Uncharted 4 & Overwatch lead nominations w/ 7 & 6 respectively. Titanfall 2 w/ 4 & Quantum Break shutout.

It is interesting to note the changes from year to year; as performance categories have smartly melded into one of voice and performance capture gender inclusive category. VR is a new addition and curiously, the best DLC category has been removed. Expansions for The Witcher 3 (Blood & Wine) and WoW (Legion) have been included in the best RPG category allowing the same game to take the same category 2 years in a row. Other drawbacks to this system include the overlap before the end of the year. Rainbow Six: Siege gets in a nomination for multiplayer however, acclaimed games outside the window like The Talos Principle are left out. For this year, I wonder how much of the committee got to play Dishonored 2 after its release on Friday. Nonetheless, these awards are equally or better known for their reveals and creator Geoff Keighley was promised a cut-down on CGI premieres after the No Man’s Sky backlash. As well I feel the fast and loose nature of this much hyped award show nicely compliments the DICE Game Awards in February.

Anyways I look forward to playing more of the nominees, until then… game dangerously, be respectful and have fun!

Game of the Year:

Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields. 

• Doom (id Software / Bethesda)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Titanfall 2 (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Studio/Game Direction

Recognizing a game studio for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

• Blizzard (Overwatch)
• DICE (Battlefield 1)
• id Software (Doom)
• Naughty Dog (Uncharted 4)
• Respawn (Titanfall 2)

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• Firewatch (Campo Santo)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Mafia 3 (Hangar 13/2K Games)
• Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony)

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

• Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
• Firewatch (Campo Santo)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)

Best Music/Sound Design

For outstanding audio, inclusive of score, original song, licensed soundtrack and sound design.

• Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
• Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
• Thumper (Drool)

Best Performance

Award to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.

The most competitive list on this table

• Alex Hernandez as Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
• Cissy Jones as Delilah (Firewatch)
• Emily Rose as Elena (Uncharted 4)
• Nolan North as Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4)
• Rich Summer as Henry (Firewatch)
• Troy Baker as Sam Drake (Uncharted 4)

Games for Impact Award

For a though provoking game with a profound pro-social meaning or message.

• 1979 Revolution (iNK Stories)
• Block’Hood (Plethora Project/Devolver Digital)
• Orwell (Osmotic Studios/Surprise Attack)
• Sea Hero Quest (Glitchers)
• That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)

Best Independent Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

• Firewatch (Campo Santo)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish)
• The Witness (Thekla)

Best Mobile/Handheld

For the best game playable on portables devices, including mobile phones and dedicated gaming handhelds.

• Clash Royale (Supercell)
• Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
• Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
• Pokemon Go (Niantic)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)

Best VR Game

For the best game experience playable in virtual reality.

• Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady/Warner Bros.)
• EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
• Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs)
• Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
• Thumper (Drool)

Best Action Game

For the best games in the action genre focused on combat.

• Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
• Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
• Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)

Best Action/Adventure Game

The best action/adventure games, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

• Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
• Hitman (IO Interactive/Square Enix)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog /Sony)

Best RPG

• Dark Souls 3 (From Software/Bandai Namco)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED)
• World of Warcraft: Legion (Blizzard)
• Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Fighting Game

For a game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

• Killer Instinct Season 3 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft)
• The King of Fighters XIV (SNK/Atlus USA)
• Pokken Tournament (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Company)
• Street Fighter V (Capcom)

Best Family Game

Best game appropriate for family play, including toys-to-life, rhythm/music/dance, and other genres.

• Dragon Quest Builders (Square Enix)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TT Fusion/Warner Bros.)
• Pokemon Go (Niantic)
• Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
• Skylanders: Imaginators (Toys for Bob/Activision)

Best Strategy Game

Best game focused on real time or turn-based strategy gameplay.

• Civilization 6 (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
• Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
• The Banner Saga 2 (Stoic Studio/Versus Evil)
• Total War: Warhammer (The Creative Assembly/SEGA)
• XCOM 2 (Firaxis Games/2K Games)

Best Sports / Racing Game

For traditional and non-traditional sports and racing games.

• FIFA 17 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
• Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft)
• MLB The Show 2016 (SIE San Diego Studio/Sony)
• NBA 2K17 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PES Productions/Konami)

Best Multiplayer Game

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences.

• Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
• Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
• Overcooked (Ghost Town Games/Team17)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)

(Uncharted 4 could have been thrown in here)

Fans’ Choice (Many Categories that few people care for)

Best eSports Player

The eSports player judged to be the most outstanding performer in 2016, irrespective of game.

• Faker – [Lee Sang-Hyeok] SK Telecom T1, League of Legends
• Coldzera – [Marcelo David] SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Byun-Hyun Woo – Starcraft 2
• Infiltrator – [Lee Seeon-woo] Team Razer, Street Fighter 5
• Hungrybox – [Juan Debiedma] Team Liquid, Super Smash Bros.

Best eSports Team

The eSports team organization judged to be the most outstanding for performance in 2016, irrespective of game.

• SK Telecom T1 – Game: League of Legends
• Wings Gaming – Game: DOTA 2
• SK Gaming
• ROX Tigers – Game: Leauge of Legends
• Cloud 9

Best eSports Game (decent category of the few)

The eSports game that has demonstrated creative and technical excellence in 2016 with the best gameplay, community support and content updates.

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
• DOTA 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• Street Fighter 5 (Capcom)

Trending Gamer

For a streamer/influencer/media member who has made an important impact on the industry in 2016.

• AngryJoeShow
• Boogie2988
• Danny O’Dwyer
• JackSpeticeye
• Lirik

Best Fan Creation

For fan-created content, such as MODs, fan films, and other player content.

• Project A2MR
• Pokemon Uranium
• Brutal Doom 64
• Endereal: The Shards of Order

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an upcoming game that has shown significant ambition and promise in moving the gaming medium forward. Must be announced and scheduled for release after 12/1/16.

• God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony)
• Mass Effect: Andromeda (BioWare/EAs)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

*If sound design were separate from music (which it should be) then “Quantum Break” would have been a solid addition to the former. In terms of innovation that game was strong for storytelling and ambition. If only it stuck the landing more.

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The Game Awards will be presented on ‘any game screen’ & streaming platform plus Twitter on December 1st @ 6pm ET