The Game Awards 2018 nominees announced
And this year's picks are...
The nominees for The Game Awards 2018 have been announced.
Fans can vote now for their picks at The Game Awards website, and via Twitter Direct Message, Facebook Messenger, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and the official The Game Awards Discord server.
Get the full list of nominees below.
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Best Game Direction
Awarded to a game studio for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)
Best Score / Music: Presented by Spotify
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games) – Lena Raine
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment) – Bear McCreary
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment) – John Paesano
- Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level-5 / Bandai Namco Entertainment) – Joe Hisaishi
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo) – Yasunori Nishiki
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games) – Woody Jackson
Best Audio Design: Presented by Dolby
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Bryan Dechart as Connor in Detroit: Become Human
- Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War
- Melissanthi Mahut as Kassandra in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2
- Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man
Games for Impact
For a thought provoking game with a profound pro-social meaning or message.
- 11-11: Memories Retold (Digixart / Aardman Animations / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories (White Owls / Arc System Works)
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a dedicated mobile device.
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Lightspeed & Quantum / Tencent Games)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Best VR / AR Game
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (Sony Interactive Entertainment JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Firewall: Zero Hour (First Contact Entertianment / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- Tetris Effect (Resonair / Enhance Games)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Mega Man 11 (Capcom)
Best Action / Adventure Game
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal / Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix)
Best Role-Playing Game
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Orca / Square Enix)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level-5 / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Obsidian Entertainment / Versus Evil)
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Arc SYstem Works)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Soulcalibur VI (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Street Fighter V Arcade (Dimps / Capcom)
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Overcooked! 2 (Ghost Town Games / Team17)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Party (NDCube / Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
Best game focused on real time or turn-based strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- The Banner Saga 3 (Stoic Studio / Versus Evil)
- Battletech (Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive)
- Frostpunk (11 bit studios)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Sega CS3 / Sega)
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- FIFA 19 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- NBA 2K19 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions / Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bugnie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios)
Best Student Game
Awarded the best student project created at the high school or college level.
- Combat 2018 (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences – Norway)
- Dash Quasar (UC Santa Cruz)
- JERA (Digipen Bilbao, Spain)
- LIFF (ISTART Digital, France)
- RE: Charge (MIT)
Best Debut Game
Recognizing a new independent studio that released its first game in 2017. Winner selected by fan voting.
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
- Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla)
Best eSports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall eSports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
Best eSports Player: Presented by Omen by HP
The eSports player judged to be the most outstanding performer in 2018, irrespective of game.
- Dominique “SonicFox” McLean (Echo Fox)
- Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi
- Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao (Royal Never Give Up)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere)
- Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang (New York Excelsior)
Best eSports Team
The eSports team judged to be the most outstanding for performance in 2017, inclusive of multi-team organizations.
- Astralis (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Cloud9 (League of Legends)
- Fnatic (League of Legends)
- London Spitfire (Overwatch League)
- OG (DOTA 2)
Beste eSports Coach
- Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu (Cloud9)
- Cristian “ppasarel” Bănăseanu (OG)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Astralis)
- Dylan Falco (Fnatic)
- Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi (Team Vitality)
- Janko “YNk” Paunovic (MiBR)
Best eSports Event
- ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
- EVO 2018
- League of Legends World Championship
- Overwatch League Grand Finals
- The International 2018
Best eSports Host
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Anders Blume
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Paul “RedEye” Chaloner
Best eSports Moment
- C9 Comeback Win In Triple OT vs FAZE at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
- G2 Beating RNG at the League of Legends World Championship
- KT vs. IG Base Race at the League of Legends World Championship
- OG’s Massive Upset of LGD at the DOTA 2 Finals
- SonicFox Side Switch Against Go1 in Dragon Ball FighterZ at EVO 2018
Content Creator of the Year
- Dr. Lupo
- Myth
- Ninja
- Pokimane
- Willyrex
Favorite Moment of 2017
Ready for 2018’s show? Help us decide the top moment from 2017, pick your favorite below!
- Carol Shaw (Industry Icon)
- The Game Awards Orchestra (Performance)
- Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro (Moment)
- Josef Fares (A Way Out)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Game of the Year Award)
The Game Awards 2018 will broadcast live on December 6 at 5:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. ET via YouTube in 4K resolution, Twitter, Facebook, Mixer, Steam TV, PlayStation 4, Xbox Live, IGN, GameSpot, Polygon, MLG, Caffeine.tv, and more to be announced.