Game of the Year Nominees for The 2024 Game Awards Revealed
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The 2024 Game Awards nominees for Game of the Year have been revealed, and while some are obvious picks, a couple of surprises were added into the mix.
2024 Game Awards - Game of the Year Nominees
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
The surprise is the inclusion of a DLC/expansion being considered in the Game of the Year category. Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree launched this year and blew fans and newcomers away from its scale and level design that many can consider it a game in itself.
But this is not a standalone DLC as this requires the base game to play and meet certain requirements to gain access to the DLC’s massive area.
Another surprise is the inclusion of the indie poker rogue-like Balatro, which has been a massive hit since its release early this year. No one predicted that a deckbuilding game with a unique twist in the use of poker hands would result in satisfyingly addicting gameplay.
The no-surprise nominees are Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Metaphor: ReFantazio,as many expected them to make the cut for this year’s prestigious award as these games have been overwhelmingly well-received in both critics and players.
People can now vote on the various categories for the 2024 Game Awards on their official website as there are 29 categories now available for viewing.
Here’s the complete category list and its nominees.
2024 Game Awards Category and Nominees
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Stellar Blade (SHIFT UP / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
Briana White (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
Hannah Telle (Life is Strange: Double Exposure)
Humberly Gonzalez (Star Wars Outlaws)
Luke Roberts (Silent Hill 2)
Melina Juergens (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II)
Innovation in Accessibility
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.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Monptellier / Ubisoft)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
Neva (Nomada Studios / Devolver Digital)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts)
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape (Bungie)
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates / patches.
Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
Animal Well (Shared Memory / BIGMODE)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Debut Indie Game
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
Animal Well (Shared Memory / BIGMODE)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT / Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (DeNA / Creatures / The Pokemon Company)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)
Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
Asgard’s Wrath II (Sanzaru Games / Oculus Studios)
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj / Oculus Studios)
Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42 / The Outsiders / Funcom)
Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Stellar Blade (SHIFT UP / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment)
Best Action / Adventure
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Monptellier / Ubisoft)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team / Konami Digital Entertainment)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)
Best Role-Playing
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
Dragon’s Dogma II (Capcom)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero / ATLUS)
Best Fighting
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works / Cygames)
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Player First Games / Warner Bros. Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Family
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
ASTRO BOT (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo / Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel / Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube / Nintendo)
Best Simulation / Strategy
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge / Forgotten Empires / Xbox Game Studios)
Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse)
Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware / ATLUS)
Best Sports / Racing
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
F1 24 (Codemasters / Electronic Arts)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver / EA Romania / Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts / 2K)
TopSpin 2K25 (Hangar 13 / 2K)
WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts / 2K)
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch / Activision)
Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintend0)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment)
Best Adaptation
Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.
Arcane (Riot / Fortiche / Netflix)
Fallout (Bethesdas Softworks / Kitler Films / Amazon MGM Studios)
Knuckles (SEGA / Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Yakuza (SEGA / Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics / Legendary / Netflix)
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar North / Rockstar Games)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios / Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2024.
CaseOh
Illojuan
Techno Gamers
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora
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)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
VALORANT (Riot Games)
Best eSports Athlete
The eSports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2024, irrespective of game.
33 (Neta Shapira)
Aleksib (Aleksi Virolainen)
Chovy (Jeong Ji-hoon)
Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok)
ZyWoO (Mathieu Herbaut)
ZmjjKk (Zheng Yongkang)
Best eSports Team
Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2024.
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
Navi (Counter-Strike 2)
T1 (League of Legends)
Team Liquid (Dota 2)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has the potential to be a favorite for fans of the franchise, delivering an authentic Indiana Jones experience with its story and cinematic presentation. While the game shines in its exploration and puzzle elements, the combat and stealth mechanics’ lack of gameplay variety holds it back.