The Game Awards 2018 website has opened (though it is down at the moment) and the nominees for this year have been announced in a variety of categories. What you probably want to know is which games have been nominated for the prestigious Game of the Year 2018 award. Well, here’s the games you can vote for once the site is back up!
- Celeste
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- God of War
- Spider-Man
- Monster Hunter World
- Red Dead Redemption 2
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Best Game Direction
Awarded to a game studio for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)
Best Score / Music: Presented by Spotify
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games) – Lena Raine
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment) – Bear McCreary
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment) – John Paesano
- Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level-5 / Bandai Namco Entertainment) – Joe Hisaishi
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo) – Yasunori Nishiki
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games) – Woody Jackson
Best Audio Design: Presented by Dolby
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Bryan Dechart as Connor in Detroit: Become Human
- Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War
- Melissanthi Mahut as Kassandra in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2
- Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man
Games for Impact
For a thought provoking game with a profound pro-social meaning or message.
- 11-11: Memories Retold (Digixart / Aardman Animations / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories (White Owls / Arc System Works)
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a dedicated mobile device.
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Lightspeed & Quantum / Tencent Games)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Best VR / AR Game
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Firewall: Zero Hour (First Contact Entertianment / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- Tetris Effect (Resonair / Enhance Games)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Mega Man 11 (Capcom)
Best Action / Adventure Game
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal / Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix)
Best Role-Playing Game
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Orca / Square Enix)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level-5 / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Obsidian Entertainment / Versus Evil)
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Arc SYstem Works)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Soulcalibur VI (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Street Fighter V Arcade (Dimps / Capcom)
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Overcooked! 2 (Ghost Town Games / Team17)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Party (NDCube / Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
Best game focused on real time or turn-based strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- The Banner Saga 3 (Stoic Studio / Versus Evil)
- Battletech (Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive)
- Frostpunk (11 bit studios)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Sega CS3 / Sega)
Best Sports / Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- FIFA 19 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- NBA 2K19 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions / Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Treyarch / Activision)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bugnie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios)
Best Student Game
Awarded the best student project created at the high school or college level.
- Combat 2018 (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences – Norway)
- Dash Quasar (UC Santa Cruz)
- JERA (Digipen Bilbao, Spain)
- LIFF (ISTART Digital, France)
- RE: Charge (MIT)
Best Debut Game
Recognizing a new independent studio that released its first game in 2017. Winner selected by fan voting.
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
- Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla)
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: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
Best eSports Player: Presented by Omen by HP
The eSports player judged to be the most outstanding performer in 2018, irrespective of game.
- Dominique “SonicFox” McLean (Echo Fox)
- Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi
- Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao (Royal Never Give Up)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere)
- Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang (New York Excelsior)
Best eSports Team
The eSports team judged to be the most outstanding for performance in 2017, inclusive of multi-team organizations.
- Astralis (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Cloud9 (League of Legends)
- Fnatic (League of Legends)
- London Spitfire (Overwatch League)
- OG (DOTA 2)
Beste eSports Coach
- Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu (Cloud9)
- Cristian “ppasarel” Bănăseanu (OG)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Astralis)
- Dylan Falco (Fnatic)
- Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi (Team Vitality)
- Janko “YNk” Paunovic (MiBR)
Best eSports Event
- ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
- EVO 2018
- League of Legends World Championship
- Overwatch League Grand Finals
- The International 2018
Best eSports Host
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Anders Blume
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Paul “RedEye” Chaloner
Best eSports Moment
- C9 Comeback Win In Triple OT vs FAZE at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
- G2 Beating RNG at the League of Legends World Championship
- KT vs. IG Base Race at the League of Legends World Championship
- OG’s Massive Upset of LGD at the DOTA 2 Finals
- SonicFox Side Switch Against Go1 in Dragon Ball FighterZ at EVO 2018
Content Creator of the Year
- Dr. Lupo
- Myth
- Ninja
- Pokimane
- Willyrex
Favorite Moment of 2017
Ready for 2018’s show? Help us decide the top moment from 2017, pick your favorite below!
- Carol Shaw (Industry Icon)
- The Game Awards Orchestra (Performance)
- Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro (Moment)
- Josef Fares (A Way Out)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Game of the Year Award)
So awesome to see Celeste up there. While I don’t think it stands a chance against the other games on the list I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
We all know its going to be Overrated Redemption 2.
Celeste will crush RDR2
Not gonna happen. Not in this timeline.
just because people are praising it doesn’t mean it is overrated… the reason they are praising it is because it is actually this good!
I stopped playing wild wild west at age 8.
Dear Nintendo: please don’t allow Smash Ultimate to be a nominee at next year’s awards show to prove a point that awards shows shouldn’t be held at the beginning of the last month of the year, but the beginning of the new year. A 2018 game winning game of the year 2019 (Or any category, for that matter) is going to be incredibly awkward, and hopefully, they’ll start doing it… in the new year. Seriously, holding an awards show the day before what’s obviously would be Switch game of the year is just premature.
Let me guess.
Is about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 right?
Huh? Never played it.
You do know tht the Game Awards allow games that release after November 15th, to be able to participate in next years Award nomination right?
I mean why ignore the last 1.5 months of a year? Why should any game be ignored if released in that last bit of the year?
Okay, but why not just have it in January so games that actually released this year can be awarded for this year rather than games from last year winning this year’s awards? “Game of the year actually came out last year” is just awkward to see.
And yes, any yearly awards ceremony that does this bothers me.
Mønster Hunter really really deserves that spot. I know it won’t win, but it’s my GOTY if not anything else
Spider-man got nominated for game of the year? What is this, opposite day? I’ll just give my vote to Mega man 11 and move on.
Best moment 2018 from last show: Breath of the Wild
Best moment 2019 from last show: Metroid Prime 4 reveal.
LET’S. FUCKING. GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
The game awards are a joke! I don’t understand why people even care about the nominees or winners. You could read any favourites list from any game forum/blog and it would be just as irrelevant.
Its mostly a good major advertisement program for everyone. More sales, more money.
Maybe, but trust me compared to the 1st televised video game award show in 2003 this is way much better.
Wait, Super Mario Party ISN’T nominated for Best Multiplayer? That’s like it’s strongest aspect! I’m glad to see Overcooked! 2 is a contender in something here, but man, Nintendo has really been snubbed this year.
Was also surprised by that. I wasn’t as crazy about SMP as I had hoped, but it still at least deserves a spot up there. Ah well!
God of War will probably win.
I sure hope Octopath wins best soundtrack (maybe even best artstyle).
I haven’t played any of those games.
It’s been a pretty dry year for gaming.
*dry year for my gaming
LOL! What is up with Nintendo only dominating the “Family” list? Like Labo or Aces have a chance tho XD
There was no blockbuster title so far this year. That and many of the games where multiplayer party games such as mario tennis, Kirby, Mario Party. Smash is too late to be counted in for the awards.
I want the Jet lag guy that said, “Fuck the Oscars” back so i will be voting for, A Way Out. That was funniest shit
When did Hollow Knight come out? Game deserves an award for game of the decade. :D
last year
I guess Smash will be on there next year
Octopath should sweep all three
Dragon Age 11 might take RPG though
I like that next to no Ninty games are there lol
Will Smash be eligible for any awards next year? Or will that ship be sailed?