The Game Awards has quickly become a staple event for the industry. Geoff Keighley, host and organizer of The Game Awards, has steadily increased its popularity year over year, making it one of the biggest events to look forward to in gaming. Last year, it reached a total of 103 million live streams and is heralded as the Oscars of the gaming world.
There are always a host of new game announcements, celebrity guest appearances, and, of course, awards to give out each year. This year is no different, and the competition between games is as fierce as ever. The delays from COVID-19 have finally subsided, and the backlog of titles finally hitting the market this year means that it is going to be harder than ever to settle on a clear winner for many of the categories. While it would be fun to go through every single category, we have decided to cut a few to focus on the bigger ones. Here are our predictions for The Game Awards 2023 nominees and winners.
The Game Awards 2023 Predictions for Nominees and Winners:
Award for Best Game Direction
“Awarded For Outstanding Creative Vision And Innovation In Game Direction And Design.”
Nominees:
- Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Sea of Stars
- Final Fantasy XVI
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom – It is, without a doubt, that this game is more than deserving of the praise it has received over the past year. While the game is similar in many ways to its predecessor, the additions it makes to the core experience fundamentally change the interactivity in undeniable ways. The introduction and refinement of the tools at the player’s disposal are so hard to underestimate within this world. The ability to create your own solutions to problems and use completely outside-the-box thinking is a joy to explore. It is no wonder most players spend countless hours just toying with the game’s systems before even delving into the main story.
Award for Best Narrative
“For Outstanding Storytelling And Narrative Development In A Game.”
Nominees:
- Alan Wake 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Winner: Alan Wake 2 – Remedy has built a reputation from its mind-melting stories intertwined with their unsettling worlds. Alan Wake 2 elevated everything that made the first game great and took the story even deeper than before. The survival horror aspect that bled into the game’s unsettling storytelling did wonders to cement its moment-to-moment gameplay beautifully. The new character introduced in this sequel, Saga Anderson, does a lot to keep the plot fresh and exciting, setting it leagues ahead of the first Alan Wake. It is no wonder that this game has resonated so strongly with players since its release and will likely continue for a very long time.
Award for Best Art Direction
“For Outstanding Creative and/or Technical Achievement In Artistic Design And Animation.”
Nominees:
- Dead Space Remake
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Solar Ash
Winner: Dead Space Remake – EA Motive did a fantastic job recreating the terrifying world many of us remember falling in love with when the original Dead Space came out in 2008. Absolutely everything is beautifully crafted, and the attention to detail shines through in every way. Environments, weapons, and enemies are all animated with striking realism, which does so much to elevate its horror gameplay beyond expectations. While this may be a remake of an older game we have seen before, the difference between this and the original is more than substantial and sets a strong benchmark for how a remake should be handled.
Award for Best Score and Music
“For Outstanding Music, Inclusive Of Score, Original Song And/or Licensed Soundtrack.”
Nominees:
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Octopath Traveler II
- Pizza Tower
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
Winner: Hi-Fi Rush – This was a particularly incredible year for music in games, making this category difficult to decide. Overall, Hi-Fi Rush does so much with the music it presents to the player that it is hard to ignore. Every single track’s themes and overall quality blend so well with the experience and gameplay it offers. You will find yourself tapping along while playing this game without even realizing it. This excellent experience is a must-play for anyone who can appreciate high-quality soundtracks.
Award for Best Audio Design
“Recognizing The Best In-game Audio And Sound Design.”
Nominees:
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Forza Motorsport
- Dead Space Remake
- Alan Wake 2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Winner: Resident Evil 4 Remake – Audio design in a game is challenging to get right. A lot of work goes on in the background that isn’t easily quantifiable—for example, getting the right music to ramp up while a tense moment plays out or making the simple act of reloading a gun satisfying every time you do it. Resident Evil 4 Remake nails all of these and then some. The sound design is a notch above astounding. Every element of it matches its tone and grounds the game in a believable yet horrifying way. While it isn’t an easy choice, Resident Evil 4 Remake takes the cake here with its phenomenal sound design.
Award for Best Performance
“Awarded To An Individual For Voice-over Acting, Motion And/or Performance Capture.”
Nominees:
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Yuri Lowenthal
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Nadji Jeter
- Final Fantasy XVI – Ben Starr
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – Cameron Monaghan
- Alan Wake 2 – Melanie Liburd
Winner: Yuri Lowenthal – The original Marvel’s Spider-Man had some hard-hitting moments thanks to Yuri Lowenthal and his wonderful performance. Without a doubt, Insomniac, the studio behind Marvel’s Spider-Man, has struck gold with Yuri, pushing the boundary even further with this title than ever before. Classic storylines and hard-hitting moments were delivered in every scene to create the ultimate Spider-Man experience that felt emotional and believable. Yuri was able to demonstrate masterful range and understanding of this character, and it shows every time he is on screen. He has done a fantastic job in the past, and this time around, he managed to fully encapsulate players again with his portrayal of both the lovable Spider-Man and the kind-hearted Peter Parker.
Award for Best Ongoing
“Awarded To A Game For Outstanding Development Of Ongoing Content That Evolves The Player Experience Over Time.”
Nominees:
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Apex Legends
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Dead by Daylight
Winner: Fortnite – Fortnite has managed to stay relevant by providing players with new and interesting skins, maps, and modes throughout the years. This year has been no different, and they have surpassed expectations with their steady flow of content. They continually manage to impress with the sheer number of new things they manage to add to this game each and every year. Whether it be simple tie-in content or completely game-changing features, there is a reason this title continues to be so popular among audiences, old and new.
Award for Best Indie
“For Outstanding Creative And Technical Achievement In A Game Made Outside The Traditional Publisher System.”
Nominees:
- Dave the Diver
- Sea of Stars
- Ghost Runner 2
- Cocoon
- Pizza Tower
Winner: Sea of Stars – Sea of Stars is a beautiful love letter to old JRPGs. It features a unique modern-pixelated art style that does so much with so little. The most important thing Sea of Stars does, however, is cutting the fat from the redundant tendencies of JRPGs to let you focus on the fun. Gone are the meaningless sidequests, constant crafting, and confusing structure. From start to finish, this game is 100% awesome and 100% fun.
Award for Best VR/ AR
“For The Best Game Experience Playable In Virtual Or Augmented Reality, Irrespective Of Platform.”
Nominees:
- Horizon: Call of the Mountain
- Resident Evil 4 Remake (VR Mode)
- Humanity
- Gran Turismo 7 (VR Mode)
- I Expect You to Die 3: Cog in the Machine
Winner: Gran Turismo 7 – This title releasing a VR mode coinciding with the release of the PlayStation VR 2 is one of the major reasons the PSVR 2 saw the success it did. GT7, on its own, is a fantastic experience that has the sound design and gameplay to create a truly immersive experience. The ability to play this in VR created an entirely new level of immersion no one had ever experienced. This game shows the value of VR experiences and hopefully will make way for many other great titles to follow.
Award for Best Action Game
“For The Best Game In The Action Genre Focused Primarily On Combat.”
Nominees:
- Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
- Ghost Runner 2
- Lies of P
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Wild Hearts
Winner: Armored Core VI – FromSoftware has cemented itself as the king of the souls genre. This year, however, they instead revived a franchise with an excellent action game that maintains the studio’s distinct identity while offering players a different type of experience to enjoy. While it may not be exactly what fans have come to expect from the studio, it still features the cinematic boss fights, challenging gameplay, and variety of ways to play that has garnered them so many fans over the years.
Award for Best Action/ Adventure
“For The Best Action/Adventure Game, Combining Combat With Traversal And Puzzle Solving.”
Nominees:
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Alan Wake II
Winner: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes everything that made the first game great and amplifies it exponentially. It tells an important Spider-Man story we all know in a new and interesting way that felt satisfying to all fans. The lessons learned from the first two games in the series are apparent, and the implementation of new ways to interact with the world, fight criminals, and traverse all feel fantastic. There is a reason this has become PlayStation’s fastest-selling title, with the accolades and glowing reviews speaking for themselves.
Award for Best Role-Playing
“For The Best Game Designed With Rich Player Character Customization And Progression, Including Massively Multiplayer Experiences.”
Nominees:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Diablo IV
- Sea of Stars
- Starfield
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 – Baldur’s Gate 3 is paving the way for more complicated role-playing games to take center stage. It takes the idea that you can do almost anything the way that you want to without restricting or bottlenecking the player into how they can do it. This is a true role-playing game where your decisions matter, so how you choose to play will ultimately affect everything from your party to the world around you in tangible ways. It is an experience that hits the mark where it promises and provides a variety of different experiences from playthrough to playthrough.
Award for Best Fighting
“For The Best Game Designed Primarily Around Head-to-head Combat.”
Nominees:
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Street Fighter VI
- Party Animals
- Idol Showdown
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
Winner: Street Fighter VI – Street Fighter VI takes the top spot because of the myriad of different ways it gives you to play. It features a well-balanced and diverse roster, stunning visuals, and a unique world tour mode never seen before. This particular entry is also incredibly welcoming to new players. It makes great strides in accessibility that allows for intense battles no matter what the skill levels are. Street Fighter has been around for a long time, and this is surely one of the best entries the series has ever created.
Award for Best Multiplayer
“For Outstanding Online Multiplayer Gameplay And Design, Including Co-op And Massively Multiplayer Experiences, Irrespective Of Game Genre Or Platform.”
Nominees:
- Counter-Strike 2
- Remnant II
- Street Fighter VI
- Quake II: Enhanced Edition
- Diablo IV
Winner: Counter Strike 2 – Counter-Strike was unbelievably influential when it first came out and managed to stay relevant for over 15 years before this sequel was released. Valve does not release games nearly as often as they used to, but when they do, they ensure it is something worth releasing. This sequel came with a ton of improvements and fantastic quality-of-life improvements players had been asking for. This game has already become an absolute must-play for anyone who grew up playing online games in the early 2000s. It perfectly captures the feel of the original, all while feeling incredibly modern, reminding us why we fell in love with gaming in the first place.
Award for Most Anticipated Game
“Recognizing An Announced Game That Has Demonstrably Illustrated Potential To Push The Gaming Medium Forward.”
Nominees:
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Avowed
- Star Wars: Outlaws
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Persona 3 Reload
Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – It should come as a surprise to no one that this is a very hotly anticipated title. The Final Fantasy series has such an enormous amount of fans, and with how the original ended, it seems everyone is invested in the new story Square Enix is telling. Early impressions have already come out more than positive, giving credence to the fact that this could be as good as we all so desperately want it to be. Regardless of how the story turns out, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is sure to be a game we will be dreaming of until we can get our hands on the full experience.
Award for Game Of The Year
“Recognizing A Game That Delivers The Absolute Best Experience Across All Creative And Technical Fields.”
Nominees:
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Sea of Stars
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Final Fantasy XVI
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 – Baldur’s Gate 3 came and innovated the CRPG genre to make it fun and interesting for all players. The care, effort, and devotion the developers put into every detail of this game is undeniable. It is clear that the game they set out to create had an astonishingly high bar that they actually managed to achieve. Larian Studios raised the standard for the rest of the industry, showcasing exactly how a large open world with branching narratives, deep customization, and rewarding gameplay should be done.
Regardless of which games win or lose this year, there is no question that this was an incredibly special year to be a gamer. The Game Awards has always done a phenomenal job of recognizing the deserving talent and passion that pushes this industry forward year after year. With so many fantastic titles to choose from for each and every category, Geoff Keighley and the panel of judges sure have their work cut out for them. Geoff always seems to have something up his sleeve though, and you can expect there to be a ton of interesting news and announcements to give you plenty of reason to be excited for next year too.
The official nominees are set to be released Monday, November 13th, 2023. Just like previous years, you can help decide who wins or loses by voting on the official game awards page.
