The Game Awards 2021 nominees announced
Led by Deathloop, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, It Takes Two, and Psychonauts 2.
The Game Awards has announced its nominees for 2021, as selected by a global jury of more than 100 media publications and influencer outlets.
This year’s nominees are led by DEATHLOOP, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, It Takes Two and Psychonauts 2.
The newly combined Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks is the most nominated publisher with 20 nominations across its combined portfolio, followed by Sony Interactive Entertainment with 11 nominations, and Square Enix and Electronic Arts with 10 nominations each.
Users can vote now in all categories at The Game Awards website.
The Game Awards 2021 will air live on December 9 across more than 40 global video platforms.
Get the full list of nominees below.
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
- Metroid Dread (MercurySteam / Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive)
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron, Josh Abrahams, composers)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, composers)
- DEATHLOOP (Tom Salta, composer)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, composer)
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… (Keiichi Okabe, composer)
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
- Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn (DEATHLOOP)
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake (DEATHLOOP)
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Chicory (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine Games / Sqiare Enix)
- No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best Ongoing
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
Best Indie
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio / Annapurna Interactive)
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters / Devolver Digital)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- FANTASIAN (Mistwalker)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
- League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
- MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
- Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios / The Pokemon Company)
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates / patches.
- Apex Legends (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing software and / or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- HITMAN III (IO Interactive)
- I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio / Capcom/ Oculus Studios)
- Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink / Just Add Water / Rebellion Developments)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock / WB Games)
- Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios / Tripwire Interactive)
- DEATHLOOP (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Action / Adventure
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam / Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions / Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Role-Playing
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
- Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus / Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Fighting
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2 / Sega)
- Guilty Gear: Strive (Arc System Works)
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread / DELiGHTWORKS)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity / Fair Play Labs / GameMill)
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Best Family
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
- Mario Party Superstars (NDcube / Nintendo)
- New Pokemon Snap (Bandai Namco Studios / The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
- WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
Best Simulation / Strategy
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
- Humankind (Amplitude Studios / Sega)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- F1 2021 (Codemasters / EA Sports)
- FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
- Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy / Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock / WB Games)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight / Electronic Arts)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- New World (Amazon Games)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio / Coffee Stain Publishing)
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
Best Debut Indie
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller / Dear Villagers)
- Valheim (Iron Gate / Coffee Stain Publishing)
Most Anticipated
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarok (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Best eSports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Call of Duty (Activision)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best eSports Athlete
The eSports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Best eSports Team
Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (Dota 2)
Best eSports Coach
The eSports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best eSports Event
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters