Roll out the slightly damp and sticky red carpet, because The Game Awards 2016 are coming.
Slightly less glamorous than the Oscars (but way more interesting) we’ve got all the nominees for you ahead of December’s big event.
Unsurprisingly, Uncharted 4 takes up the brunt of the nominations with a respectable eight – though Firewatch and Overwatch aren’t far behind with five apiece.
Producer and host of the show Geoff Keighley said:
The Game Awards is all about celebrating the state of video game art. In just a few short weeks we will recognize the most outstanding games of 2016 in unexpected ways, and preview the most anticipated games of 2017 and beyond with the longest, most in-depth world premieres we’ve ever attempted — including surprises and new game announcements.
At any rate, let’s move on to the nominees, shall we?
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST GAME DIRECTION
- Blizzard Entertainment (for Overwatch)
- EA DICE (for Battlefield 1)
- id Software (for Doom)
- Naughty Dog (for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End)
- Respawn Entertainment (for Titanfall 2)
BEST NARRATIVE
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Mafia 3 (Hangar 13/2K Games)
- Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST ART DIRECTION
- Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST MUSIC/SOUND DESIGN
- Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts)
- Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
- Thumper (Drool)
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Alex Hernandez as Lincoln Clay, Mafia 3
- Cissy Jones as Delilah, Firewatch
- Emily Rose as Elena, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Nolan North as Nathan Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Rich Sommer as Henry, Firewatch
- Troy Baker as Sam Drake, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
GAMES FOR IMPACT
- 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (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
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish Games)
- The Witness (Thekla Inc.)
BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD
- Clash Royale (Supercell)
- Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
- Pokémon Go (Niantic Labs)
- Severed (DrinkBox Studios)
BEST VR GAME
- Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Eve: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
- Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs)
- Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
- Thumper (Drool)
BEST ACTION GAME
- Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts)
- Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
- Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft Studios)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
- Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Hitman (IO Interactive/Square Enix)
- Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
- Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST RPG
- Dark Souls 3 (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (CD Projekt Red/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- World of Warcraft: Legion (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
- Killer Instinct Season 3 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft Studios)
- The King of Fighters 14 (SNK/Atlus USA)
- Pokkén Tournament (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokémon Co. International)
- Street Fighter 5 (Capcom)
BEST STRATEGY GAME
- Sid Meier’s 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 FAMILY GAME
- Dragon Quest Builders (Square Enix)
- Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TT Fusion/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Pokémon Go (Niantic Labs)
- Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Skylanders Imaginators (Toy for Bob/Activision)
BEST SPORTS/RACING
- FIFA 17 (EA Vancouver/Electronic Arts)
- Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft Studios)
- MLB The Show 16 (SIE San Diego Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- NBA 2K17 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PES Productions/Konami)
BEST MULTIPLAYER
- Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts)
- Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft Studios)
- Overcooked (Ghost Town Games/Team17)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Mass Effect: Andromeda (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Studios/Rockstar Games)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
TRENDING GAMER
- AngryJoeShow
- Boogie2988
- Danny O’Dwyer
- JackSepticEye
- Lirik
BEST FAN CREATION
- Project A2MR
- Pokémon Uranium
- Brutal Doom 64
- Enderal: The Shards of Order
BEST ESPORTS PLAYER
- 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 Seon-woo (Team Razer, Street Fighter 5)
- Hungrybox – Juan Debiedma (Team Liquid, Super Smash Bros.)
BEST ESPORTS TEAM
- SK Telecom T1 (League of Legends)
- Wings Gaming (Dota 2)
- SK Gaming
- ROX Tigers (League of Legends)
- Cloud 9
BEST ESPORTS GAME
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Street Fighter 5 (Capcom)
One thing’s for sure when looking at the above list – it’s been one hell of a year for videogames. May the best title win.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.