Skip to main content

Fallout 4 takes home Best of Show at E3 2015

fallout 4 e3 game critics awards fallout4 5
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The collective hive mind of the Game Critics Awards has spoken, and Fallout 4 has been awarded the Best of Show award from E3 2015. In addition to the overall top honors, Bethesda’s hotly anticipated open-world RPG also took home awards for Best PC Game and Best Role-Playing Game.

Other big winners from this past year included Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which earned Best Console Game, Best Action/Adventure Game, and a Special Commendation for Graphics. Star Wars Battlefront won both Best Action Game and Best Online Multiplayer. The only winning games not to come out of established franchises were Horizon Zero Dawn as Best Original Game and No Man’s Sky for Best Independent Game.

To be nominated a game had to actually be playable (at least behind closed doors) at E3, and not just a hands-off tech demo or trailer, which is why a number of high-profile announcements did not make the cut. The judging committee comprised critics from a range of major publications that cover gaming, from the Associated Press to Yahoo. Note that Digital Trends was not among those outlets (for this year, at least!).

Here is the full list of winners:

Best of Show
Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Original Game
Horizon Zero Dawn
(Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

Best Console Game
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertianment for PlayStation 4)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
(Nintendo for 3DS)

Best PC Game
Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
Oculus Touch
(Oculus VR)

Best Action Game
Star Wars Battlefront
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

Best Role-Playing Game
Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Racing Game
Need for Speed
(Ghost Games/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Sports Game
FIFA 16
(EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Family/Social Game
Super Mario Maker
(Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii U)

Best Online Multiplayer
Star Wars Battlefront
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Independent Game
No Man’s Sky
(Hello Games for PC, PlayStation 4)

Special Commendation for Graphics
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

Editors' Recommendations

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
If you love Amazon’s Fallout, play the series’ best games on Game Pass and PS Plus next
Two characters in power armor in Fallout 4.

The Fallout TV series just released on Amazon Prime, and it's one of the best video game adaptations out there. It perfectly captures the tense, humorous feel of the postapocalyptic video game series while telling a new story with original characters. If you've just watched the show, you're probably itching to play a Fallout title again or check out one of the games the series is based on for the first time. Thankfully, if you're subscribed to one of the major video game subscription services, that's very easy to do.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 are all on at least one gaming subscription service. While PC and Xbox players will be looking to Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation owners can get in on the fun with PS Plus Extra's game catalog. We've combed through what's available on PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass, and PS Plus Extra, and there's no shortage of options. Here are the best starting points on each service.
PC Game Pass

Read more
Fallout 4 is finally getting free Xbox Series X and PS5 upgrades
New Fallout 4 Creation Club mod content coming with the Xbox Series X and PS5 launch.

Bethesda has confirmed that the current-gen update for Fallout 4 will finally release on April 25.

That's good timing, as a Fallout TV show just released on Amazon Prime this month to positive buzz. Fallout 4 came out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One in 2015, and this definitely looks like it will be the most substantial update the game has received since its last expansion was released.

Read more
E3 needed to end, but its demise is a net negative for the gaming industry
Crowd of E3 attendees in front of the E3 logo and various game posters.

It's official: E3 is dead.

For over two decades, the Electronic Entertainment Expo was the video game industry's most important event. For enthusiastic gamers, it was Christmas and the Super Bowl rolled into one trailer-full event. It served a more important role on the business side, as it was a key way for smaller developers to get their games seen and make deals with publishers. Now, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced it's formally retiring the once powerful event for good. It is, quite literally, the end of an era.

Read more