The Game Awards 2023 Nominees Revealed - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 December 2023 / 10,526 Views
The Game Awards has revealed the nominees for 2023 awards show, which were selected by a jury of over 100 media publications and influencer outlets.
Those interested in voting can vote online on the official website and using the official The Game Awards Voting Bot on Discord. Voting ends on December 6 at 6:00 pm PST / 9:00 pm EST.
The Game Awards 2023 will air live on December 7 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Get the full list of nominees below:
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt RED)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio / Neowiz)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Alan Wake II Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI Composer Masayoshi Soken (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Hi-Fi RUSH Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Composer Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Dead Space (Motive / Electronic Arts)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Ben Starr in Final Fantasy XVI
- Cameron Monaghan in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Idris Elba in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Melanie Liburd in Alan Wake II
- Neil Newbon in Baldur’s Gate III
- Yuri Lowenthal in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
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.
- 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 / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio / Toge Productions / Chorus Worldwide)
- 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
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates / patches.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Cocoon (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- DAVE THE DIVER (Mintrocket)
- DREDGE (Black Salt Games / Team17)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Games)
Best Debut Indie Game
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- Cocoon (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- DREDGE (Black Salt Games / Team17)
- Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
- Venba (Visai Games)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Games)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot / Square Enix)
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
- Honkai: Star Rail (miHoYo)
- Monster Hunter Now (Niantic / Capcom)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives / Netflix)
Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games / Firesprite Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- HUMANITY (Tha Ltd. / Enhance Games)
- Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
- SYNAPSE (nDreams)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios / Deep Silver)
- Ghostrunner II (One More Level / 505 Games)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- Remnant II (Gunfire Games / Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action / Adventure
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
Best Role-Playing
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio / Neowiz)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil / Modus Games)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Games)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludisity / Fair Play Labs / GameMill Entertainment)
- Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio / PQube)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Family
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- 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 Simulation / Strategy
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward Technologies / Nintendo)
- Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order / Paradox Interactive)
- Company of Heroes III (Relic Entertainment / SEGA)
- Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
- Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Sports / Racing
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower / Ubisoft)
- EA Sports FC 24 (Electronic Arts Vancouver / Electronic Arts Romania / Electronic Arts)
- F1 23 (Codemasters / Electronic Arts)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Adaptation
Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.
- 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)
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- 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 (Arika / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2023.
- Ironmouse
- People Make Games
- Quackity
- Spreen
- Sypherpk
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)
- PUBG Mobile (Lightspeed Studios)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best eSports Athlete
The eSports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023, irrespective of game.
- Lee 'Faker' Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends)
- Mathieu 'Zywoo' Herbaut (Counter-Striker: Global Offensive)
- 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
Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023.
- Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
- Fnatic (Valorant)
- Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
- JD Gaming (League of Legends)
- Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best eSports Coach
The eSports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2023.
- 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
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- 2023 League of Legends World Championship
- BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
- EVO 2023
- The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
- Valorant Champions 2023
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I hope Hi-Fi Rush wins at leat 1 award. Awesome game.
BG3 will likely win GOTY
What a great year for games!
LMAO at Destiny 2 being nominated for Best Community Support though! I'm sure all the recently fired Community Managers can't wait to accept the award.
I'm so proud of Remedy, Larian, and Tango Gameworks, 8, 8 and 5 nominations is very impressive for each of the 3 of them. They were all 3 somewhat lesser known studios before this year, not really considered to be part of the upper Echelon of Game Studios.
I'm surprised to see Cities: Skylines II get nominated, considering the negativity surrounding the game's performance. The game is great for sure, but I'm still surprised.
Love to see TOTK with so many nominations. Also glad they recognized Fire Emblem Engage as a RPG nominee.
One nomination I like is ongoing support, and I wish Hello Games would win it. Their support of No Man's Sky on every platform has been nothing short of phenomenal, and they're not a huge studio.
So many good games this year. You had to draw the line somewhere.
Haven't gotten around to Alan wake 2 yet. But I will. I expect it to win a lot.
Really solid nominations.
Love Totk but this is BG3's year.
BG3 for GOTY!
Good list. I do wish The Talos Principle II had been nominated for something but they don't really have a puzzle category.
Yep just as expected
Very strong list and Gran Turismo received quite a lot of love on it.
Sony put out one game this year and its got nominated for GOTY. Well done Insomniac.
Article says 2021 a couple of times, presume those are typos? :P EDIT: It has been updated, comment now redundent.
Oh Ishin,Octopath II and Xenoblade snubbed again. Shocker. Joke of a show. Anyone else excited for a 4 hour commercial next month? I'm not
Not having Hogwarts, the best selling game of the year in any category shows how spineless and cowardly the gaming media are.
I feel like Starfield got snubbed a nomination for best score and soundtrack. It's fantastic and I don't understand why it couldn't be a 6th nominee when some categories have 6.
RE4 nominated for GOTY is lame. I know it's a great remake, but this space should be reserved for NEW games. Give this spot to Cocoon, Sea of Stars, FF16, Hi Fi Rush, Street Fighter 6, etc. Remakes and remasters should have their own category.
Esports "Athletes" lol. Just call them players. They sit in a chair and push buttons. Their bodies are not under any serious physical strain. Nothing they do shows athleticism.
I'm happy Alan Wake 2 is getting recognition. Definitely better than people were expecting.
Yeah I agree, kind of weird some categories have 6 while others have 5. It's not the first time a remake was nominated, I personally think remakes are ok, especially ones closer to a reboot. Although I agree having its own category could be cool as well
Starfield definitely got snubbed, 5 nominations and 1 win on the Golden Joysticks, only 1 nomination here on Keighley's Award show. Deserved Art, Music, and Community nominations (for it's top notch modding community, already 13th place for most mods on Nexus Mods, with 5.5k mods made for it so far in just over 2 months).
Octopath 2 deserved best music
Octopath 2 got snubbed for best RPG. Lies of P should be a best action game nominee and replaced with Octopath 2 for best RPG.
Yeah Starfield has a great soundtrack
"Esports" is a fucking joke. It's not a sport and they're not athletes. Sports take actual athleticism.
Missed one from my six goty contenders, ff16 for resident evil, still need to play re4 remake.
Most hyped game had a single nomination. Guess gaming press finished giving bethesda free passes like they did them with fallout 4.
Always funny seeing people who haven't touched Starfield desperately bash it 😂
