The Game Awards Nominees Have Been Announced And Deathloop Is Killing It

The Game Awards nominations for 2021 are in.

Every year, The Game Awards are an exciting moment to celebrate the best releases of the past year. Host and creator Geoff Keighley will be broadcasting live from Los Angeles for the annual event in December. Game Awards nomination day is usually a source of much discourse on the socials. Who was venerated? Who was snubbed? The discourse rages.

Game Awards nomination day for 2021 began bright and early this morning. The nominees for each category were announced. Arkane Studios’ Deathloop leads the way with nine nominations including Game of the Year and Best Game Direction. It was followed by Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart with 6 nominations. It Takes Two and Psychonauts 2 tied with 5 nominations each. The total combined nominations of Deathloop and Psychonauts 2 are a huge deal for the Xbox/Bethesda alliance, leading the publishers race with 20 nods overall. Deathloop was, of course, Bethesda’s final PlayStation exclusive as a stand-alone company. Housemarque’s PS5 exclusive Returnal missed out on a GOTY nom, but did pick up a Best Direction nod.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

Game of the Year

Recognising a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
• Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
• Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
• Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

• The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Best Score and Music

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

• The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz & Piotr T. Adamczyk)
• Deathloop (Tom Salta)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques)
• Nier Replicant Ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe)

Best Audio Design

Recognising the best in-game audio and sound design.

• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
• Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)

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: A Colorful Tale (Greg Lobanow, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell In The Pit/Finji)
• Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/Square 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/EA)
• Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
• Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Best Indie

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

• 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna)
• Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device (presented by Verizon).

• Fantasian (Mistwalker)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• Marvel Future Revolution (Netmarble)
• Pokémon Unite (Timi Studios/The Pokémon Company)

Best Community Support

Recognising a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.

• Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognising 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 (presented by Chevrolet).

• 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/SIE)
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)

Best VR/AR

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform. 

• Hitman 3 (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 game genre focused primarily on combat.

• Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
• Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
• Deathloop (Arcane Studios/Bethesda)
• Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
• Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)

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/Xbox Game Studios)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best Role Playing

For the best game designed with rich player character customisation 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)

Best Fighting

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (Aniplex/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 Studios/EA)
• Mario Party Superstars (Nocube/Nintendo)
• New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokemon Company/Nintendo)
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
• WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Best Sim/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)
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Sports/Racing

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing games.

• 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)
• Knockout City (Velan/EA)
• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
• Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
• New World (Amazon Games)
• Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)

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.

• The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
• The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
• Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)

Most Anticipated Game

Recognising an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward (presented by Prime Gaming)

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla/SIE)
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel (Nintendo)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)

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 (presented by GrubHub).

• 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

Recognising a specific esports team (not the full organisation) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

• Atlanta FaZe (CoD)
• DWG KIA (LoL)
• Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
• 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

Recognising 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
• The International 2021
• PGL Major Stockholm 2021
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
• Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters

And that’s every nomination for this year’s Game Awards! Voting is open now so make sure you cast your votes for whichever nominee you deem worthy. Let us know who you got your Game Awards nomination, and who you think got snubbed this year.

The Game Awards will air live on the 10th of December at 12:00pm AEDT and we’ll keep you up to date with how you can tune in.