It’s crazy to think that we’re just a few weeks away from The Game Awards 2021 when last year’s show is still so fresh in memory, but here we are, with the list of nominees. After going all digital last year, the Game Awards will be hosted in person this year at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angles. Tune in on December 9 to see a night of music, announcements, and, of course, awards as one game from each of the following categories will take home the winged statue. Here is the full list:
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST GAME DIRECTION
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
BEST NARRATIVE
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
BEST ART DIRECTION
- The Artful Escape
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
BEST MUSIC AND SCORE
- The Artful Escape
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deathloop
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Nier Replicant Ver.1.22474487139
BEST AUDIO DESIGN
- Deathloop
- Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
- Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn (Deathloop)
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake (Deathloop)
GAME FOR IMPACT
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
BEST ONGOING
- Apex Legends
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
- Call of Duty: Warzone
BEST INDIE
- 12 Minutes
- Death’s Door
- Inscryption
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Loop Hero
BEST MOBILE GAME
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokémon Unite
BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY
- Far Cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
BEST VR/AR GAME
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You To Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
BEST ACTION GAME
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry II
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
- Returnal
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST ROLE PLAYING
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- Tales of Arise
BEST FIGHTING
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
BEST FAMILY
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokémon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Warioware: Get It Together
BEST SIM/STRATEGY
- Age of Empires IV
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
BEST SPORTS/RACING
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
BEST MULTIPLAYER
- Back 4 Blood
- Knockout City
- It Takes Two
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- Grefg
BEST DEBUT INDIE
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- Valheim
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
- Elden Ring
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
- Starfield
BEST ESPORTS GAME
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- DOTA 2
- League of Legends
- Valorant
BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “Showmaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Oleksandr “Simple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “Tenz” Ngo
BEST ESPORTS TEAM
- Atlanta Faze
- DWG KIA
- Natus Vincere
- Sentinels
- Team Spirit
BEST ESPORTS COACH
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyl
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- Kim “Kkoma” Jeong-Gyun
BEST ESPORTS EVENT
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- The International 2021
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
If you’re keeping count, this puts Xbox and Bethesda in the lead with 20 nominations. Second place goes to Sony Interactive Entertainment with 11 nominations. Electronic Arts and Square Enix tie for third place with 10 nominations each. Fourth place is another tie with Capcom and Nintendo both getting 7 nominations. Most of Nintendo’s nominations unsurprisingly game from the Best Family game category. Fifth place is an apt five-way tie between Annapurna Interactive, Devolver Digital, Riot Games, SEGA/Atlus, and Ubisoft with, you guessed it, 5 nominations each. And last but not least, Bandai Namco, Ember Lab, and Valve all had 3 nominations.
While we didn’t get to play through all the games nominated this year, we still had the chance to play quite a few of them. In our Psychonauts 2 review, we said that the game was “a truly special game. It’s fun to play, a joy to experience, and one of the best games Xbox Game Studios has ever published.” And for Resident Evil Village, I wrote that “Resident Evil 7 was a tough act to follow, but Capcom has delivered another strong entry into the series. Resident Evil Village takes notes from its storied past and spins a narrative that is more deeply entwined in franchise lore than any before it.” For more of our reviews, click the titles below:
This year has had an interesting collection of games and though game delays continue thanks to development difficulties from the pandemic, these are the games that have been completed in unique circumstances by talented teams working all around the world. Now I can’t end this article without a humble brag about the fact that I perfectly predicted this year’s Game of the Year nominees last week and in correct order no less. If you want to throw in your vote for a game you think should win in any given category, head on over to The Game Awards official website and cast your vote. What do you think of this year’s nominees? Let us know down in the comments.
