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2006 Studio of the Year
 

Editor's Choice: Cryptic Studios

In 2006, Cryptic released two new "Issues" for City of Heroes/Villains. These expansions are free to the players and both added a lot of new content to the two games in one. Then, sensing the competition was close, they managed to move past being sued by Marvel and into a deal with the comic book giant and Microsoft to announce Marvel Universe Online, an MMO that will be available on the Xbox 360. The combination cannot be ignored as the Bay Area developer now has projects for two of the biggest companies in the world.

Honorable Mention: ArenaNet

ArenaNet calls them sequels, but we call Nightfall and Factions expansions. Whatever they are, putting out two products of that scale and success is impressive. They lose out to their NCSoft brothers by a nose.

2006 Indie Game of the Year
 

Editor's Choice: A Tale in the Desert III (eGenesis)

This title is available only online and Andrew Tepper, the one-man show behind it, keeps it humming along. In 2006, the third telling of this epic saga (the game restarts after the community achieves all the goals set out for it) proved to be the best yet. In an industry where most "indie games" are quickly snapped up by major publishers, it's hard to find true independent excellence. Tepper continues to provide it year after year.

Honorable Mention: Furcadia (Dragon's Eye Productions)

Furcadia has been around for 10 years, even longer than Ultima Online. It was one of the pioneers of the virtual property business model and still has an active community. It remains one of the more successful niche indie MMOs available.

Next: Best Expansion and New Game of the Year >>