The Game Awards 2022 nominees announced
Sony Interactive Entertainment games lead nominations.
The Game Awards has announced its nominees for 2022, as selected by a global jury of more than 100 media publications and influencer outlets.
This year’s nominees are led by Sony Interactive Entertainment, who is the most nominated publisher with 20 nominations across its portfolio of games, followed by Annapurna Interactive and Nintendo with 11 nominations each, Bandai Namco Entertainment with eight, and Riot Games with six nominations.
Users can vote now in all categories via authenticated online voting on official website, as well via the official The Game Awards Voting Bot on Discord. Voting will end on December 7 at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET.
The Game Awards 2022 will air live on December 8 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.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft / Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- IMMORTALITY (Half Mermaid)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- IMMORTALITY (Half Mermaid)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Scorn (Ebb Software / Kepler Interactive)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Olivier Deriviere, Composer)
- Elden Ring (Tsukasa Saitoh, Composer)
- God of War Ragnarok (Bear McCreary, Composer)
- Metal: Hellsinger (Two Feathers, Composer)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Yasunori Mitsuda, Composer)
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward / Activision)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Ashly Burch (Horizon Forbidden West)
- Charlotte McBurney (A Plague Tale: Requiem)
- Christopher Judge (God of War Ragnarok)
- Manon Gage (IMMORTALITY)
- Sunny Suljic (God of War Ragnarok)
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- As Dusk Falls (Interior/Night / Xbox Game Studios)
- Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age / Fellow Traveller)
- Endling: Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios / HandyGames)
- Hindsight (Team Hindsight / Annapurna Interactive)
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games / Finji)
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Best Indie
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- Apex Legends Mobile (LightSpeed Studios / Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
- Diablo Immortal (Blizzard / NetEase Games)
- Genshin Impact (HoYovese)
- MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios / Nuverse)
- Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio / Perfect World / Level Infinite)
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 Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Creative Business Unit III / 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.
- As Dusk Falls (Interior/Night / Xbox Game Studios)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox / Devolver Digital)
- The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Quarry (Supermassive Games / 2K)
Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
- Among Us VR (Schell Games / InnerSloth)
- BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)
- Moss: Book II (Polyarc)
- Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games / Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward / Activision)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games / Dotemu)
Best Action / Adventure
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)
Best Role-Playing
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- LIVE A LIVE (historia / Square Enix)
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak / Nintendo / The Pokemon Company)
- Triangle Strategy (Artdink / Square Enix)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft / Nintendo)
Best Fighting
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- DNF Duel (Arc System Works / Eighting / Neople / Nexon)
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- The King of Fighters XV (SNK)
- MultiVersus (Player First Games / Warner Bros. Games)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
Best Family
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller’s Tales / WB Games)
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan / Paris / Ubisoft)
- Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Simulation / Strategy
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games / Funcom)
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan / Ubisoft Paris / Ubisoft)
- Total War: Warhammer III (Creative Assembly / SEGA)
- Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios / SEGAA)
- Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive)
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- F1 22 (Codemasters / EA Sports)
- FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver / Romania / EA Sports)
- NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- OlliOlli World (Roll7 / Private Division)
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward / Activision)
- MultiVersus (Player First Games / WB Games)
- Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
- Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games / Dotemu)
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella
Best Debut Indie
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
- NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury)
- STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)
- Vampire Survivors (poncle)
Best Adaptation
Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.
- Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche / Riot Games / Netflix)
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger / CD Projekt RED / Netflix)
- The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR / King Features Syndicate / Netflix)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group / Paramount Pictures)
- Uncharted (PlayStation Productions / Sony Pictures)
Most Anticipated
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- Final Fantasy XVI (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software / Warner Bros. Games)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
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.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Rocket League (Psyonix / Epic 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.
- Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, League of Legends)
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, League of Legends)
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, VALORANT)
Best eSports Team
Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
- FaZe Clan (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
- LOUD (VALORANT)
Best eSports Coach
The eSports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
- Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
- Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, League of Legends)
Best eSports Event
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- EVO 2022
- 2022 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
- VALORANT Champions 2022