The organizers of the Game Developers Conference have announced the nominees for this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards.
Nintendo and Sony have a lot to celebrate this year as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn tied for the most nominations, with six apiece. Both games are in the running for “Game of the Year,” and both were also nominated in the “Best Audio,” “Best Design,” “Best Technology,” and “Best Visual Art” categories. Breath of the Wild tacked on one more nominations for the “Innovation Award,” while Horizon nabbed a nomination for “Best Narrative.”
Both games should probably be considered the frontrunners for the “Game of the Year” award, but they’ll also have to compete with PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Platinum Games’s Nier: Automata, and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey for the coveted honor.
Outside of the “Game of the Year” competition, Studio MDHR’s Cuphead captured three nominations for “Best Audio,” “Best Debut,” and “Best Visual Art.”
The 2018 GDC Awards ceremony will take place on on Wednesday, March 21, at 6:30 PM (Pacific Time). The full list of nominees, and all the Honorable Mentions, can be found after the break.
Game of the Year
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
- Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions
Cuphead (Studio MDHR), What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive), Persona 5 (P-Studio / Atlus), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive), Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios), Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall / Finji)Innovation Award
- Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
- Everything (David OReilly / Double Fine Productions)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
Honorable Mentions
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Cuphead (Studio MDHR), Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix), Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Tacoma (Fullbright), Pyre (Supergiant Games)Best Debut
- Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
- Golf Story (Sidebar Games)
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
- Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
- Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal)
Honorable Mentions
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (Game Grumps), Thimbleweed Park (Terrible Toybox), Doki Doki Literature Club! (Team Salvato), Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (Lizardcube)Best Design
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
Honorable Mentions
Cuphead (Studio MDHR), Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive), What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive), Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios), Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy), Prey (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)Best Mobile/Handheld Game
- Reigns: Her Majesty (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh / Sylvain Tegroeg)
- Monument Valley 2 (Ustwo games)
- Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive)
- Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt / Figs / ARTE France / Playdius)
Honorable Mentions
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules), Flipflop Solitaire (Zach Gage), Gnog (KO_OP / Double Fine Productions)Best VR/AR Game
- Superhot VR (Superhot Team)
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment / Ubisoft)
- Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Honorable Mentions
Farpoint (Impulse Gear / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (Owlchemy Labs / Adult Swim Games), Luna (Funomena), Robo Recall (Epic Games), Gnog (KO_OP/ Double Fine Productions), Doom VFR (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)Best Visual Art
- Persona 5 (P-Studio / Atlus)
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall / Finji)
Honorable Mentions
Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive), Star Wars: Battlefront II (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft), Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)Best Narrative
- Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall / Finji)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks)
Honorable Mentions
Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix), Tacoma (Fullbright), Persona 5 (P-Studio / Atlus), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios), Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)Best Audio
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
- Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Star Wars: Battlefront II (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom), Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision), Persona 5 (P-Studio / Atlus), Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall / Finji)Best Technology
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions
Star Wars: Battlefront II (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks), Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix), Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
