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Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 lead this year’s Game Awards nominations

Key art for The Game Awards 2023.
The Game Awards

The nominees for The Game Awards 2023 are here following a livestream hosted by Geoff Keighley on Monday morning. It’s been an excellent year for video games, and the nominations reflect that, at least in the AAA space. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 garnered the most nominations, with eight each, but titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder also garnered several nominations.

In terms of indies, none got that much love in the show’s biggest categories. However, games like Cocoon, Dredge, Viewfinder, and Terra Nil did pop up multiple times in the indie-friendly categories. We’ll have a few weeks to think about all of these nominations ahead of The Game Awards 2023. This Keighley-hosted event is essentially the video game industry’s version of the Oscars. It’s one of the biggest stages where developers are awarded for their work and also doubles as a lengthy showcase featuring many game announcements and other gaming-related world premieres. This year is shaping up to be no different and might even go bigger as it’s the 10th annual The Game Awards show.

The Game Awards 2023: Live Nomination Announcement

You can see the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2023 below. The winners will be revealed during the event on December 7.

Game of the Year

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Resident Evil 4
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Game Direction

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Narrative

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
  • Final Fantasy XVI
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Best Art Direction

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Lies of P
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Score and Music

  • Alan Wake 2, composer Petri Alanko
  • Baldur’s Gate 3, composer Borislav Slavov
  • Final Fantasy XVI, composer Masayoshi Soken
  • Hi-Fi Rush, audi director Shuichi Kobori
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, composed by Nintendo Sound Team

Best Audio Design

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Dead Space
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Resident Evil 4

Best Performance

  • Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI
  • Cameron Monaghan, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
  • Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
  • Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2
  • Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Games for Impact

  • A Space for the Unbound
  • Chants of Sennaar
  • Goodbye Volcano High
  • Tchia
  • Terra Nil
  • Venba

Best Ongoing Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Final Fantasy XIV
  • Fortnite
  • Genshin Impact

Best Indie

  • Cocoon
  • Dave the Diver
  • Dredge
  • Sea of Stars
  • Viewfinder

Best Debut Indie Game

  • Cocoon
  • Dredge
  • Pizza Tower
  • Venba
  • Viewfinder

Best Community Support

  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Destiny 2
  • Final Fantasy XIV
  • No Man’s Sky

Best AR/VR

  • Gran Turismo 7
  • Humanity
  • Horizon Call of the Mountain
  • Resident Evil Village VR Mode
  • Synapse

Best Mobile

  • Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis
  • Honkai Star Rail
  • Hello Kitty Island Adventure
  • Monster Hunter Now
  • Terra Nil

Best Action Adventure

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Resident Evil 4
  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Action

  • Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
  • Dead Island 2
  • Ghostrunner 2
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Remnant II

Best RPG

  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Final Fantasy XVI
  • Lies of P
  • Sea of Stars
  • Starfield

Best Fighting

  • God of Rock
  • Mortal Kombat 1
  • Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
  • Pocket Bravery
  • Street Fighter 6

Best Family

  • Disney Illusion Island
  • Party Animals
  • Pikmin 4
  • Sonic Superstars
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Best Sim/Strategy

  • Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
  • Cities: Skylines 2
  • Company of Heroes 3
  • Fire Emblem Engage
  • Pikmin 4

Best Sports/Racing

  • EA Sports FC 24
  • F1 23
  • Forza Motorsport
  • Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
  • The Crew Motorfest

Best Multiplayer

  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Diablo IV
  • Party Animals
  • Street Fighter 6
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Most Anticipated

  • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
  • Hades II
  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
  • Star Wars Outlaws
  • Tekken 8

Best Adaptation

  • Castlevania Nocturne
  • Gran Turismo
  • The Last of Us
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie
  • Twisted Metal

Content Creator of the Year

  • Iron Mouse
  • People Make Games
  • Quackity
  • Spreen
  • SypherPK

Best Esports Game

  • Counter-Strike 2
  • DOTA 2
  • League of Legends
  • PUBG Mobile
  • Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

  • Demon1
  • Faker
  • Hydra
  • Imperial-Hal
  • Ruler
  • Zywoo

Best Esports Team

  • Evil Geniuses, Valorant
  • Fanatic, Valorant
  • Gaming Gladiators, DOTA 2
  • JD Gaming, League of Legends
  • Team Vitality, Counter-Strike

Best Esports Coach

  • Potter
  • Homme
  • Gunba
  • XTQZZZ
  • Zonic

Best Esports Event

  • 2023 League of Legends World Championship
  • Blast TV Paris Major 2023
  • EVO 2023
  • The International DOTA 2 Championships 2023
  • Valorant Champions 2023

Innovation in Accessibility

  • Diablo IV
  • Forza Motorsport
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
  • Mortal Kombat 1
  • Street Fighter 6

Editors' Recommendations

Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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Key art for The Game Awards 2023.

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