1000 Deaths sweeps at IGDC Awards; Wins PC GOTY

A first-time indie’s debut title

For 90s kids, video games bring back memories of going to the store to buy a physical copy of a game you’ve been waiting for, of low-poly graphics, and of furiously breaking records on the Game Boy. Shaped by such formative memories, and armed with a talent for art, studio director Prashast Thapan founded Pariah Interactive and started developing 1000 Deaths. That was in 2019. Fast forward to 2025: a team of first-time developers is putting their best foot forward to get 1000 Deaths published on Steam.

The intervening years saw the growth and development of several ideas, starting with unique character design. Over many iterations, the playable characters emerged as distinct personalities - wacky yet human - each personifying one of the four elements. We placed them in branching stories of friendship, betrayal, politics, love, etc., focused on themes that explore the more serious aspects of modern lives, to create one of the main game mechanics: choice-based progression. The concept of multiple playable characters emerged from a desire to create an experience where players can see and understand varying points of view.

Simultaneously, we started designing the 3D platforming levels, bound by the core gravity-bending mechanic. There were many possibilities to explore: should we have long levels with checkpoints or short levels that could be completed in seconds? What kind of power-ups should we include? How to create levels that can be completed in under 2 seconds as well as 20? As the ideas flowed, we started developing and conducted playtests to better understand what was working and what wasn't.

6 years is not enough time

As 1000 Deaths took shape, Pariah Interactive grew to service the growing requirements. From a solo developer in 2019, the team grew to 10, comprising producers, programmers, artists, writers, and quality managers. By early 2025, we were done building the game. Then came the real elbow grease of polishing to reach and maintain quality standards. We had released the 1000 Deaths Demo in the meantime and entered the game into several online and offline showcases to get a chance to talk directly to our audience. The reception was largely encouraging; we had a good concept and an interesting game, it just needed (a lot of) polish.

As the release date of 7 August 2025 grew closer, our team, in the last mile of the frantic frenzy to iron out bugs and finish polishing, created new trailers and showcased 1000 Deaths in major festivals, most notably IGN Live and The MIX in Los Angeles.

Finally, the day arrived. 1000 Deaths was published on Steam.

Turned 1000 heads at the India Game Awards

1000 Deaths had won 2 awards before release:
- Best Platformer at TooManyGames Indie Video Game Awards early in 2025
- Media Highlight Award by Dengeki Online at BitSummit DRIFT in 2024

We were curious to see how the full game would be received now, so entered it into the end-of-year award shows. 1000 Deaths was nominated for 3 awards at the India Game Awards, held annually at the India Game Developer Conference in Chennai, India:
- Best PC/Console Game of the Year
- Best Art Direction
- Indie Game of the Year

1000 Deaths bagged the first two awards and was the Runner-up for Indie Game of the Year! That night was probably the most exciting in our short game-dev journey. To be recognised by the industry for our hard work - a game built by first-time indies without the help of a publisher - helped bolster our spirits. Subsequently, 1000 Deaths won the Best PC Game Award at the GEM Awards in 2026, where the studio also won the Best Indie Studio Award.

Coming soon to XBOX

Now that the game is out, we aren’t sitting idle. We’ve already begun work on our console porting plans and we aim to bring 1000 Deaths to XBOX by the end of 2026. While we busy ourselves with porting, you can play 1000 Deaths on Steam on your PC and on the Steam Deck!