Every year, we see a great stride in the gaming industry with the release of classic, iconic and AAA titles across various genres. The Game Awards, produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley, is an annual awards ceremony honouring achievements in the video game industry. This is the tenth year edition and it is fast approaching, we finally have nominees announced on Monday.
2023 has been a huge year for gaming fans and this year has witnessed the release of huge hitter titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 and more. The recently released Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have been nominated not to mention that it is spanned in multiple categories including the Game of The Year alongside BG3, Resident Evil 4, etc.
We have also witnessed the best indie games this year and the notable nominations in this category include Tour de Pizza’s Pizza Tower for best debut indie game and Lies of P for best visual direction.
Here are your six nominees for GAME OF THE YEAR at #TheGameAwards
Vote now: https://t.co/ExP93r9hmS
Tune in December 7 to see who wins! pic.twitter.com/pR8S3ZExJW
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 13, 2023
Several gamers are concerned with why Starfield has not made it in the GOTY category while some feel that its presence is not worth it in the acclaimed category. The title was only nominated in the Best RPG category while Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush, was nominated for a bunch of stuff including Best Action Game.
The Game Awards has put up a total of 31 categories to vote in which include 112 distinct games, persons, teams, and events from various genres and platforms. The host, Keighley confirmed on X (previously Twitter) prior to unveiling this year’s nominees that he had no part in the voting process. A worldwide panel of individuals from 120 media and influencer outlets chooses the candidates.
Nintendo bagged the most number of nominations (15 nominations) throughout its combined portfolio in terms of most nominated publisher in 2023, followed by Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation with 13, Xbox (including Bethesda and Blizzard) with 10, and Epic Games with nine.
The Game Awards 2023: Nominees
Game of the Year
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Adaptation
- Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix)
- Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)
- The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures)
- Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)
Best Narrative
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Art Direction
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
- Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
- Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Audio Design
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
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
Innovation in Accessibility
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Games for Impact
- A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)
- Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment)
- Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)
- Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix)
- Venba (Visai Games)
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Best Community Support
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
- Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
- Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)
- Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Debut Indie Game
- Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
- Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
- Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
- Venba (Visai Games)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Mobile Game
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)
- Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
- Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)
Best VR/AR Game
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
- Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)
- Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
- Synapse (nDreams)
Best Action Game
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver)
- Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best RPG
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting Game
- God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)
- Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Family Game
- Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo)
- Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive)
- Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega)
- Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
- Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing
- EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
- F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
- The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Most Anticipated Game
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Hades II (Supergiant Games)
- Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
- Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
- Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika)
Content Creator of the Year
- IronMouse
- PeopleMakeGames
- Quackity
- Spreen
- SypherPK
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO)
- Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant)
- Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty)
- Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends)
- Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)
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 (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
- Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike)
- Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch)
- Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike)
- Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)
Best Esports Event
- 2023 League of Legends World Championship
- Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
- EVO 2023
- The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
- VALORANT Champions 2023
When Will The Game Awards Take Place?
This year we are teaming up again with @discord for fan voting in our official #TheGameAwards Discord server.
Invite link: https://t.co/X4ejKEKIGy
Join now in the discussion! pic.twitter.com/eKI83dcYuz
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 13, 2023
The 2023 Game Awards will be held on December 7, 2023, at the Peacock Theater (formerly Microsoft Theater) in Los Angeles, California, and those interested can immediately vote in each category on the event’s official website. The tickets for the venue are now live and they are available at AXS.com. Viewers can watch the live stream of TGA 2023 across more than 30 platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok Live and X at 7:30 p.m. ET.
While the Game Awards are conceptually an evening dedicated to celebrating unique achievements in the art of video games, they are mostly followed for significant new game announcements, trailers, and “world premieres.” The event concludes Keighley’s year of showcases, which comprises Summer Game Fest and Gamescom Opening Night Live along with The Game Awards.
With the release of the Grand Theft Auto 6 official trailer slated for early December, many have speculated that Rockstar’s open-world sequel may make an unexpected debut during the show.
Elden Ring was named Game of the Year at 2022’s Game Awards, beating out God of War Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Stray, and A Plague Tale: Requiem. God of War dominated all other games with six award victories, while Elden Ring took home four.
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