Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

Game of the Year

Deathloop

It Takes Two

Metroid Dread

Psychonauts 2

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Resident Evil Village

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

Best Game Direction

Returnal

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

Best Narrative

Life is Strange: True Colors

MARVEL’s Guardians of the Galaxy

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

Best Art Direction

The Artful Escape

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

Best Score and Music

Cyberpunk 2077

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

Best Audio Design

Forza Horizon 5

Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.

Best Performance

Erika Mori as Alex Chen

Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo

Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn

Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu

Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.

Games for Impact

Before Your Eyes

Boyfriend Dungeon

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

No Longer Home

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

Best Ongoing

Apex Legends

FINAL FANTASY XIV Online

Fortnite

Genshin Impact

Call of Duty: Warzone

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

Best Indie

12 Minutes

Death’s Door

Inscryption

Loop Hero

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

Best Mobile Game

Fantasian

League of Legends: Wild Rift

MARVEL Future Revolution

Pokémon Unite

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.

Best Community Support

Destiny 2

No Man’s Sky

Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

Innovation in Accessibility

Far Cry 6

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

Best VR / AR

Hitman 3

I Expect You To Die 2

Lone Echo II

Resident Evil 4

Sniper Elite VR

For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

Best Action Game

Back 4 Blood

Chivalry II

For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

Best Action / Adventure

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

Best Role Playing

Monster Hunter Rise

Scarlet Nexus

Shin Megami Tensei V

Tales of Arise

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

Best Fighting

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles

Guilty Gear -Strive-

Melty Blood: Type Lumina

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

Best Family

Mario Party Superstars

New Pokémon Snap

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

WarioWare: Get It Together!

Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

Best Sim / Strategy

Age of Empires IV

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

Humankind

Microsoft Flight Simulator

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

Best Sports / Racing

F1 2021

FIFA 22

Hot Wheels Unleashed

Riders Republic

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

Best Multiplayer

Knockout City

New World

Valheim

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.

Content Creator of the Year

Dream

Fuslie

Gaules

Ibai

Grefg

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

Best Debut Indie

The Forgotten City

Sable

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

Most Anticipated Game

Elden Ring

God of War Ragnarök

Horizon Forbidden West

The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Starfield

For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.

Best Esports Game

Call of Duty

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

DOTA 2

League of Legends

Valorant

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.

Best Esports Athlete

Chris “Simp” Lehr

Heo “ShowMaker” Su

Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

Best Esports Team

Atlanta FaZe

DWG KIA

Natus Vincere

Sentinels

Team Spirit

The esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

Best Esports Coach

Airat “Silent” Gaziev

Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov

Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi

James “Crowder” Crowder

Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.

2021

NOMINEES

2021 Nominees