The summer video game convention season rolls on, as Gamescom 2023 is set to kick off in Cologne, Germany this week. Before the doors open on Wednesday–and before the Gamescom Opening Night Live stage show on Tuesday–the event organizers have announced the nominees for this year’s version of the annual Gamescom Awards.
This year’s batch of nominees was chosen based on votes entered by a jury of international games media members, with 16 different awards scheduled to be handed out. Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon leads all games with seven nominations, while The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom follows with four despite already being available.
The full list of nominees for the Gamescom 2023 Awards is below:
- Best Visuals
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Black Myth: Wukong, Game Science Interactive Technology
- Reka, Emberstorm Entertainment / Fireshine Games
- Sand Land, ILCA, Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo, Gammera Nest / Meridiem Games
- Best Audio
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Headbangers: Rhythm Royale, Glee-Cheese / Team17 Digital
- REKA, Emberstorm Entertainment / Fireshine Games
- Savant – Ascent Remix, D-Pad Studio
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo
- Best Gameplay
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Paper Trail, Newfangled Games
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Mimimi Games
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo
- The Wandering Village, Stray Fawn Studio
- Most Entertaining
- AK-xolotl, 2Awesome Studio / Playstack
- Core Keeper, Pugstorm / Fireshine Games
- Headbangers: Rhythm Royale, Glee-Cheese / Team17 Digital
- Payday 3, Starbreeze Studios / Plaion
- Pizza Possum, Cosy Computer / Raw Fury
- Most Epic
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Black Myth: Wukong, Game Science Interactive Technology
- Dwarf Fortress, Bay 12 Games / Kitfox Games
- Sand Land, ILCA / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo
- Most Wholesome
- Pikmin 4, Nintendo
- Pioneers of Pagonia, Envision Entertainment
- Smushi Come Home, Mooneye Publishing
- The Wandering Village, Stray Fawn Studio
- Tiny Booskhop, neoludic games
- Games for Impact
- A Space for the Unbound, Mojiken / Toge Productions
- Belonging, Farbspiel Interactive
- Dead Pets Unleashed, Triple Topping Games
- Fall of Porcupine, Critical Rabbit / Assemble Entertainment
- Sky: Children of the Light, thatgamecompany
- Best Microsoft Xbox Game
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Enotria: The Last Song, Jyamma Games
- Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Entertainment
- The Wandering Village, Stray Fawn Studio
- Towerborne, Stoic / Xbox Game Studios
- Best Nintendo Switch Game
- Fall of Porcupine, Critical Rabbit / Assemble Entertainment
- Figment 2: Creed Valley, Bedtime Digital Games
- Paper Trail, Newfangled Games
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo
- The Smurfs 2 – The Prisoner of the Green Stone, Osome Studio / Microids
- Best PC Game
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Dwarf Fortress, Bay 12 Games / Kitfox Games
- PAYDAY 3, Starbreeze Studios / Plaion
- REKA, Emberstorm Entertainment / Fireshine Games
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Mimimi Games
- Best Sony PlayStation Game
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Enotria: The Last Song, Jyamma Games
- Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Entertainment
- Sand Land, ILCA / Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Tekken 8, Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Best Mobile Game
- Genshin Impact, HoYoverse
- Marvel Snap, Second Dinner Studios / Nuverse
- Monster Hunter Now, Niantic / Capcom
- Paper Trail, Newfangled Games
- Sky: Children of the Light, thatgamecompany
- gamescom Green Studio of the Year
- Frontier Developments
- Ubisoft
- Xbox
Other awards with no nominees listed include Best Trailer, which will be decided after Opening Night Live; Best Of Show Floor, which acknowledges the best booth on the floor; and the Heart Of Gaming award, which is a special award that can be awarded to “not only games, add-ons, and technologies, but also people, institutions, companies, concepts, or terms.”
Gamescom begins with Opening Night Live, hosted by Geoff Keighley, which kicks off tomorrow, August 22, at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. The event will reveal multiple new trailers across its two-hour runtime, with Keighley telling VGC, “This year’s ONL is less about announcing brand-new projects, and more about giving fans updates on some of the biggest games due out over the next year.”
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
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