The Game Awards 2024: All the Nominees

The nominees for this year's The Game Awards have been announced. Games from Sony Interactive Entertainment are nominated for the most awards, followed by Square Enix, Xbox and Sega. There are only two GSA-related nominations.

Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Metaphor: ReFantazio have been nominated for the main prize, although the nomination of Shadow of the Erdtree in particular has been widely criticised in recent days, as the title is "only an expansion" and the main game has already won the main prize in 2022.

Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have been nominated the most, with a total of seven nominations. Metaphor: ReFantazio can win six possible awards. Balatro and Silent Hill 2 have been nominated for five awards. Black Myth: Wukong, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Helldivers 2 and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II were each nominated four times.

In total, games from Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) have received 16 nominations. Square Enix and Xbox titles are nominated for 12 awards each. Sega (with Atlus) can win a maximum of eleven awards, Bandai Namco seven and Nintendo six. Games from Konami, PlayStack, Devolver and Ubisoft are nominated for five awards each.

There is only two GSA-related nominations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Closer the Distance by Osmotic Studios from Hamburg is a nominee in the Games for Impact category. Published by Skybound Games, the game is a slice-of-life sim that tells an emotional story about the bonds between family and friends in the face of tragedy. Melina Juergens is also up for Best Performance in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. The German Performance Capture Artist & Video Editor works at the UK studio Ninja Theory, which is part of the Xbox Game Studios. Juergens previously won the award for Best Performance in Hellblade in 2017.

Nominees for most categories at The Game Awards are selected by an international panel of over 100 global media and influencers. There are also specialist juries for esports, Accessibility and Best Adaptation. Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley is not a member of any of the judging panels. Winners are determined by a mix of votes from the judging panel (90%) and public fan votes (10%). Fans can vote for their favourite games at TheGameAwards.com.

The Game Awards 2024 will take place on 12 December at 19:30 ET / 16:30 PT. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it will be broadcast on Friday 13 December from 01:30 to 05:00. The 10th Anniversary of The Game Awards will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.

Game of the Year

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

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)

Best Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)

Best Art Direction

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

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)

Best Score and Music

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Stellar Blade (SHIFT UP / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)

Best Performance

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

Briana White (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
Hannah Telle (Life is Strange: Double Exposure)
Humberly Gonzalez (Star Wars Outlaws)
Luke Roberts (Silent Hill 2)
Melina Juergens (Senua's Saga: Hellblade II)

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and / or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Monptellier / Ubisoft)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)

Games for Impact

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

Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
Neva (Nomada Studios / Devolver Digital)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts)

Best Ongoing Game

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape (Bungie)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Community Support

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates / patches.

Baldur's Gate III (Larian Studios)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

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

Animal Well (Shared Memory / Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

Animal Well (Shared Memory / Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital)

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

AFK Journey (Farlight / Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (DeNA / Creatures / The Pokemon Company)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
Asgard's Wrath II (Sanzaru Games / Oculus Studios)
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj / Oculus Studios)
Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42 / The Outsiders / Funcom)
Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)

Best Action Game

For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Stellar Blade (SHIFT UP / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment)

Best Action / Adventure

For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Monptellier / Ubisoft)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)

Best Role-Playing

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

Dragon's Dogma II (Capcom)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / Atlus)

Best Fighting

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (Spike Chunsoft / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works / Cygames)
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Player First Games / Warner Bros. Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Best Family

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

Astro Bot (Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo / Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel / Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube / Nintendo)

Best Simulation / Strategy

Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

Age of Mythology: Retold (World's Edge / Forgotten Empires / Xbox Game Studios)
Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse)
Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware / Atlus)

Best Sports / Racing

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

F1 24 (Codemasters / Electronic Arts)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver / EA Romania / Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts / 2K)
TopSpin 2K25 (Hangar 13 / 2K)
WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts / 2K)

Best Multiplayer

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintend0)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment)

Best Adaptation

Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.

Arcane (Riot / Fortiche / Netflix)
Fallout (Bethesdas Softworks / Kitler Films / Amazon MGM Studios)
Knuckles (Sega / Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega / Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics / Legendary / Netflix)

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar North / Rockstar Games)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios / Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2024.

CaseOh
Illojuan
Techno Gamers
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora

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.