Death Stranding leads the way in GDC Awards nominations

Control and Outer Wilds have the second most

Just like The Game Awards a month ago, Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding will have the most chances to stack precious cargo on its back at the GDC Awards in March. At The Game Awards, it took home three of the nine awards it was nominated for. Will it fare better at a show voted on by industry creators?

Yesterday, we learned about the Independent Games Festival finalists, the first half of the awards show that eventually leads into the GDC Awards. Now we have the nominees for the hardware that will go to the biggest names in games. Death Stranding has seven nominations, including Game of the Year, Best Design, and Best Narrative. There are only 10 categories and Death Stranding is present in 70 percent of them. It's only omitted from Best Debut, Best Mobile Game, and Best VR/AR Game -- three categories it's unqualified to run for.

Trailing Kojima's newest are Control and The Outer Wilds, each represented in five categories. All three help make up Game of the Year, which is comprised of: Control, Death Stranding, The Outer Wilds, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Untitled Goose Game.

Here are all the categories and nominees for the 2020 GDC Awards:

Best Audio:

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Honorable Mentions: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring the Legend of Zelda (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Ape Out (Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy, Matt Boch/Devolver Digital), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Debut:

• ZA/UM (Disco Elysium)
• Mobius Digital (Outer Wilds)
• William Chyr Studios (Manifold Garden)
• Foam Sword Games (Knights and Bikes)
• Chance Agency (Neo Cab)

Best Design:

• Baba Is You (Hempuli)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision Publishing, FromSoftware)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)

Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)

Innovation Award:

• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
• Baba Is You (Hempuli)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Hypnospace Outlaw (Tendershoot, ThatWhichIs Media/No More Robots), Kind Words (Popcannibal), Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Wattam (Funomena/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Mobile Game:

• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• What the Golf? (Triband Productions/The Label Limited)
• Grindstone (Capybara Games)
• Sky: Children of the Light (thatgamecompany)
• Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)

Honorable Mentions: Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Assemble with Care (ustwo), Pilgrims (Amanita Design), Archero (Habby), Card of Darkness (Choice Provisions), Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)

Best Narrative:

• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo Games/Nintendo), A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo Studio/Focus Home Interactive), Heaven's Vault (inkle), Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Telling Lies (Drowning a Mermaid Productions, Furious Bee/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Technology:

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
• Noita (Nolla Games)

Honorable Mentions: Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios), Resident Evil 2 (Capcom), Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studios), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Visual Art:

• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Honorable Mentions: Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive), Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic), The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo), Void Bastards (Blue Manchu/Humble Bundle)

Best VR/AR Game:

• Vader Immortal (ILMxLAB/Disney)
• Blood & Truth (SCEE Studio London/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Asgard's Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
• Boneworks (Stress Level Zero)
• Pistol Whip (Cloudhead Games)

Honorable Mentions: Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games), Falcon Age (Outerloop Games), Ghost Giant (Zoink), Vacation Simulator (Owlchemy Labs), Stormland (Insomniac Games/Oculus Studios)

Game of the Year:

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)