It is hard not to get excited for The Game Awards 2023, especially since the nominees for the industry’s biggest night were just announced. Hosted by veteran producer Geoff Keighley, the show will celebrate the year’s best games and developers across a range of categories.
This year’s Game of the Year category features an exciting line-up of titles that give an unmistakable taste of what the industry is capable of. Leading the pack with an impressive 8 nominations each is Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 and Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2. Both revivals of beloved franchises, these RPG and survival horror titles aim to capture fans old and new. They face stiff competition from Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
While sequels dominate the spotlight in this year’s Game Awards, completely new IPs are also making waves this year. Hi-Fi Rush, an original rhythm-action game from Tango Gameworks, scored nominations for its stellar art direction and music. Fresh indies like the meditative Cocoon and underwater adventure Dave the Diver show innovation still thrives.
On the adaptation front, HBO’s The Last of Us and Netflix’s Castlevania series lead nominations for Best Adaptation against big-screen efforts like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Gran Turismo film. This diversity of nominees displays the breadth of gaming’s impact across media.
While the Game Awards celebrate releases from the past year, the show itself looks to the future. Keighley promises exclusive game reveals, musical performances, and celebrity appearances during the live show on December 7. Fans can vote for their favourite nominees online leading up to the event.
With stacked lineups across genres, platforms, and creators, The Game Awards 2023 is shaping up to honour an excellent year in gaming. Tune in on December 7 to see which games take home the coveted awards. You can see the full list of nominations below:
THE GAME AWARDS 2023 NOMINEES
Game of the Year
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Narrative
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Art Direction
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
- Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
- Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Audio Design
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
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 (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
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 Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Best Community Support
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello 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 (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
- Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
- Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
- Venba (Visai Games)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Mobile Game
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)
- Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
- Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)
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 (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
- Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best RPG
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting Game
- God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)
- Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
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 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
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 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing
- EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
- F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
- The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
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)
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
