The Game Awards 2024 – Nominations / Predictions

Game of the Year

Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields

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 Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design

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 Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega)
Metaphor: Refantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus / Sega)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami)

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation

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

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / SIE)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: Refantazio (Studio Zero / Altus / Sega)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up / SIE)

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound 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)

Best Performance

Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture

Briana White (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Aerith Gainsborough
Hannah Telle (Life is Strange: Double Exposure – Max Caulfield)
Humberly Gonzalez (Star Wars Outlaws – Kay Vess)
Luke Roberts (Silent Hill 2 – James Sunderland)
Melina Juergens (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Senua)

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience

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

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message

Closer The Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter / 11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
Senus’a Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)

Best Ongoing

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time

Destiny 2 (Bungie / SIE)
Diablo IV (Blizzard / Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / SIE)

Best Community Support

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches

Balbur’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 Independent Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system

Animal Well (Shared Memory / Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio

Animal Well (Shared Memory / Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
THe Pluck Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device

AFK Journey (FARLIGHT / Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc / TPCI)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best VR / AR

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform

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 Action Game

For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat

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 / Foucs Entertainment)

Best Action / Adventure

For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving

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

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences

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: Refantazo (Studio Zero / Atlus / Sega)

Best Fighting

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat

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

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform

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

Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform

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

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game

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 Multiplayer

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform

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 Adaptation

Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium

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)

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions / SIE)
Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions / SIE)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios / Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2023

Caseoh
Illojuan
Techo Gamerz
Typicalgamer
Usada Pekora

Best Esports Game

For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform

Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023, irrespective of game

33, Neta Shapira
Aleksib, Aleski Virolainen
Chovy, Jeong Ji-hoon
Faker, Lee Sang-hyeok
Zywoo, Mathieu Herbaut
Zmjjkk, Zheng Yongkang

Best Esports Team

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2024

Bilbili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
Navi (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends)
Team Liquid (DOTA 2)

Player’s Voice

3 Rounds, 3 Chances To Vote

Round 1 – 30 Nominees
Voting Opens December 2, 2024
(Top 10 go on to next vote)

Round 2 – 10 Nominees
Voting Opens December 5, 2024
(Top 5 go on to next vote)

Round 3 – 5 Nominees
Voting Opens December 9, 2024

Our Pick: Astro Bot (Team Asobi / SIE)