Last night’s Game Awards rounded off what - for many - has been a premium year for game releases. The distillation of talent and time around lockdown appears to have inspired and focused the world’s game makers to create some of their finest efforts, with 2023 seeing the fruits of their labour finally released into the world.
As ever the event was livestreamed to millions and hosted by Geoff Keighley with this year’s presenters Simu Liu, Jordan Peele, and Anthony Mackie. The event was beamed live from the Peacock Theater in L.A. and clocked in at a bum-numbing three hours to make room for it's never ending cavalcade of 31 categories…
But with all that room to fill mobile got a scant look in, with the majority of the show’s prizes and reveals focusing on PC and console. And then the nominations in the Best Mobile Game category felt like a scattergun cross section designed to appeal to big names rather than representing the best the year had to offer.
And with Monster Hunter Now and Honkai: Star Rail both in the running, 2023’s winner was really a two horse race. And the winner was… Honkai: Star Rail, rounding off the game’s 2023 success while delivering very few gasps of surprise.
Elsewhere the evening's victors were Baldurs Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2, scooping up six and three awards respectively. Here's 2023's winners in full:
Best Mobile Game
Winner: Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
Shortlisted:
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)
Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)
Game of the Year
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Shortlisted:
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
Winner: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Shortlisted:
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Adaptation
Winner: The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
Shortlisted:
Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix)
Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures)
Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)
Best Narrative
Winner: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Shortlisted:
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Art Direction
Winner: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Shortlisted:
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
Winner: Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
Shortlisted:
Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Audio Design
Winner: Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Shortlisted:
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Best Performance
Winner: Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
Shortlisted:
Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI
Cameron Monaghan, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2
Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Innovation in Accessibility
Winner: Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
Shortlisted:
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Games for Impact
Winner: Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)
Shortlisted:
A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)
Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment)
Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)
Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix)
Venba (Visai Games)
Best Ongoing Game
Winner: Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Shortlisted:
Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Best Community Support
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Shortlisted:
Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
Winner: Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
Shortlisted:
Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)
Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Debut Indie Game
Winner: Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
Shortlisted:
Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
Venba (Visai Games)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best VR/AR Game
Winner: Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
Shortlisted:
Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)
Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)
Synapse (nDreams)
Best Action Game
Winner: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Shortlisted:
Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver)
Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action/Adventure Game
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Shortlisted:
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
Best RPG
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Shortlisted:
Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)
Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting Game
Winner: Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Shortlisted:
God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)
Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)
Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)
Best Family Game
Winner: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Shortlisted:
Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney)
Party Animals (Recreate Games)
Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Winner: Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Shortlisted:
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo)
Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive)
Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega)
Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing
Winner: Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
Shortlisted:
EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Shortlisted:
Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
Party Animals (Recreate Games)
Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Players’ Voice
Winner: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Shortlisted:
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / SIE)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Most Anticipated Game
Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Shortlisted:
Hades II (Supergiant Games)
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika)
Content Creator of the Year
Winner: IronMouse
Shortlisted:
PeopleMakeGames
Quackity
Spreen
SypherPK
Best Esports Game
Winner: Valorant (Riot Games)
Shortlisted:
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
Dota 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)
Best Esports Athlete
Winner: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
Shortlisted:
Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO)
Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant)
Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty)
Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends)
Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)
Best Esports Team
Winner: JD Gaming (League of Legends)
Shortlisted:
Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
Fnatic (Valorant)
Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best Esports Coach
Winner: Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
Shortlisted:
Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike)
Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch)
Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike)
Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)
Best Esports Event
Winner: 2023 League of Legends World Championship
Shortlisted:
Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
EVO 2023
The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
Valorant Champions 2023
