2023 Game Awards Nominees Announced: Alan Wake 2 And Baldur's Gate 3 Steal The Spotlight, But Guess Who's Missing?

The nominations for the 2023 Game Awards, an annual recognition of excellence in the gaming industry, have been officially disclosed.

Leading the pack with eight nominations each are two highly anticipated sequels: Remedy Entertainment's survival-horror title "Alan Wake 2" and Larian Studios' role-playing game "Baldur’s Gate 3." Both games have secured nods across multiple categories, including the prestigious Game of the Year award.

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Joining these titles in the esteemed Game of the Year category are four other notable entries from long-standing franchises: Insomniac Games' "Marvel’s Spider-Man 2," Capcom ADR's CCOEY "Resident Evil 4," Nintendo's "Super Mario Bros. Wonder," and "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," also from Nintendo.

Starfield, Bethesda's much-anticipated RPG, secured only one nomination at The Game Awards among 31 categories, a letdown for fans and industry observers.

Despite being stable and receiving moderate acclaim, the game's absence in key award categories (like Game of the Year) was disappointing given its initial high expectations as a groundbreaking space-themed RPG akin to 'Skyrim in space.'

Expanding the scope beyond games, the Best Adaptation category recognizes notable films and series related to gaming. Nominees include "Castlevania: Nocturne" from Netflix, "Gran Turismo" by Sony Pictures, HBO's "The Last of Us," Illumination and Universal Pictures' "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and "Twisted Metal" from Peacock.

Nintendo ADR NTDOY emerges as the most nominated publisher in 2023 with 15 nominations, closely followed by Sony Group Corp's SONY PlayStation with 13, Microsoft Corp's MSFT Xbox (inclusive of Bethesda and Blizzard) with 10 and Epic Games with nine.

A total of 112 different games, individuals, teams and events spanning various genres and platforms have received nominations, selected by a global jury consisting of representatives from over 100 media outlets and influencer platforms.

Scheduled to stream live from the Peacock Theater (formerly Microsoft Theater) in Los Angeles on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, the 10th Annual Game Awards will be accessible across more than 30 platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok Live and Twitter.

The event will not only reveal the winners but also feature premieres, trailers, live music performances and celebrity appearances.

Leading up to the event, fans can participate in the selection of winners by voting online through thegameawards.com until December 6 at 6 p.m. PT.

Additionally, fans can engage in the voting process via the official Discord server of The Game Awards, join live watch parties on December 7 and react to the winners in real-time.

The Game Awards is helmed by executive producers Geoff Keighley and Kimmie Kim, with LeRoy Bennett as the creative director and Richard Preuss as the director.

Read Next: What Is The Best Video Game Of The Year? These Are The Nominees For The Game Awards 2022, Up For The Top Award Of The Industry

Below is the full list of nominees:

Game of the Year

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• 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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• 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

• Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix)
• Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)
• The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures)
• Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)

Best Narrative

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• 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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• 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

• Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
• Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
• 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

• Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
• Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)
• Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Best Performance

• Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI
• Cameron Monaghan, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
• Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2
• Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
• Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Innovation in Accessibility

• Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
• 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

A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)

• Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment)
• Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)
• Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)
• Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix)
• Venba (Visai Games)

Best Ongoing Game

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Community Support

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)

• Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)
• Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
• Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
• Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Debut Indie Game

Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)

• Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)
• Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)
• Venba (Visai Games)
• Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Mobile Game

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)

• Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
• Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)
• Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)
• Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)

Best VR/AR Game

Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)

• Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)
• Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)
• Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
• Synapse (nDreams)

Best Action Game

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

• 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

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)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best RPG

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

• 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

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)
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Best Family Game

Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney)

• Party Animals (Recreate Games)
• Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

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)
• Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sports/Racing

EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)

• F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
• The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)

Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

• Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Party Animals (Recreate Games)
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Most Anticipated Game

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• 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

• IronMouse
• PeopleMakeGames
• Quackity
• Spreen
• SypherPK

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
• Dota 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

• Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut 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

• Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
• Fnatic (Valorant)
• Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)

JD Gaming (League of Legends)
Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)

Best Esports Coach

• Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
• 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

• 2023 League of Legends World Championship
• Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
• EVO 2023
• The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
• Valorant Champions 2023