Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards noms

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences this morning revealed the list of nominees for their upcoming 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards event which is set to take place on February 18th in Las Vegas.

There are quite a few high profile and indie releases that are up for some prestigious honors this year, but Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have topped the rest with 8 nominations a piece.  Life is Strange, Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Ori and the Blind Forest, The Order: 1886 and others are also well represented as you can see in the announcement below or the full list right here.

As for special awards, Satoru Iwata has been selected as the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and Hideo Kojima will take home Hall of Fame honors.

Read on!

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences is proud to honor the year?s finest achievements in video games with the 19^th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), hosted by comedian, podcaster, voice actor and cartoonist Pete Holmes. Academy members begin voting for the video game industry?s premier peer-based awards show Thursday, January 14^th at 3 PM PST; the winners will be revealed at the Awards ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 18, at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas at the conclusion of the 2016 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2016).

This year, the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony will honor Satoru Iwata as its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Also being honored this year as the Hall of Fame recipient is Hideo Kojima, world-renowned game creator and auteur recognized for the best-selling Metal Gear series.

?Looking at the nominees for the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, I am especially impressed by the broad range of titles catering to gamers’ increasingly sophisticated and diverse tastes,? said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. ?It is always gratifying to watch our industry and its many artists and craftsmen grow and continue to challenge and thrill audiences. February 18^th will be another memorable celebration of the best in interactive entertainment bolstered by the playful humor of host Pete Holmes.?

Fifty-three games received a D.I.C.E. nomination, representing a range of different platforms from teams of developers both large and small. Leading the count with eight nominations are Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Games of the Year finalists include: Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Several games received multiple nods, including: Ori and the Blind Forest with six nominations; Fallout 4 receiving five nominations; Her Story, The Order: 1886 and Stars Wars Battlefront each with four nominations; Batman: Arkham Knight,Destiny: The Taken King, Rocket League, Lara Croft GO, Life is Strange, and Undertale with three each.

The D.I.C.E. Award Nominees:
The following is a partial list of nominees; the complete list of Awards categories, finalists, and game maker credits is available at: http://www.interactive.org/images/pdfs/19th-Annual-DICE-Awards-Finalists.pdf

Game of the Year
Bloodborne

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC

• Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.

Fallout 4

• Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
• Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Ori and the Blind Forest

• Publisher: Microsoft Studios
• Developer: Moon Studios

Rise of the Tomb Raider

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: Crystal Dynamics

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• Publisher: CD PROJEKT RED
• Developer: CD PROJEKT RED

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Fallout 4

• Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
• Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Life is Strange

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment

Rise of the Tomb Raider

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: Crystal Dynamics

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• Publisher: CD PROJEKT RED
• Developer: CD PROJEKT RED

Undertale

• Publisher: Toby Fox
• Developer: Toby Fox

Adventure Game of the Year

Batman: Arkham Knight

• Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Life is Strange

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment

METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phantom Pain

• Publisher: Konami
• Developer: Kojima Productions

Ori and the Blind Forest

• Publisher: Microsoft Studios
• Developer: Moon Studios

Rise of the Tomb Raider

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Action Game of the Year

Destiny: The Taken King

• Publisher: Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Developer: Bungie, Inc.

HELLDIVERS

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
• Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios

Just Cause 3

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: Avalanche Studios

Star Wars Battlefront

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: DICE

Splatoon

• Publisher: Nintendo of America, Inc.
• Developer: Nintendo EAD Group No. 2

Mobile Game of the Year

DomiNations

• Publisher: Nexon M
• Developer: Big Huge Games

Fallout Shelter

• Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
• Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Lara Croft GO

• Publisher: SQUARE ENIX Inc.
• Developer: Square Enix Montr?al

PAC-MAN 256

• Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
• Developer: Hipster Whale Pty Ltd

The Room Three

• Publisher: Fireproof Studios
• Developer: Fireproof Games

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

Her Story

• Publisher: Sam Barlow
• Developer: Sam Barlow

GALAK-Z

• Publisher: 17-BIT
• Developer: 17-BIT

Kerbal Space Program

• Publisher: Squad
• Developer: Squad

Rocket League

• Publisher: Psyonix
• Developer: Psyonix

Undertale

• Publisher: Toby Fox
• Developer: Toby Fox

The Academy?s 33,000+ members, comprised of the interactive publishing and development communities, recognize excellence in 23 different interactive game categories in one of the highest forms of recognition in the industry. Titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy?s peer panels to determine final nominees. These panels, one for each award category, are comprised of the game industry?s most experienced and talented men and women who are experts in their chosen fields. Winners are determined as part of a confidential voting process and will be revealed on the evening of the show. Included in the Academy?s voting body is the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), whose members are invited to vote on the craft categories.

Pete Holmes is a comedian with his talents showcased in many ways such as his podcast You Made It Weird and The Pete Holmes Show! Pete has done several videos with FrontPage Films and been featured on numerous television shows as notable as Comedy Central, Conan and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Pete also draws cartoons for The New Yorker, wrote for NBC’s Outsourced and FOX’s I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Pete was very well-received as the host last year and the Academy gladly welcomes him back to emcee this year?s awards.