What a great year for the gaming community! The nominees for the annual Game Awards have been announced, featuring some of the most popular video games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and renowned Esports names like Faker and T1.
Photo: T1, Faker
This year, Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth led this year’s nominations, receiving seven each. Both video games are contenders in several categories such as Game of The Year, Best Game Direction, and Best Audio Design.
In addition to Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, other nominees for Game of the Year include Balatro, Black Myth, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. In 2023, RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 won the most prized category.
Meanwhile, South Korean gaming sensation Faker was nominated for Best Esports Athlete. The professional League of Legends player previously won the title in 2017 and 2023.
Faker’s team, T1, is also nominated for Best Esports Team. They will be competing against Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends), Gen.G (League of Legends), NAVI (Counter-Strike), and Team Liquid (DOTA 2).
Earlier this month, T1 celebrated victory at the 2024 League of Legends World Champion after securing a 3-2 victory over Bilibili Gaming. This historic achievement marked Faker’s fifth world championship title, making him the first-ever League of Legends player to achieve this milestone.
Since its inception in 2014, The Game Awards has been regarded as the “Oscars of Gaming” as it is one of the most-watched gaming-related ceremonies worldwide. Last year, over 110 million viewers worldwide tuned in to the much-awaited livestream.
The awarding ceremony will be taking place on December 12.
Here is the full list of nominees for The Game Awards:
Game of the Year:
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
- 33 – Neta Shapira
- Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
- Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
- Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok
- ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
- ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
Best Esports Team
- Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- NAVI (Counter-Strike)
- T1 (League of Legends)
- Team Liquid (DOTA 2)
Best Adaptation
- Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
- Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)
- Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
- Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
- Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)
Best Performance
- Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
- Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
- Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
- Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Best Action Game
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
- Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
- Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Action Adventure Game
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
- Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
- Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best RPG
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Fighting Game
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
- Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
- MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
- Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Best Family Game
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
- The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
- Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
- Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
- Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
- Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)
Best Sports/Racing
- F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
- NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
- Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
- WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Best Independent Game
- Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
- Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Mobile Game
- AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
- Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
- Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
- Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
- Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)
Best Multiplayer
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
- Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
- Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Ongoing Game
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Best VR/AR Game
- Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
- Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
- Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)
- Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
- Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games
Best Debut Indie Game
- Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
- Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
- Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
- Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
- The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Narrative
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
- Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
- Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Community Support
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Game Direction
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Art Direction
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
- Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Best Score And Music
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
- Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
- Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Best Audio Design
- Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
- Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Most Anticipated Game
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
- Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Innovation In Accessibility
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
- Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Games for Impact
- Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
- Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
- Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
- Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Content Creator of the Year
- CaseOh
- IlloJuan
- Techno Gamerz
- TypicalGamer
- Usada Pekora
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