It’s the early part of 2019, which means GDC is right around the corner just a few months from now. As such, that also indicates that the GDC Awards are also coming up and as of today, we know which games from the past year have now been nominated.
I’m sure to the surprise of few, Rockstar Games’Red Dead Redemption 2is leading the pack this year with the open-world sim earning 7 different category nominations. Following closely behind is a pair of Sony first-party titles inGod of WarandMarvel’s Spider-Maneach of which received 6 nominations each. All three of these aforementioned games are also nominated for the highly-coveted Game of the Year award, withCelesteandReturn of the Obra Dinnrounding out the category.
Once again this year, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer has also been announced host the show. Additionally, former Naughty Dog directorAmy Hennig is planned to be honored with GDC’s Lifetime Achievementaward for her past work and contributions to the industry.
GDC 2019 will take place in San Francisco from March 18 through the 22nd. The GDC Awards specifically will happen on March 20 at 6:30 PM. If you’re at the conference and have a GDC pass, you can attend the show yourself.
The full list of nominees for the 2019 GDC Awards (excluding honorable mentions) can be found below.
BEST AUDIO
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
BEST DEBUT
Polyarc (Moss)
Mountains (Florence)
Nomada Studio (Gris)
Villa Gorilla (Yoku’s Island Express)
Sabotage (The Messenger)
BEST DESIGN
Into the Breach (Subset Games)
BEST MOBILE GAME
Alto’s Odyssey (Snowman)
Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
INNOVATION AWARD
Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
BEST NARRATIVE
Florence (Mountains/Annapurna Interactive)
BEST TECHNOLOGY
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
BEST VISUAL ART
Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
BEST VR/AR GAME
Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
Beat Saber (Beat Games)
Moss (Polyarc)
Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
