test Shareables

Game: Black Mirror: Thronglets
Artist(s): Beverly Chen, Ena Kim, Hannah Nicklin
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Netflix

Environment Art

The Great Gold Dome

Game: Riven
Artist(s): Jeremiah Castro, Lance VerMeer
Developer: Cyan Worlds, Inc.
Publisher: Cyan Worlds, Inc.
 

Sailing

Game: IKUMA – The Frozen Compass
Artist(s): Matthias Oberprieler
Developer: Mooneye Studios
Publisher: Mooneye Studios
 

Scene Concept Design

Game: Marvel Rivals
Artist(s): Dino, Kaidi Lv, Xufeng Xie, Pengxian Wang
Developer: NetEase Games
Publisher: NetEase Games

Iconography

Ability Icons

Game: Eighth Era
Artist(s): Evgeny Kobylkin    
Developer: Perfect Day Games
Publisher: Nice Gang
 

Codex Icons

Game: Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)
Artist(s): Tara Miller, Laurent Gaumer
Developer: Unreliable Narrators
Publisher: Unreliable Narrators
 

GUI Design

Game: Marvel Rivals
Artist(s): Dino, Tian Zhang, Ciyin Weng, Jingji Xie
Developer: NetEase Games
Publisher: NetEase Games

Impact

Maxine – PvP Arena Mode

Game: Eighth Era
Artist(s): Emanuele Pavarotti
Developer: Perfect Day Games
Publisher: Nice Gang
 

Key Art

Game: One Move Away
Artist(s): Remi Gourrierec, Michel Donzé, Alex Flynn
Developer: Ramage Games
Publisher: Playstack
 

"Dinner" Key Art

Game: Goodbye Universe
Artist(s): Daniel Beaulieu
Developer: Nice Dream
Publisher: Skybound Games

Storyboard

Reveal trailer storyboard

Game: The Midnight Walk
Artist(s): Olov Redmalm
Developer: MoonHood
Publisher: Fast Travel Games
 

Chapter 2 visual script storyboard

Game: The Midnight Walk
Artist(s): Olov Redmalm
Developer: MoonHood
Publisher: Fast Travel Games
 

THE HEX - Beatboards

Game: Warframe: 1999
Artist(s): Production Company: THE LINE, Director: Venla Linna, Producer: Tom Kay, Beatboards: Julien Perron
Developer: Digital Extremes
Publisher: Digital Extremes

You can check out all of the art in the Game Maker's Sketchbook online gallery now—and if you’re into any of the artwork, you can purchase them through the iam8bit store through July 7. All proceeds for the purchases go to the AIAS Foundation.