Organizers have revealed the nominees for the 20th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, the leading peer-based video game event celebrating the industry’s top games and developers. Winners in all categories will be honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) ceremony, taking place on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 6:30pm at the San Francisco Moscone Center during the 2020 Game Developers Conference (GDC) and held in conjunction with the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF).
The 2020 GDCAs will be hosted by Kim Swift, Game Design Director, Stadia Games & Entertainment (Google). Swift is known for her work as a key developer on beloved games fueled by unique gameplay mechanics, including Portal and Left 4 Dead. The ceremony is available to attend for all GDC 2020 pass-holders and will be livestreamed.
Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding secured seven nominations, more than other any other title, as voted by the GDCA’s panel of game creators. For its genre-defying journey through a shattered world, the acclaimed title has received nominations for Best Audio, Best Design, the Innovation Award, Best Narrative Game, Best Technology, Best Visual Art and Game of the Year.
Control from Remedy Entertainment and Mobius Digital’s Outer Wilds follow closely behind, each receiving five nominations. The supernatural action-adventure, Control is up for Best Audio, Best Narrative, Best Technology, Best Visual Art and Game of the Year. Outer Wilds is an open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop and was nominated for Best Debut, Best Design, the Innovation Award, Best Narrative and Game of the Year.
Many titles were recognized as finalists in multiple categories, including four nominations each for developer ZA/UM’s cerebral roleplaying game, Disco Elysium, and the slapstick game about a goose on the loose, Untitled Goose Game, by House House. The musically inspired Sayonara Wild Hearts by Simogo, and FromSoftware’s challenging and visceral story of vengeance in feudal Japan, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, were both nominated for three awards.
Any video game that was released and made publicly available during the 2019 calendar year, irrespective of platform or delivery medium, is eligible for free nomination for the 2020 Game Developers Choice Awards. Both nominees and winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only organization, comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the industry.
The complete list of nominees, including honorable mentions, for the 20th annual Game Developers Choice Awards is as follows:
BEST AUDIO
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Honorable Mentions: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring the Legend of Zelda (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Ape Out (Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy, Matt Boch/Devolver Digital), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
BEST DEBUT
- ZA/UM (Disco Elysium)
- Mobius Digital (Outer Wilds)
- William Chyr Studios (Manifold Garden)
- Foam Sword Games (Knights and Bikes)
- Chance Agency (Neo Cab)
BEST DESIGN
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision Publishing, FromSoftware)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)
INNOVATION AWARD
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Hypnospace Outlaw (Tendershoot, ThatWhichIs Media/No More Robots), Kind Words (Popcannibal), Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Wattam (Funomena/Annapurna Interactive)
BEST MOBILE GAME
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- What the Golf? (Triband Productions/The Label Limited)
- Grindstone (Capybara Games)
- Sky: Children of the Light (thatgamecompany)
- Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
Honorable Mentions: Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Assemble with Care (ustwo), Pilgrims (Amanita Design), Archero (Habby), Card of Darkness (Choice Provisions), Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
BEST NARRATIVE
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo Games/Nintendo), A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo Studio/Focus Home Interactive), Heaven's Vault (inkle), Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Telling Lies (Drowning a Mermaid Productions, Furious Bee/Annapurna Interactive)
BEST TECHNOLOGY
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Noita (Nolla Games)
Honorable Mentions: Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios), Resident Evil 2 (Capcom), Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studios), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
BEST VISUAL ART
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
Honorable Mentions: Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive), Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic), The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo), Void Bastards (Blue Manchu/Humble Bundle)
BEST VR/AR GAME
- Vader Immortal (ILMxLAB/Disney)
- Blood & Truth (SCEE Studio London/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Asgard's Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
- Boneworks (Stress Level Zero)
- Pistol Whip (Cloudhead Games)
Honorable Mentions: Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games), Falcon Age (Outerloop Games), Ghost Giant (Zoink), Vacation Simulator (Owlchemy Labs), Stormland (Insomniac Games/Oculus Studios)
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
The Game Developers Choice Awards will also recognize two individuals this year with the Pioneer and Ambassador Special Awards categories. Kate Edwards, former head of the International Game Developers Association and current Global Game Jam executive director, will receive the Ambassador Award for helping video games advance to a better place through advocacy and action. The recipient of the Pioneer Award will be announced in the near future.