The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for this year’s DICE Awards, and Horizon: Zero Dawn leads the pack with ten.
The action-adventure game from Guerrilla will compete for “Game of the Year,” as well as… deep breath… “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Character” (for Aloy), “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” “Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.”
Whew.
Other games nominated for “Game of the Year” include Studio MDHR’s Cuphead, PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The 2018 DICE Awards will be handed out in a ceremony at the conclusion of this year’s DICE Summit on February 22. A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break.
Game of the Year
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR / Studio MDHR)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Bluehole / PUBG Corporation)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
Handheld Game of the Year
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (Square Enix / Square Enix, Level‐5, and Armor Project)
- Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (Atlus / Atlus)
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Nintendo / Intelligent Systems)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo / Mercury Steam and Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter Stories (Capcom and Nintendo / Capcom and Marvelous Entertainment)
Mobile Game of the Year
- Cat Quest (The Gentlebros and PQube / The Gentlebros)
- Fire Emblem Heroes (Nintendo / Intelligent Systems)
- Gorogoa (Annapurna Interactive / Jason Roberts and Buried Signal)
- Monument Valley 2 (Ustwo games / Ustwo games)
- Splitter Critters (RAC7 Games / RAC7 Games)
Action Game of the Year
- Call of Duty: WWII (Activision / Sledgehammer Games)
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR / Studio MDHR)
- Destiny 2 (Activision / Bungie)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Bluehole / PUBG Corporation)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Bethesda Softworks / MachineGames)
Adventure Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft / Ubisoft)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Naughty Dog)
Family Game of the Year
- DropMix (Hasbro / Harmonix)
- Gnog (Double Fine Productions / KO_OP)
- Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Paris)
- SingStar Celebration (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / London Studios)
- Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together (Nintendo / SFB Games)
Fighting Game of the Year
- Arms (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- Injustice 2 (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / NeatherRealm Studios)
- Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom / Capcom)
- Nidhogg 2 (Messhof / Messhof)
- Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco Entertainment America / Tekken Team and Bandai Namco Studios)
Racing Game of the Year
- Dirt 4 (Codemasters / Codemasters)
- Forza Motorsport 7 (Microsoft Studios / Turn 10 Studios)
- Gran Turismo Sport (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Polyphony Digital)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- Project CARS 2 (Bandai Namco Entertainment America / Slightly Mad Studios)
Role-Playing Game of the Year
- Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios / Larian Studios)
- Middle‐Earth: Shadow of War (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Monolith Productions)
- Nier: Automata (Square Enix / PlatinumGames)
- Persona 5 (Atlus / Atlus)
- Torment: Tides of Numenera (inXile Entertainment / inXile Entertainment)
Sports Game of the Year
- Everybody’s Golf (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Japan Studio and Clap Hanz)
- FIFA 18 (EA Sports / Electronic Arts)
- Golf Clash (Playdemic / Playdemic)
- Madden NFL 18 (EA Sports / EA Tiburon)
- MLB The Show 17 (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / San Diego Studio)
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Endless Space 2 (Sega / Amplitude Studios)
- Halo Wars 2 (Microsoft Studios/ Creative Assembly)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Sega / Creative Assembly)
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (2K / Firaxis Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Bayek – Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft / Ubisoft)
- Senua – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory / Ninja Theory)
- Aloy – Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Iden Versio – Star Wars Battlefront II (Electronic Arts / DICE, Motive Studios, and Criterion Games)
- Chloe Fraiser – Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Naughty Dog)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Gorogoa (Annapurna Interactive / Jason Roberts and Buried Signal)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Bluehole / PUBG Corporation)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Gorogoa (Annapurna Interactive / Jason Roberts and Buried Signal)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Naughty Dog)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Annapurna Interactive / Giant Sparrow)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Call of Duty: WWII (Activision / Sledgehammer Games)
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR / Studio MDHR)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Rime (Grey Box / Tequila Works)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Bethesda Softworks / MachineGames)
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
- Destiny 2 (Activision / Bungie)
- Injustice 2 (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / NeatherRealm Studios)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (Electronic Arts / DICE, Motive Studios, and Criterion Games)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo / Nintendo)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Naughty Dog)
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory / Ninja Theory)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Night In the Woods (Finji / Infinite Fall)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Annapurna Interactive / Giant Sparrow)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Bethesda Softworks / MachineGames)
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
- Call of Duty: WWII (Activision / Sledgehammer Games)
- Destiny 2 (Activision / Bungie)
- Fortnite (Epic Games / Epic Games)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Bluehole / PUBG Corporation)
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Paris)
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft / Ubisoft)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory / Ninja Theory)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena (Oculus Studios / Ready At Dawn)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR / Studio MDHR)
- For Honor (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory / Ninja Theory)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Naughty Dog)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR / Studio MDHR)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory / Ninja Theory)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment America / Guerrilla Games)
- Little Nightmares (Bandai Namco Entertainment America / Tarsier Studios)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo / Nintendo)
Immersive Reality Technical Acievement
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena (Oculus Studios / Ready At Dawn)
- Robo Recall (Oculus / Epic Games)
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Ubisoft / Red Storm Entertainment)
- The Invisible Hours (GameTrust and Tequila Works / Tequila Works)
- Wilson’s Heart (Oculus Studios / Twisted Pixel Games)
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena (Oculus Studios / Ready At Dawn)
- Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin (Double Fine Productions / Double Fine Productions)
- Robo Recall (Oculus / Epic Games)
- Space Pirate Trainer (I‐Illusions / I‐Illusions)
- Wilson’s Heart (Oculus Studios / Twisted Pixel Games)
D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
- Everything (Double Fine Productions / David OReilly)
- Gorogoa (Annapurna Interactive / Jason Roberts and Buried Signal)
- Night in the Woods (Finji / Infinite Fall)
- Pyre (Supergiant Games / Supergiant Games)
- Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together (Nintendo / SFB Games)
