The complete list of nominees for each of the thirty categories in this year’s The Game Awards has been revealed, and the main category – Game of the Year – features an interesting list of games. Deathloop, It Takes Two, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Resident Evil Village have been nominated for the biggest honour of the year this year.
Of course, there can only be a total of six nominees in the category each year, but many have brought up several notable omissions. The most notable, of course, is Forza Horizon 5, which, being the highest rated game of the year, seems like particularly significant one. Others that were rated highly by critics and audiences alike that didn’t get the nod include the likes of Returnal, Hitman 3, and Monster Hunter Rise. Interestingly, Cyberpunk 2077, which launched after the cutoff for last year’s event and is eligible this year, has been nominated in the Best Role Playing Game category.
Meanwhile, Deathloop has emerged as the most nominated game of the year, receiving a total of nine nominations. It is followed by Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, which has six nominations, and Psychonauts 2 and It Takes Two, which have five nominations each. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Resident Evil Village both have four nominations each, while number of games follow behind with three nominations each, namely Forza Horizon 3, Returnal, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, The Artful Escape, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Far Cry 6. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Rise, and Back 4 Blood each have two nominations apiece.
In the Most Anticipated Game category, Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Starfield have been nominated.
You can check out the full list of categories and nominees below.
The Game Awards 2021 show is set for December 9. In addition to the awards, there will, of course, also be several new announcements and updates at the event, with the show’s creator and producer Geoff Keighley confirming that about 40-50 games will be featured.
THE GAME AWARDS 2021 CATEGORIES AND NOMINEES
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST GAME DIRECTION
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
BEST NARRATIVE
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
BEST ART DIRECTION
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- The Artful Escape
BEST SCORE AND MUSIC
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Composers: Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk)
- Deathloop (Composer: Tom Salta)
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Composer: Keiichi Okabe)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Composer: Richard Jacques)
- The Artful Escape (Composers: Johnny Galvatron and Josh Abrahams)
BEST AUDIO DESIGN
- Deathloop
- Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
- Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn (Deathloop)
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake (Deathloop)
GAMES FOR IMPACT
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
BEST ONGOING GAME
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Final Fantasy 14 Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
BEST INDIE GAME
- 12 Minutes
- Death’s Door
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
BEST MOBILE GAME
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel’s Future Revolution
- Pokemon Unite
BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy 14 Online
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY
- Far Cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
BEST VR/AR GAME
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You To Die 2
- Lone Echo 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
BEST ACTION GAME
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry 2
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
- Returnal
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei 5
- Tales of Arise
BEST FIGHTING GAME
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
- Guilty Gear Strive
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
BEST FAMILY GAME
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokemon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
BEST SIM/STRATEGY GAME
- Age of Empires 4
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
- Back 4 Blood
- It Takes Two
- Knockout City
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Valheim
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
- Elden Ring
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Starfield
BEST ESPORTS GAME
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- DOTA 2
- League of Legends
- Valorant
BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
BEST ESPORTS TEAM
- Atlanta FaZe
- DWG KIA
- Natus Vincere
- Sentinels
- Team Spirit
BEST ESPORTS COACH
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
BEST ESPORTS EVENT
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters