The Game Awards has revealed this year’s batch nominees – and it will let fans vote to decide the winners across more than 20 categories.
Fans can vote now for their picks at TheGameAwards.com, and via Twitter direct message, Facebook Messenger, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and the official The Game Awards Discord server.
Rockstar Games’ “Red Dead Redemption 2” and Sony’s “God of War” lead the pack with eight nominations each, including “Game of the Year” and “Best Narrative.” Other Game of the Year contenders include Marvel’s Spider-Man (7 nominations), “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” ( 4 nominations) and the indie game hit “Celeste” (4 nominations). Categories like Best Independent Game, Best Student Game and Best VR/AR Game also make space for some lesser- known titles to shine.
The Game Awards will name the winners and celebrate the nominees on Thursday, December 6 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The awards show will be streamed at 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and several other streaming platforms.
First established in 2014, The Game Awards advisory board includes executives from a dozen major gaming companies, including Xbox, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Valve, and Tencent.
Here's the list of nominees:
Game of the Year
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
"Celeste "(Matt Makes Games)
"God of War (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (Insomniac Games / SIE)
"Monster Hunter: World" (Capcom)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
Best Ongoing Game
"Destiny 2" (Bungie / Activision)
"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege" (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Best Game Direction
"A Way Out" (Hazelight Studios / EA)
"Detroit: Become Human" (Quantic Dream / SIE)
"God of War" (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (Insomniac Games / SIE)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
Best Narrative
"Detroit: Become Human" (Quantic Dream / SIE)
"God of War" (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
"Life is Strange 2: Episode 1" (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (Insomniac Games / SIE)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
Best Art Direction
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
"God of War" (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
"Octopath Traveler" (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
"Return of Obra Din" (3909 LLC)
Best Role-Playing Game
"Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age" (Square Enix / Square Enix)
"Monster Hunter: World" (Capcom)
"Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom" (Level 5 / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
"Octopath Traveler" (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
"Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire" (Obsidian Entertainment / Versus Evil)
Best Audio Design
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (Treyarch Studios / Activision)
"Forza Horizon 4" (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
"God of War" (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (Insomniac Games / SIE)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
Best Performance
Bryan Dechart as Connor, "Detroit: Become Human"
Christopher Judge as Kratos, "God of War"
Melissanthi Mahut as Kassandra, "Assassin's Creed Odyssey"
Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan, "Red Dead Redemption 2"
Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker, "Marvel's Spider-Man"
Games for Impact
"11-11 Memories Retold" (Digixart / Aardman Animations / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
"Celeste" (Matt Makes Games)
"Florence" (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
"Life is Strange 2: Episode 1" (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
"The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories" (White Owls / Arc System Works)
Best Fighting Game
"BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle" (Arc System Works)
"Dragon Ball FighterZ" (Arc System Works / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
"Soul Calibur VI" (Bandai Namco Studios / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
"Street Fighter V Arcade Edition" (Dimps / Capcom)
Best Family Game
"Mario Tennis Aces" (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
"Nintendo Labo" (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
"Overcooked 2" (Ghost Town Games / Team 17)
"Starlink: Battle for Atlas" (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
"Super Mario Party" (NDCube / Nintendo)
Best Independent Game
"Celeste" (Matt Makes Games)
"Dead Cells" (Motion Twin)
"Into the Breach" (Subset Games)
"Return of the Obra Dinn" (3909 LLC)
"The Messenger" (Sabotage Studio)
Best Strategy Game
"BATTLETECH" (Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive)
"Frostpunk" (11 bit studios)
"Into the Breach" (Subset Games)
"The Banner Saga 3" (Stoic Studio"/ Versus Evil)
"Valkyria Chronicles 4" (Sega CS3 / Sega)
Best Sports/Racing Game
"FIFA 19" (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
"Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
"Mario Tennis Aces" (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
"NBA 2K19" (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
"Pro Evolution Soccer 2019" (PES Productions / Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (Treyarch / Activision)
"Destiny 2: Forsaken" (Bungie / Activision)
"Monster Hunter: World" (Capcom)
"Sea of Thieves" (Rare / Microsoft Studios)
Best Mobile Game
"Donut County" (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
"Florence" (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
"PUBG MOBILE" (Lightspeed & Quantum / Tencent Games)
"Reigns: Game of Thrones" (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Best Student Game
"Combat 2018" (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Norway)
"Dash Quasar" (UC Santa Cruz)
"JERA" (Digipen Bilbao, Spain)
"LIFF" (ISTART Digital - France)
"RE: Charge" (MIT)
Best VR/AR Game
"ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission" (SIE Japan Studio / SIE)
"Beat Saber" (Beat Games)
"Firewall Zero Hour" (First Contact Entertainment / SIE)
"Moss" (Polyarc Games)
"Tetris Effect" (Resonair / Enhance, Inc)
Best Action Game
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (Treyarch / Activision)
"Dead Cells" (Motion Twin)
"Destiny 2: Forsaken" (Bungie / Activision)
"Far Cry 5" (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Best Action/Adventure Game Tomb Raider
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
"God of War" (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (Insomniac Games / SIE)
"Red Dead Redemption 2" (Rockstar Games)
"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" (Eidos Montreal / Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix)
Best Debut Indie Game
"Donut County" (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
"Florence" (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
"Moss" (Polyarc Games)
"The Messenger" (Sabotage Studio)
"Yoku's Island Express" (Villa Gorilla)
Best Score/Music
"Celeste" (Lena Raine)
"Marvel's Spider-Man" (John Paesano)
"Ni No Kuni II" (Joe Hisaishi)
"Octopath Traveler" (Yasunori Nishiki)