Google announces the nominees for the 2018 Google Play Awards

Google kicked off an annual program in 2016 to recognize exceptional apps and games in the Google Play Store. Every summer, Google nominates apps and games from a variety of categories and announces the winners at I/O. The nominees selected by various teams across Google have been announced for 2018. The categories change a bit from year to year. See the full list of categories and apps/games below.

Standout Well-Being App

• Clue by BioWink GmbH
• Fabulous by TheFabulous
• Headspace by Headspace, Inc.
• Lifesum by Lifesum
• Simple Habit by Simple Habit, Inc.

Best Accessibility Experience

• Audio Game Hub by Sonnar Interactive
• Be My Eyes by Be My Eyes
• Open Sesame by Sesame Enable
• Universal Copy by Camel Corporation
• Voice Volume Catcher by LITALICO lnc.

Best Social Impact

• Forest by forestapp.cc
• Khan Academy by Khan Academy
• Otsimo by Otsimo
• Tala by Tala Mobile
• TODXS by TODXS

Standout Indie

• Agent A by Yak & Co
• Bridge Constructor Portal by Headup Games
• Flipping Legend by Noodlecake Studios Inc
• Old Man’s Journey by Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH
• OPUS: Rocket of Whispers by Sigono Inc.

Best Community Building Game

• Clash Royale by Supercell
• Episode by Pocket Gems
• Lineage 2: Revolution by Netmarble Corporation
• Pokémon GO by Niantic, Inc.
• PUBG MOBILE by Tencent Games

Best AR or VR Experience

• ASTEROIDS! by Baobab Studios
• BBC Earth: Life in VR by BBC Worldwide (Ltd)
• Brickscape by 5minLab
• Figment AR by Viro Media
• Porsche Mission E by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

Standout Build for Billions Experience

• Cricbuzz by Cricbuzz.com
• Flipkart by Flipkart
• Mercado Libre by Mercado Libre
• Moovit by Moovit
• Viki by Viki, Inc

Standout Startup

• Astro by Astro Technology
• Canva by Canva
• Drops by Language Drops
• Kredivo by FinAccel Pte Ltd
• N26 by N26

Best Breakthrough Hit

• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp by Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Cooking Craze by Big Fish Games
• Empires & Puzzles by Small Giant Games
• Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition by SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.
• PUBG MOBILE by Tencent Games

You can see the full list of apps and games in the special section of the Google Play Store. The winners will be announced on May 7th. Do you think Google made good selections this year? Were any great apps left off the list?