43 nominees divided into 12 categories make up this year’s lineup, including such as the IGN game of the year Hades, Dreams, Ghost of Tsushima, Half-Life: Alyx, Cloudpunk and many more. You can vote on your choice of winner right now on the SXSW website – winners will be chosen based on public votes, as well as SXSW staff and advisors.
You can check out the full list of nominees below.
Video game of the year
Awarded for the game that exemplifies total excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.
- DOOM Eternal ̵1; id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Hades – Supergiant Games
- The Will of the Ori and the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
This year’s Indie game
Awarded for the indie game that exemplifies total excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.
- Bugsnax – Young horses
- Cloudpunk – Ion Lands
- Crown Trick – NEXT Studios / Team17
- Deep Rock Galactic – Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Huntdown – Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Ikenfell – Happy Ray Games / Humble Games
- Monster Sanctuary – Moi Rai Games / Team17
- Raji: An Ancient Epic – Nodding Heads Games / Super.com
- Risk of Rain 2 – Hopoo Games / Gearbox Publishing
- The Last Campfire – Hello Games
This year’s table game
Awarded for the game that illustrates the total excellence and ingenuity of any table game in any genre.
- Calico – Flatout Games
- Fort – Leader Games
- Oceans – North Star Games
- The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine – KOSMOS
- The Search for Planet X – Renegade Game Studios / Foxtrot Games
This year’s VR game
Awarded for the VR game that exemplifies total excellence in games and design on all VR platforms.
- Down the Rabbit Hole – Cortopia Studios / Beyond Frames Entertainment
- Half-life: Alyx valve
- Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond – Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Skydance Interactive
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award
Awarded for the game that best challenges the “norm” in everyday games and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character or game.
- Astros playroom – Team ASOBI! / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams – Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- If found … – Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive
- Tell Me Why – DONTNOD Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Excellence in animation, art and visual achievement
Awarded for the game with the most well-designed and stunning images, including animation effects and graphics.
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft
- Cloudpunk – Ion Lands
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – SQUARE ENIX
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- The Will of the Ori and the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Excellence in game design
Awarded for the game with the best overall design concept, game mechanics and best execution.
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time – Toys for Bob / Activision
- Desperados III – Mimimi Games / THQ Nordic
- Hades – Supergiant Games
- The Will of the Ori and the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- Watch Dogs: Legion – Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft
Excellence in score
Awarded for the game that best illustrates artistic excellence in musical score and how it develops the narrative of the game.
- Cyberpunk 2077 – CD Project Red / CD Project
- DOOM Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – SQUARE ENIX
- The Will of the Ori and the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- Trials of Mana – Xeen / SQUARE ENIX
Excellence in Multiplayer
Awarded for the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.
- Deep Rock Galactic – Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Huntdown – Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Risk of Rain 2 – Hopoo Games, Gearbox Publishing
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- VALORANT – Riot Games
Excellence in storytelling
Awarded for the game with the best story and dialogue.
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Hades – Supergiant Games
- Immortals Fenyx Rising – Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Excellence in sound design
Awarded for the game with the most excellent and effective sound effects.
- Bugsnax – Young horses
- DOOM Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Observer: System Redux – Bloober Team
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 + 2 – Vicarious Visions / Activision
Excellence in technical performance
Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming the longest or most efficiently.
- Astros playroom – Team ASOBI! / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams – Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Genshin Impact – miHoYo
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Microsoft Flight Simulator – Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s CEO of News. Follow him on Twitter. Got a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to newstips@ign.com.
