Zenless Zone Zero and Stray among 2024 App Store Awards finalists

Apple has just released its list of finalists for its 2024 App Store Awards. The annual awards, spanning 12 categories across iPhone, iPad, Mac and other elements of the Apple app ecosystem, recognises developers and rewards apps and games that Apple says "have helped users accomplish more, be creative and better connect with friends and family." This year, there are 45 finalists, including games, creativity apps, productivity apps and others.

iPhone, iPad and Mac Awards

For iPhone Game of the Year Finalists, the top three that Apple has decided on include, most notably, Zenless Zone Zero, the gacha giant released by Hoyoverse that Apple says was nominated "for immersing players in action-packed storylines."

The two games going against it are AFK Journey, an auto-battle and AFK-based gacha fantasy game published by Singapore-based Farlight Games, and The WereCleaner, a cute top-down stealth-comedy game where you play as a werewolf janitor in an office.  

iPhone App of the Year Finalists include Kino, a cinematic pro camera app, Runna, a running tracking app that features training plans tailored to each user regardless of experience, and Tripsy, a detailed travel and itinerary app.

For iPad Game of the Year, the three finalists all have origins from big cultural names and franchises. They include Assassin's Creed Mirage, the most recent major installment to the Assassin's Creed franchise, Disney Speedstorm, a Disney racing kart game, and Squad Busters, a multiplayer strategy game developed by Supercell and which feature characters from Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars games, among others.

A notable entry for iPad App of the Year is Procreate Dreams, an animation app released by Savage Interactive, the ones behind prominent digital art app Procreate.

For Mac Game of the Year, the choices Apple has made for the finalists are rather diverse, including Stray, the dystopian exploration game that sees you playing as a stray cat in a walled city, and which has garnered multiple awards already. The other two finalists include Frostpunk 2, a city-survival game that sees you managing a settlement in a perpetual winter and all the problems that come with that setting, and Thank Goodness You're Here!, a comedic slapstick platformer.

Meanwhile, all three Mac App of the Year Finalists are creativity and productivity-focused, including Adobe Lightroom, OmniFocus 4, a task management app, and Shapr3D, a 3D design app.

Other Categories

Aside from the iPhone, iPad and Mac platforms, Apple has also listed finalists for the Apple Vision Pro App and Game of the Year awards, new categories based on the Apple Vision Pro which are making their debut this year.

There are also awards for Apple Watch Apps, Apple TV Apps, Apple Arcade Games (of which a finalist is the acclaimed poker-based roguelike Balatro+), and a category called "Cultural Impact", which Apple says are apps that "brought users powerful stories and helped them bring out their best selves to create a lasting impact." Finalist apps in this category are diverse, including health apps like BetterSleep, social platforms like Pinterest, and games, including Brawl Stars, NYT Games (of Wordle and Connections fame), Do You Really Want to Know 2, a HIV awareness texting-based game.

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