The Game Award for Game of the Year explained

The Game Award for
Awarded For:Best video game of the year
Presenter:The Game Awards
Country:United States
Holder Label:Most recent winner
Holder:Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)
Most Nominations:Sony Interactive Entertainment (12)

The Game Award for Game of the Year is an award presented annually by the Game Awards. It is given to a video game judged to deliver the best experience across creative and technical fields. The award is traditionally accepted by the game's directors or studio executives. The process begins with over 100 video game publications and websites, which collectively name six games as nominees. After the nominees are selected, the winner is chosen by a combined vote between the jury (90%) and public voting (10%).

Since its inception, the award has been given to ten video games. Publishers Electronic Arts and Sony Interactive Entertainment have won the award twice, the latter being nominated a record twelve times, while FromSoftware is the only developer with more than one win. Bethesda Softworks and Capcom are the most nominated companies without a win at four. The most recent winner is Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Studios.

Process and history

The Game Awards has a voting jury consisting of over 100 video game media and influencer outlets, which have been specifically selected for their work in critically evaluating video games. Each outlet completes an unranked ballot listing its top five choices; games with the most appearances across the ballots are selected as the nominees. The winners are determined between the jury (90%) and public voting (10%). The public vote is held via the official website and social media platforms such as Discord, Facebook, and Twitter; in China, fan voting is held via Bilibili.

Any game released before a certain date in November prior to the ceremony is eligible for award consideration. As a result, any game released after the cutoff date is eligible in the following year's ceremony, such as 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate nominations at the Game Awards 2019; similarly, games released between the ballot due date in early November and the cutoff date in mid-to-late November are often overlooked, such as in both 2019 and 2020 and Demon's Souls and in 2020. Early access games available before the cutoff date are eligible, as are live service games regardless of their release year: 2018's Among Us received several nominations in 2020.

The Game Award for Game of the Year is given to a video game judged to deliver the best experience across creative and technical fields. It is presented as the final award of the ceremony and is widely considered its most prestigious honor. Since 2017, the announcement of the winner has been preceded by a medley performance of the scores of each nominee by the Game Awards Orchestra, conducted by Lorne Balfe. The category was expanded from five to six nominees in 2018.

The award is traditionally accepted by the director of the winning game or an executive from the studio; the first award in 2014 was accepted by executive producer Mark Darrah and BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn. The Game Awards host and producer Geoff Keighley presented the award for the first four ceremonies. Other presenters include directors of past winners—such as 2016 winner Overwatchs lead director Jeff Kaplan in 2018, 2020 winner The Last of Us Part IIs creative director Neil Druckmann in 2021, and 2021 winner It Takes Twos director Josef Fares in 2022—and celebrity guests like Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in 2019, Christopher Nolan in 2020, and Timothée Chalamet in 2023.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in and boldface, and indicated with a double dagger .

Event! scope="col"
GameDeveloperPublisher
2014 BioWareElectronic Arts[1]
[2]
Bayonetta 2PlatinumGamesNintendo
Dark Souls IIFromSoftwareBandai Namco Games
HearthstoneBlizzard Entertainment
Monolith ProductionsWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2015 CD Projekt RedCD Projekt[3]
[4]
BloodborneFromSoftwareSony Computer Entertainment
Fallout 4Bethesda Game StudiosBethesda Softworks
Kojima ProductionsKonami
Super Mario MakerNintendo EADNintendo
2016Overwatch Blizzard Entertainment[5]
[6]
Doomid SoftwareBethesda Softworks
InsidePlaydead
Titanfall 2Respawn EntertainmentElectronic Arts
Naughty DogSony Computer Entertainment
2017 Nintendo EPDNintendo[7]
[8]
Horizon Zero DawnGuerrilla GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Persona 5P-StudioAtlus
PlayerUnknown's BattlegroundsPUBG Corporation
Super Mario OdysseyNintendo EPDNintendo
2018God of War Santa Monica StudioSony Interactive Entertainment[9]
[10]
Assassin's Creed OdysseyUbisoft QuebecUbisoft
CelesteMaddy Makes Games
Marvel's Spider-ManInsomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Capcom
Red Dead Redemption 2Rockstar Games
2019 FromSoftwareActivision[11]
[12]
ControlRemedy Entertainment505 Games
Death StrandingKojima ProductionsSony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil 2Capcom
Super Smash Bros. UltimateBandai Namco StudiosNintendo
Sora Ltd.
The Outer WorldsObsidian EntertainmentPrivate Division
2020The Last of Us Part II Naughty DogSony Interactive Entertainment[13]
[14]
Nintendo EPDNintendo
Doom Eternalid SoftwareBethesda Softworks
Final Fantasy VII RemakeSquare Enix Business Division 1Square Enix
Ghost of TsushimaSucker Punch ProductionsSony Interactive Entertainment
HadesSupergiant Games
2021It Takes Two Hazelight StudiosElectronic Arts[15]
[16]
DeathloopArkane StudiosBethesda Softworks
Metroid DreadMercurySteamNintendo
Psychonauts 2Double FineXbox Game Studios
Insomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil VillageCapcom
2022Elden Ring FromSoftwareBandai Namco Entertainment[17]
[18]
Asobo StudioFocus Entertainment
God of War RagnarökSanta Monica StudioSony Interactive Entertainment
Horizon Forbidden WestGuerrilla Games
StrayBlueTwelve StudioAnnapurna Interactive
Xenoblade Chronicles 3Monolith SoftNintendo
2023Baldur's Gate 3 Larian Studios[19]
[20]
Alan Wake 2 Remedy EntertainmentEpic Games Publishing
Nintendo EPDNintendo
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Insomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil 4Capcom
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo EPD Nintendo

Multiple nominations and awards

Developers

DeveloperNominationsWins
Nintendo EPD61
FromSoftware42
Capcom0
Insomniac Games3
Blizzard Entertainment21
Naughty Dog
Santa Monica Studio
Guerrilla Games0
id Software
Kojima Productions
Remedy Entertainment

Publishers

PublisherNominationsWins
Sony Interactive Entertainment122
Nintendo101
Bethesda Softworks40
Capcom
Electronic Arts32
Blizzard Entertainment21
Bandai Namco Entertainment

Franchises

FranchiseNominationsWins
Resident Evil30
Super Mario
God of War21
The Legend of Zelda
Doom0
Horizon
Marvel's Spider-Man

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2014 . Sarkar . Samit . . . November 21, 2014 . November 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151107195502/http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/21/7259309/game-awards-2014-nominees . November 7, 2015 . live .
  2. Web site: Here are the winners of The Game Awards 2014 . Sarkar . Samit . . . December 5, 2014 . December 5, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160318021617/http://www.polygon.com/2014/12/5/7343105/the-game-awards-2014-winners . March 18, 2016 . live .
  3. Web site: Sarkar . Samit . November 13, 2015 . Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2015 . . November 13, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160111010729/http://www.polygon.com/2015/11/13/9728874/the-game-awards-2015-nominees . January 11, 2016 . live .
  4. Web site: Sarkar . Samit . December 3, 2015 . Here are the winners of The Game Awards 2015 . . December 3, 2015 . https://archive.today/20151204023025/http://www.polygon.com/2015/12/3/9846760/the-game-awards-2015-winners . December 4, 2015 . live .
  5. Web site: Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2016 . Sarkar . Samit . . . November 16, 2016 . November 16, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161116201915/http://www.polygon.com/2016/11/16/13652228/the-game-awards-2016-nominees . November 16, 2016 . live .
  6. Web site: The Game Awards: Here's the full winners list . Stark . Chelsea . . . December 1, 2016 . December 1, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161202121204/http://www.polygon.com/2016/12/1/13784410/the-game-awards-winners . December 2, 2016 . live .
  7. Web site: 'Horizon Zero Dawn,' 'Zelda,' 'Mario' Top List of Game Award Nominees . Blake . Hester . . . November 14, 2017 . November 14, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171114185939/http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/horizon-zelda-mario-tie-for-most-game-award-noms-w511742 . November 14, 2017 . live .
  8. Web site: All The 2017 Game Awards Winners Revealed . Makuch . Eddie . . . December 7, 2017 . November 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171208045006/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-the-2017-game-awards-winners-revealed/1100-6455467/ . December 8, 2017 . live .
  9. Web site: 'God of War,' 'Red Dead Redemption II' Tie For Most Game Awards Noms . Crecente . Brian . . . November 13, 2018 . November 13, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181113195202/https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/game-awards-nominees-1203027128/ . November 13, 2018 . live .
  10. Web site: The Game Awards 2018: All The Winners . Crowd . Dan . . . December 6, 2018 . December 6, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181207093029/https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/07/the-game-awards-2018-all-the-winners . December 7, 2018 . live .
  11. Web site: The Game Awards Reveals Full List of Nominees . Shanley . Patrick . . . November 19, 2019 . November 19, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191119233041/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/2019-game-awards-full-list-nominees-1255770 . November 19, 2019 . live .
  12. Web site: All the winners from The Game Awards 2019 . Goslin . Austen . . . December 13, 2019 . December 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191213183848/https://www.polygon.com/game-awards-tga/2019/12/13/21020351/game-awards-2019-winners-nominees-tga . December 13, 2019 . live .
  13. News: Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2020 . Park . Gene . . November 18, 2020 . November 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201118172326/https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/11/18/game-awards-2020-nominees/ . November 18, 2020 . live .
  14. Web site: The Game Awards Winners And Game Of The Year . Watts . Steve . . . December 12, 2020 . November 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201210234243/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-all-the-winners-from-2020s-event/1100-6485360/ . December 10, 2020 . live .
  15. Web site: The Game Awards Nominations Announced . Ankers-Range . Adele . . . November 17, 2021 . November 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211116182118/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-game-awards-2021-nominations-announced . November 16, 2021 . live .
  16. Web site: The Game Awards 2021 Winners: The Full List . Bankhurst . Adam . . . December 10, 2021 . November 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211210023936/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-game-awards-2021-winners-revealed . December 10, 2021 . live .
  17. Web site: The Game Awards 2022 Nominations Sees God of War: Ragnarok Leading With 10 Awards Nods . Dinsdale . Ryan . . . November 14, 2022 . November 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221114175454/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-game-awards-2022-nominations-elden-ring-god-of-war-ragnarok . November 14, 2022 . live .
  18. Web site: The Game Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List . Plant . Logan . . . December 8, 2022 . December 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209041855/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-game-awards-2022-winners . December 9, 2022 . live .
  19. Web site: The Game Awards 2023 Nominations: Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3 Lead the Pack With Eight Noms Each (Full List) . Spangler . Todd . . . November 13, 2023 . November 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113173426/https://variety.com/2023/gaming/news/game-awards-2023-nominations-alan-wake-baldurs-gate-full-list-1235787390/ . November 13, 2023 . live .
  20. Web site: Baldur's Gate 3 wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards . Carpenter . Nicole . . . December 7, 2023 . December 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208042824/https://www.polygon.com/game-awards-tga/23959124/game-awards-tga-2023-goty-game-of-the-year-nominees-list-totk-bg3-mario-spider-man . December 8, 2023 . live .

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