Geoff Keighley revealed this year’s nominees for The Game Awards yesterday and boy did it capture the discourse. Was Starfield snubbed? What is an indie game? Who the hell are any of these streamers/content creators? Did their protagonist sneaking on stage last year to nominate his reformed orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton hinder the Lies of P’s chances at getting nods (ok that last one was strictly me and my headcanon)? I’m sure somewhere Geoff is chuckling at the amount of discourse his award show has brewed and hopefully looking into enhancing security at this year’s venue.
With the nominations out, it’s time for the global audience to contribute to selecting the winners (The audience vote amounts to 10% of the weight in deciding a winner…but hey it’s something?). Will you do your civic vote for all 31 one categories or be selective and only vote for the more “important” categories like game of the year or categories you have an expertise in.
Regardless you have until December 6th at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST to make your voice heard and to make life a little easier here is the full list of the nominees.
Best Game Direction:
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Narrative:
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Best Art Direction:
- Alan Wake 2
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Lies of P
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Score and Music:
- Alan Wake 2, composer Petri Alanko
- Baldur’s Gate 3, composer Borislav Slavov
- Final Fantasy XVI, composer Masayoshi Soken
- Hi-Fi Rush, audio director Shuichi Kobori
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, composed by Nintendo Sound Team
Best Audio Design:
- Alan Wake 2
- Dead Space
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
Best Performance:
- Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI
- Cameron Monaghan, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
- Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2
- Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
- Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Games for Impact:
- A Space for the Unbound
- Chants of Sennaar
- Goodbye Volcano High
- Tchia
- Terra Nil
- Venba
Best Ongoing:
- Apex Legends
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Community Support:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- No Man’s Sky
Best Independent Game:
- Cocoon
- Dave the Diver
- Dredge
- Sea of Stars
- Viewfinder
Best Debut Indie Game:
- Cocoon
- Dredge
- Pizza Tower
- Venba
- Viewfinder
Innovation in Accessibility:
- Diablo IV
- Forza Motorsport
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Street Fighter 6
Best Mobile Game:
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Honkai Star Rail
- Monster Hunter Now
- Terra Nil
Best VR/AR:
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon: Call of the Mountain
- Humanity
- Resident Evil Village: VR Mode
- Synapse
Best Action Game:
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Dead Island 2
- Ghostrunner 2
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Remnant 2
Best Action/Adventure Game:
- Alan Wake 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best RPG:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Lies of P
- Sea of Stars
- Starfield
Best Fighting:
- God of Rock
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- Pocket Bravery
- Street Fighter 6
Best Family:
- Disney Illusion Island
- Party Animals
- Pikmin 4
- Sonic Superstars
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Best Sim/Strategy:
- Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp
- Cities Skylines 2
- Company of Heroes 3
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Pikmin 4
Best Sports/Racing:
- EA Sports FC 24
- F1 23
- Forza Motorsport
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
- The Crew Motorfest
Best Multiplayer:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Diablo 4
- Party Animals
- Street Fighter 6
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Best Adaptation:
- Castlevania Nocturne
- Gran Turismo
- The Last of Us
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Twisted Metal
Most Anticipated Game:
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hades II
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Tekken 8
Content Creator of the Year:
- Ironmouse
- People Make Games
- Quackity
- Spreen
- SypherPK
Best eSports Game:
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- PUBG: Battlegrounds
- Valorant
Best eSports Athlete:
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
- Mathieu “Zywoo” Herbaut
- Max “Demon1” Mazanov
- Paco “Hydra” Rusiewiez
- Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk
- Phillip “Imperialhal” Dosen
Best eSports Team:
- Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
- Fnatic (Valorant)
- Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
- JD Gaming (League of Legends)
- Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best eSports Coach:
- Christine “Potter” Chi
- Danny “Zonic” Sorensen
- Jordan “Gunba” Graham
- Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam
- Yoon “Homme” Sung-young
Best eSports Event:
- 2023 League of Legends World Championship
- Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
- EVO 2023
- The International Dota Championships 2023
- Valorant Champions 2023
There you have it, all those vying to be declared 2023’s best according to The Game Awards. See who takes home the trophy and hopefully not get interrupted by any stage crashers when the show streams live on December 7th starting at 4:30pm PST/7:30pm EST, full details can be found here at The Game Awards website.