The nominees for The Game Awards 2023 have officially been announced, as you might expect, it’s a very competitive year with nominees being fairly evenly split between a number of top contenders. The two frontrunners, with 8 noms apiece, are Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3. Following close on their heels is Spider-Man 2 with 7 nominations, and Nintendo does better than usual (they’re often unfairly relegated to the “Family” category) with 5 noms for both The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Resident Evil 4, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and Final Fantasy XVI also did well for themselves with 4 noms each. As for snubs, probably the most talked about will be Starfield, which picked up only a single nod in the Best RPG category.
You can check out the full list of Game Awards nominations (minus the esports stuff) below…
Game of the Year
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Game Direction
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Narrative
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Best Art Direction
- Alan Wake 2
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Lies of P
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Score and Music
- Alan Wake 2, composer Petri Alanko
- Baldur’s Gate 3, composer Borislav Slavov
- Final Fantasy XVI, composer Masayoshi Soken
- Hi-Fi Rush, audio director Shuichi Kobori
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, composed by Nintendo Sound Team
Best Audio Design
- Alan Wake 2
- Dead Space
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
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
Games for Impact
- A Space for the Unbound
- Chants of Sennaar
- Goodbye Volcano High
- Tchia
- Terra Nil
- Venba
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Community Support
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- No Man’s Sky
Best Independent Game
- Cocoon
- Dave the Diver
- Dredge
- Sea of Stars
- Viewfinder
Best Debut Indie Game
- Cocoon
- Dredge
- Pizza Tower
- Venba
- Viewfinder
Innovation in Accessibility
- Diablo IV
- Forza Motorsport
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Street Fighter 6
Best Mobile Game
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Monster Hunter Now
- Terra Nil
Best VR/AR Game
- Gran Turismo 7
- Humanity
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- Resident Evil Village VR Mode
- Synapse
Best Action Game
- Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon
- Dead Island 2
- Ghostrunner 2
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Remnant 2
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Alan Wake 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best RPG
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Lies of P
- Sea of Stars
- Starfield
Best Fighting Game
- God of Rock
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- Pocket Bravery
- Street Fighter 6
Best Family Game
- Disney Illusion Island
- Party Animals
- Pikmin 4
- Sonic Superstars
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Best Sim/Strategy Game
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
- Cities: Skylines II
- Company of Heroes 3
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Pikmin 4
Best Sports/Racing
- EA Sports FC 24
- F1 23
- Forza Motorsport
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
- The Crew Motorfest
Best Multiplayer
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Diablo IV
- Party Animals
- Street Fighter 6
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Most Anticipated Game
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hades II
- Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Tekken 8
The Game Awards 2023 will be live-streamed on December 7. What do you think of this year’s nominations? I certainly didn’t expect Pikmin 4 to get more nods than Starfield, but I’m not going to argue with it.
