43 nominees in 12 categories make up this year’s lineup, including games like Hades, Dreams, Ghost of Tsushima, Half-Life: Alyx, Cloudpunk and many more. You can vote on your winner choices right now on the SXSW website – winners will be chosen based on votes from the public, as well as the votes of the SXSW team and advisers.
You can check the complete list of nominees below.
Video game of the year
Awarded for the game that exemplifies general excellence and creates a distinctive gaming experience across all platforms and genres.
- DOOM Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Hades – supergiant games
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Indie Game of the Year
Awarded to the indie game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinctive gaming experience across all platforms and genres.
- Bugsnax – Young Horses
- Cloudpunk – Ion Lands
- Crown Trick – NExT Studios / Team 17
- Deep Rock Galactic – Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Huntdown – Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Ikenfell – Happy Ray Games / Humble Games
- Monster Sanctuary – Moi Rai Games / Team 17
- Raji: An Ancient Epic – Nodding Heads Games / Super.com
- Rain hazard 2 – Hopoo games / gearbox publication
- The Last Campfire – Hello Games
Table game of the year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies the general excellence and ingenuity of any table game in any genre.
- Calico – Flatout Games
- Fort – Leder Games
- Oceans – North Star Games
- The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine – KOSMOS
- The Search for Planet X – Renegade Game Studios / Foxtrot Games
VR game of the year
Awarded to the VR game that exemplifies the overall excellence in gameplay and design on any VR platform.
- Down the Rabbit Hole – Cortopia Studios / Beyond Frames Entertainment
- Half-life: Alyx – Valve
- Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond – Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Skydance Interactive
Matthew Crump Award for Cultural Innovation
Awarded to the game that best defies the “norm” of the daily game and offers a culturally innovative vision of a game world, character or gameplay.
- Astro Games Room – ASOBI Team! / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams – Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- If Found… – Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive
- Tell me why – DONTNOD Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Excellence in animation, art and visual realization
Awarded for the game with the best designed and impressive visuals, including animation effects and graphics.
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft
- Cloudpunk – Ion Lands
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – SQUARE ENIX
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Excellence in game design
Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept, game mechanics and best execution.
- Crash Bandicoot 4: it’s time – toys for Bob / Activision
- Desperados III – Mimimi Games / THQ Nordic
- Hades – supergiant games
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- Watch Dogs: Legion – Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft
Punctuation excellence
Awarded to the game that best exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score and how it progresses in the game’s narrative.
- Cyberpunk 2077 – CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt
- DOOM Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – SQUARE ENIX
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
- Mana Tests – Xeen / SQUARE ENIX
Multiplayer Excellence
Awarded the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.
- Deep Rock Galactic – Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Huntdown – Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
- Risk of Rain 2 – Hopoo Games, Gearbox Publishing
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- VALORANT – Riot Games
Excellence in Narrative
Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Hades – supergiant games
- Immortals Fenyx Rising – Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft
- Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- The Last of Us Part II – Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Excellence in Audio Design
Awarded to the game with the most striking and impacting sound effects.
- Bugsnax – Young Horses
- DOOM Eternal – id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Observer: System Redux – Bloober Team
- Star Wars: Squadrons – Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 – Vicarious Visions / Activision
Excellence in technical achievement
Awarded for the game that pushed technology and programming resources further or more effectively.
- Astro Games Room – ASOBI Team! / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams – Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Impact Genshin – miHoYo
- Ghost of Tsushima – Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Microsoft Flight Simulator – Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios
Joe Skrebels is the Executive News Editor at IGN. Follow him on Twitter. Do you have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to [email protected].