The nominations for The Game Awards 2023 have been officially announced, with two standout titles, Baldur’s Gate 3 and the recently released Alan Wake II, securing the lead with eight nominations each, including the coveted Game of the Year award. This year has been hailed as one of the best in gaming history, yet host and organizer Geoff Keighley has opted to limit the Game of the Year contenders to six. Other nominees in this prestigious category feature Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the Resident Evil 4 remake, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Both the latter titles made significant waves in the first part of the year, with The Legend of Zelda fans showcasing their imaginative creations in Hyrule, while Resident Evil 4 players indulged in creative mods on PC.
The adaptation of HBO’s The Last of Us has rightfully claimed a spot in the Best Adaptation category, praised for its faithful portrayal of deeply human elements within a post-apocalyptic setting, resonating with both new viewers and fans of the original game. Competing in this category is The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed an impressive $1.36 billion (approximately ₹11,321), alongside Peacock’s Twisted Metal, Netflix’s Castlevania: Nocturne, and the film adaptation of Gran Turismo starring David Harbour. With the conclusion of the actors’ strike, nominees will attend the awards show, including Neil Newbon, who earned a nomination for Best Performance for his portrayal of Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Other noteworthy nominees include Cameron Monaghan for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Ben Starr for Final Fantasy XVI, and Idris Elba for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Review
Interestingly, Cyberpunk 2077 has received a nomination for Best Ongoing Game, despite its Phantom Liberty expansion being considered post-launch content rather than a continuous live-service title. This year’s nominations encompass over 100 games, with Nintendo standing out as the most-nominated publisher, racking up a total of 15 nods.
The event is expected to feature numerous premieres, trailers, live music performances, and an orchestra led by composer Lorne Balfe. The winners will be revealed during a live ceremony on December 7, 2023 (December 8 in India), hosted at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Viewers can catch the show through various streaming platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and Kick. Fans will have the opportunity to vote until the day of the ceremony via the official The Game Awards website.
Below is the complete list of nominees for The Game Awards 2023:
Game of the Year
Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil 4 remake (Capcom)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
Alan Wake II
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 II
Baldur’s Gate 3
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Best Art Direction
Alan Wake 2
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Score and Music
Petri Alanko, Alan Wake 2
Borislav Slavov, Baldur’s Gate 3
Masayoshi Soken, Final Fantasy XVI
Shuichi Kobori, Hi-Fi Rush
Nintendo Sound Team, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Adaptation
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)
Best Audio Design
Alan Wake 2
Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
Hi-Fi Rush
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 Review
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
Innovation in Accessibility
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
Hi-Fi Rush
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Ongoing Game
Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
Cyberpunk 2077
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Games for Impact
A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)
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 Independent Game
Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)
Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Debut Indie Game
Cocoon
Dredge
Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
Venba
Viewfinder
Best Mobile Game
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)
Honkai: Star Rail
Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
Terra Nil
Best VR/AR Game
Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)
Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)
Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
Synapse (nDreams)
Best Action Game
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver)
Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games)
Hi-Fi Rush
Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)
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 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Starfield Review
Best Fighting Game
God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)
Mortal Kombat 1
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)
Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)
Street Fighter 6
Best Family Game
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
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo)
Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive)
Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega)
Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Pikmin 4
Best Sports/Racing
EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
Forza Motorsport
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer
Baldur’s Gate 3
Diablo IV
Party Animals
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Most Anticipated Game
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 (Bandai Namco/Arika)
Content Creator of the Year
IronMouse
PeopleMakeGames
Quackity
Spreen
SypherPK
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
Dota 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)
Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO)
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
Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
Fnatic (Valorant)
Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
JD Gaming (League of Legends)
Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best Esports Coach
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
2023 League of Legends World Championship
Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
EVO 2023
The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
VALORANT Champions 2023