‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ And ‘Alan Wake 2’ Lead The Game Awards 2023 With 8 Nominations Each

It’s the time of the year — not Christmas, but the yearly celebration of the best of gaming. In the lead-up to this year’s The Game Awards on 7 December, the nominees for each category have been revealed, with Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 and Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2 leading the pack. (In case you missed it, Geek Culture is part of the voting jury for this year’s awards too!)

Both heavyweights are tied at eight nominations each, ahead of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (seven), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (five) and Super Mario Bros. Wonder (five). All aforementioned titles are also in the running for Game of the Year, alongside Resident Evil 4. Nintendo, to nobody’s surprise, is the most nominated publisher with 15 nods across its combined portfolio, followed by Sony / PlayStation (13), Xbox (10, inclusive of Bethesda and Blizzard), and Epic Games (nine).

Scoring a significant milestone for the Southeast Asia scene is A Space for the Unbound, hailing from the Indonesian studio Toge Productions, best known for the Coffee Talk series. Nominated for the Games for Impact category, it joins Chants of Sennar, Goodbye Volcano High, Tchia, Terra Nil, and Venba.

Alan Wake 2‘s other nods include Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Sound Design, Best Performance (from Melanie Liburd), and Best Action / Adventure Game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 saw a couple of similar nominations as well, such as Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, Best Performance (from Neil Newbon), Best Community Support, Best RPG, and Best Multiplayer.

Elsewhere, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hades II, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Star Wars Outlaws, Tekken 8 fill out the list for Most Anticipated Game.

The full list of categories and nominations for The Game Awards 2023 is as follows.

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Game of the Year

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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) 
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Game Direction

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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE) 
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
• Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) 

Best Art Direction

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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• Lies of P  (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) 
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Score and Music

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

• Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
• Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
• Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Audio Design

Recognising the best in-game audio and sound design.

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
• Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Best Performance

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

• Ben Starr as Clive Rosfield, Final Fantasy XVI 
• Cameron Monaghan as Cal Kestis, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
• Idris Elba as Solomon Reed, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Melanie Liburd as Saga Anderson, Alan Wake 2
• Neil Newbon as Astarion, Baldur’s Gate 3
• Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognising 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.

• Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
• Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Games for Impact

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

• A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)
• Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment) 
• Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)
• Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)
• Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix)
• Venba (Visai Games)

Best Ongoing Game

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

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Community Support

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

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

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

• Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
• Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)
• Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
• Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
• Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Debut Indie Game

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

• Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
• Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
• Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
• Venba (Visai Games)
• Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

• Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)
• Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
• Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
• Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
• Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)

Best VR/AR Game

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

• Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
• Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)
• Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)
• Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
• Synapse (nDreams)

Best Action Game

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

• Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver)
• Ghostrunner 2  (One More Level/505 Games)
• Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)

Best Action/Adventure Game

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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best RPG

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

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
• Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
• Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)

Best Fighting Game

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

• God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)
• Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)
• Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Best Family Game

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

• Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney)
• Party Animals (Recreate Games)
• Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

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

• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo)
• Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive)
• Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega)
• Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
• Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sports/Racing

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

• EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
• F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
• The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)

Best Multiplayer Game

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

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Party Animals (Recreate Games)
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Adaptation

Celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment including TV, movies, comics, and more.

• Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix)
• Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)
• The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures)
• Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)

Most Anticipated Game

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

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Hades II (Supergiant Games)
• Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
• Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
• Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika)

Content Creator of the Year

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

• IronMouse
• PeopleMakeGames
• Quackity
• Spreen
• SypherPK

Best Esports Game

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.

• Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
• Dota 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

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

• Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO)
• Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant)
• Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez  (Call of Duty)
• Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends)
• Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)

Best Esports Team

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

• Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
• Fnatic (Valorant)
• Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
• JD Gaming (League of Legends)
• Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)

Best Esports Coach

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

• Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
• Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike)
• Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch)
• Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike)
• Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)

Best Esports Event

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

• 2023 League of Legends World Championship
• Blast.tv Paris Major 2023 
• EVO 2023
• The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
• VALORANT Champions 2023

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Voting is now open to public on The Game Awards website, with the ceremony taking place on 7 December. Last year’s showcase saw Elden Ring nab Game of the Year, God of War Ragnarok win Best Narrative, Final Fantasy 14 Online take Best Ongoing Game, Stray take Best Indie Game, Marvel Snap take Best Mobile Game, and more.