Squad Busters named iPad Game of the Year at the 2024 Apple App Store Awards
- Squad Busters wins 2024 Apple Award for iPad Game of the Year
- It stacks up well against Balatro+ and AFK Journey, which have also won major awards.
- Squad Busters had a rocky launch, but has since risen to prominence again
Squad Busters, while a quality release, was rather lackluster for Supercell. Disappointing, especially considering how rare it is to see the Finnish mobile giant bring a new version to a global launch after cutting so many lagging companies.
Over time, however, Squad Busters seems to have found its footing, and the latest confirmation of Supercell’s decision to push it out the door is a special award. Squad Busters will receive the iPad Game of the Year award at the 2024 Apple App Store Awards.
Meanwhile, Farlight Games’ AFK Journey will take home the gold for iPhone Game of the Year. And Balatro+ (quite rightly) will receive the Apple Arcade Game of the Year award. Overall, Squad Busters stacks up well against some of the other big names.
Torn
The delay in the release of Squad Busters has definitely caused concern, complacency, and general interest among everyone from mobile business moguls to casual gamers. “How?” they asked, “Supercell, of all people, released a flop after being so dedicated to finding their next billion-dollar smash hit?”
Well, I think this award at least indicates that it has nothing to do with the content itself. After playing it, I felt like it was a great mix of battle royale and MOBA. But perhaps after so many different ideas were put forward that stood on their own, the Supercell IP combination just wasn’t what players were in the mood for.
I don’t think the debate is over yet, but it’s an early Christmas greeting for the guys at Supercell, who can at least rest assured that someone has recognized their hard work.
If you want to see how our own Pocket Gamer Awards rated some of this year’s releases, why not take a look?