Who got robbed?
Before all the video games duke it out at The Game Awards on December 10, we’re afforded the opportunity to defend their honor online. Geoff Keighley has revealed all the categories and nominees for The Game Awards 2020, and that means arguments aplenty.
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II is the biggest winner of the preliminary stages, as it managed to garner 11 nominations. That’s, like, a lot. Hades and Ghost of Tsushima were the other leaders, nabbing nine and seven nominations, respectively.
What sticks out like a sore thumb here? I could’ve done with 100 percent more Half-Life: Alyx in the Game of the Year category. It also seems like Animal Crossing should be represented more than three times, but maybe it just wasn’t a good fit for a lot of categories. Still, it feels like Animal Crossing was the one game that dominated our collective consciousness more than anything else this year.
Whatever happens, I’m actually kind of excited about The Game Awards 2020. In a year where nothing has been routine, sitting down for far too many hours to watch this dumb spectacle will feel normal. Besides, we’ll get a live-running comment thread out of it where you’ll drop about 15 million savage dunks. It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year.
Here are all the categories and nominees for The Game Awards 2020:
Game of the Year:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Doom Eternal
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Game Direction:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Narrative:
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Art Direction:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Score and Music:
- Doom Eternal (Mick Gordon)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Nobuo Uematsu, Masahi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki)
- Hades (Darren Korb)
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Gareth Coker)
- The Last of Us Part II (Gustavo Santaolala, Mac Quale)
Best Audio Design:
- Doom Eternal
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Resident Evil 3
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Performance:
- Ashley Johnson as Ellie, The Last of Us Part II
- Laura Bailey as Abby, The Last of Us Part II
- Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
- Logan Cunningham as Hades, Hades
- Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Games for Impact:
- If Found…
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
- Spiritfarer
- Tell Me Why
- Through the Darkest of Times
Best Ongoing:
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Best Indie:
- Carrion
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Hades
- Spelunky 2
- Spiritfarer
Best Mobile:
- Among Us
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Genshin Impact
- Legends of Runeterra
- Pokemon Cafe Mix
Best Community Support:
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
- Valorant
Innovation in Accessibility:
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Grounded
- HyperDot
- The Last of Us Part II
- Watch Dogs: Legion
Best VR/AR:
- Dreams
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Marvel’s Iron Man VR
- Star Wars: Squadrons
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Best Action:
- Doom Eternal
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Nioh 2
- Streets of Rage 4
Best Action/Adventure:
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- The Last of Us Part II
Best Role-Playing:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Genshin Impact
- Persona 5 Royal
- Wasteland 3
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Best Fighting:
- Granblue Fantasy: Versus
- Mortal Kombat 11/Ultimate
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
- Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r]
Best Family:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
- Minecraft Dungeons
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
Best Sim/Strategy:
- Crusader Kings III
- Desperados III
- Gears Tactics
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- XCOM: Chimera Squad
Best Sports/Racing
- Dirt 5
- F1 2020
- FIFA 21
- NBA 2K21
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
Best Multiplayer:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Among Us
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Valorant
Debut Game:
- Carrion
- Mortal Shell
- Raji: An Ancient Epic
- Roki
- Phasmophobia
Content Creator of the Year:
- Alanah Pearce
- NickMercs
- TimtheTatman
- Jay Ann Lope
- Valkyrae
Best Esports Game:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Fortnite
- League of Legends
- Valorant
Best Esports Athlete:
- Ian “Crimsix” Porter, Call of Duty
- Heo “Showmaker” Su, League of Legends
- Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, League of Legends
- Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, Call of Duty
- Matthieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, CS:GO
Best Esports Team:
- DAMWON Gaming, League of Legends
- Dallas Empire, Call of Duty
- San Francisco Shock, Overwatch
- G2 Esports, League of Legends
- Team Secret, DOTA2
Best Esports Event:
- BLAST Premier: Spring E2020 European Finals (CS:GO)
- Call of Duty League Championship 2020
- IEM Katowice 2020 (CS:GO)
- League of Legends World Championship 2020
- Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020
Best Esports Host:
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- James “Dash” Patterson
- Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden
