Red Dead Redemption 2 may have received the most nominations, but Sony Santa Monica’s God of War walked away with “Game of the Year” at the 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards. But while these two juggernauts battled it out across a half-dozen categories, a parade of independent developers were the big winners of the night.
Mountains’s Florence captured two awards, “Best Mobile Game” and “Best Debut.” The black-and-white world of Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn won “Best Narrative” while the wild colors of Nomada Studio’s Gris won “Best Visual Art.” Meanwhile, Subset’s Into the Breach won for “Best Design,” Matt Makes Games’s Celeste claimed “Best Audio,” and Beat Games’s Beat Saber took home “Best VR/AR Game.”
Red Dead Redemption 2 did manage to capture one prize at the 2019 GDC Awards. Rockstar Games can claim to have the “Best Technology.”
The complete list of winners from this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards can be found after the break.
Game of the Year
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- WINNER: God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Innovation Award
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- WINNER: Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Best Debut
- Moss (Polyarc)
- WINNER: Florence (Mountains)
- Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
- Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla)
- The Messenger (Sabotage)
Best Design
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- WINNER: Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Mobile Game
- Alto’s Odyssey (Snowman)
- WINNER: Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
Best VR/AR Game
- Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
- WINNER: Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Visual Art
- WINNER: Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Narrative
- Florence (Mountains/Annapurna Interactive)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- WINNER: Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Audio
- WINNER: Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Best Technology
- Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- WINNER: Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
