On Thursday, December 7th, Geoff Keighley premiered the 2023 annual Game Awards. The Game Awards is an event in December every year, revealing brand new games to the public and congratulating the outstanding games (and gamers) that year. Every event also has additional stuff, usually celebrity cameos, giveaways, and free in-game items. For anyone who didn’t watch the awards and wants a quick recap, here’s the full list of nominees and winners!

Best Family Game:

• Disney Illusion Island
• Party Animals
• Pikmin 4
• Sonic Superstars
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Winner)

Innovation in Accessibility:

• Diablo IV
• Forza Motorsport (Winner)
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Mortal Kombat 1
• Street Fighter 6

Best Esports Athlete:

• Faker (Winner)
• ZywOo
• Demon1
• HyDra
• Ruler
• ImperialHall

Best Esports Coach:

• Potter (Winner)
• Zonic
• Gunba
• XTQZZZ
• Homme

Best Esports Event:

• 2023 League of Legends World Championship (Winner)
• BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
• EVO 2023
• The International DOTA 2 Championships 2023
• Valorant Champions 2023

Best Esports Game:

• Counter-Strike 2
• DOTA 2
• League of Legends
• PUBG Mobile
• Valorant (Winner)

Best Esports Team:

• Evil Geniuses
• Fnatic
• Gaimin Gladiators
• JD Gaming (Winner)
• Team Vitality

Content Creator of the Year:

• Ironmouse (Winner)
• People Make Games
• Quackity
• Spreen
• SypherPK

Best Performance:

• Ben Starr in Final Fantasy XVI
• Cameron Monaghan in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• Idris Elba in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Melanie Liburd in Alan Wake 2
• Neil Newbon in Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Yuri Lowenthal in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Best Narrative:

• Alan Wake 2 (Winner)
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Best Debut Indie Game:

• Cocoon (Winner)
• Dredge
• Pizza Tower
• Venba
• Viewfinder

Best Action Game:

• Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (Winner)
• Dead Island 2
• Ghostrunner 2
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Remnant 2

Best Art Direction:

• Alan Wake 2 (Winner)
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Lies of P
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best VR/AR:

• Gran Turismo 7
• Humanity
• Horizon Call of the Mountain
• Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Winner)
• Synapse

Best Mobile Game:

• Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis
• Honkai: Star Rail (Winner)
• Hello Kitty Island Adventure
• Monster Hunter Now
• Terra Nil

Best Audio Design:

• Alan Wake 2
• Dead Space
• Hi-Fi Rush (Winner)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Resident Evil 4

Games for Impact:

• Space for the Unbound
• Chants of Sennaar
• Goodbye Volcano High
• Tchia (Winner)
• Terra Nil
• Venba

Best Score & Music:

• Alan Wake 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Final Fantasy XVI (Winner)
• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Independent Game:

• Cocoon
• Dave the Diver
• Dredge
• Sea of Stars (Winner)
• Viewfinder

Best Community Support:

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy XIV
• No Man’s Sky

Best Fighting Game:

• God of Rock
• Mortal Kombat 1
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
• Pocket Bravery
• Street Fighter 6 (Winner)

Most Anticipated Game:

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Winner)
• Hades II
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Star Wars Outlaws
• Tekken 8

Best Ongoing Game:

• Apex Legends
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Winner)
• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact

Best Adaptation: 

• Castlevania: Nocturne
• Gran Turismo
• The Last of Us (Winner)
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Twisted Metal

Best Action/Adventure Game:

• Alan Wake 2
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Resident Evil 4
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Winner)

Best RPG:

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Lies of P
• Sea of Stars
• Starfield

Best Sim/Strategy:

• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
• Cities: Skylines II
• Company of Heroes 3
• Fire Emblem Engage
• Pikmin 4 (Winner)

Best Sports/Racing:

• EA Sports FC 24
• F1 23
• Forza Motorsport (Winner)
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
• The Crew Motorfest

Best Multiplayer:

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Diablo IV
• Party Animals
• Street Fighter 6
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Player’s Voice:

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Genshin Impact
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Game Direction:

• Alan Wake 2 (Winner)
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

And finally, without further ado…

Game of the Year:

• Alan Wake 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Winner)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Resident Evil 4
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Congratulations to not only the winners but everyone whose works were nominated! These are the works of hundreds, even thousands of programmers, artists, composers, actors, and more over the years, and they all deserve recognition! As well, even if some games didn’t win or didn’t get nominated, that doesn’t mean they were bad. Spider-Man 2 was nominated for 7 awards and won none. That doesn’t mean it’s bad though, only that it’s one of the many spectacular games released this year. Keep gaming everyone and let’s hope for an even better year in 2024!