The Game Awards 2022 Nominations Sees God of War: Ragnarok Leading With 10 Awards Nods

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

• elden ring
• War God Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• immortality
• I’m lost

best narrative

For the excellent storytelling and narrative development in the game.

• Plague Story: Requiem
• elden ring
• War God Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• immortality

best art direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

• elden ring
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Horizon: Forbidden West
• contempt
• I’m lost

best score/music

For outstanding music, including scores, original compositions and/or licensed soundtracks.

• Olivier Deriviere – Plague Story: Requiem
• Tsukasa Saito – Elden Ring
• Bear McCreary – God of War: Ragnarok
• Two Feathers – Metal Hellsinger
• Yasunori Mitsuda

best audio design

Recognize the best in-game audio and sound design.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• elden ring
• War God Ragnarok
• Gran Turismo 7
• Horizon Forbidden West

best performance

Awarded to individuals for narration acting, motion and/or performance capture.

• Ashley Burch – Horizon: Forbidden West
• Charlotte McBurney – Plague Story: Requiem
• Christopher Judge – God of War: Ragnarok
• Manon Gauge – Immortality
• Sunny Suljic – God of War: Ragnarok

game with impact

For thought-provoking games with pro-social meanings and messages.

• a memory blue
• as Dusk Falls
• citizen sleeper
• End Ring – Extinction is Eternal
• Hindsight
• I was a teenage exocolonist

best game in progress

Games are awarded for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

• apex legends
• destiny 2
• final fantasy 14 online
• fortnite
• genshin impact

Best Indie Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievements in games created outside the traditional publisher system.

• cult of lamb
• neon white
• Shio
• I’m lost
• tunic

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game made by a new independent studio.

• neon white
• Norco
• I’m lost
• tunic
• vampire survivors

best mobile game

For the best games you can play on your mobile device.

• Apex Legends Mobile
• diablo immortal
• genshin impact
• marvel snap
• fantasy tower

best community support

Recognizes games with excellent community support, transparency, and responsiveness, including social media activity and game updates/patches.

• apex legends
• destiny 2
• final fantasy 14 online
• fortnite
• No Man’s Sky

Best VR/AR Game

For the best gaming experience in virtual or augmented reality, regardless of platform.

• after collapsing
• Among Us VR
• bone lab
• Moss: Book II
• red matter 2

Innovation in accessibility

Recognize the software and/or hardware that is driving media forward by adding features, technology, and content that help a wider audience play and enjoy the game.

• as Dusk Falls
• God of War: Ragnarok
• return
• Return to Monkey Island
• The Last of Us Part 1
• quarry

best action game

Against the best games in the action genre that are primarily combat-focused.

• Bayonetta 3
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
• neon white
• Shio
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game

Combining combat with traversal and puzzle-solving in the best action/adventure game.

• Plague Story: Requiem
• War God Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• I’m lost
• tunic

Best RPG

For the best games designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massive multiplayer experiences.

• elden ring
• live a live
• Pokemon Legends: Arceus
• triangular strategy
• Xenoblade 3

best fighting game

To the best games designed primarily around one-on-one combat.

• DNF Duel
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R
• The King of Fighters 15
• Multiversus
• Shio

best family game

Great family games, regardless of genre or platform.

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope
• nintendo switch sports
• splatoon 3

Best Sports/Racing Game

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing games.

• F1 22
• FIFA23
• NBA 2K23
• Gran Turismo 7
• oriori world

Best SIM/Strategy Game

The best games focused on real-time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, regardless of platform.

• Dune: Spice Wars
• Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope
• Total War: Warhammer 3
• two point campus
• Victoria 3

best multiplayer games

Deliver great online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, regardless of game genre or platform.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Multiversus
• overwatch 2
• splatoon 3
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Content Creator of the Year

For streamers or content creators who made a significant and positive impact on their community in 2021.

• Karl Jacobs
• ludwig
• Nibellion
• Noburu
• QTC Inderella

best esports athletes

In 2021, the esports athletes judged to be the best performers and performers regardless of the game.

• Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
• Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
• Finn “karrigan” Andersen ((FaZe Clan – CS:GO)
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

best esports coach

Esports coaches judged to have the best performances and behaviors in 2021.

• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
• Mateus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
• Eric “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
• Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
• Go “Score” Dongbin (Gen.G, lol)

Best esports event

Recognize events (one or more days) that provide best-in-class experiences for attendees and broadcast viewers.

• evo 2022
• 2022 League of Legends World Championship
• PGL Major Antwerp 2022
• 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
• VALORANT Champions 2022

best esports games

For games that provide players with the best esports experience (including tournaments, community support, and content updates) regardless of genre or platform.

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• DOTA 2
• league of legends
• rocket league
• Valorant

best esports team

By recognizing specific esports teams (not complete organizations), they were determined to have the best performance and behavior in 2021.

• DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
• FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
• Gen.G (League of Legends)
• LA Thief (Call of Duty)
• Loud (Valorant)

most anticipated game

We recognize announced games that demonstrate the potential to move the gaming media forward.

• final fantasy 16
• Hogwarts Legacy
• resident evil 4
• star field
• The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

best adaptation

We celebrate gaming-inspired projects across entertainment, including TV, movies, and comics.

• Arcane: League of Legends
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• Cuphead Show!
• sonic the hedgehog 2
• unknown

The public can now vote for the candidate they deem most deserving of each individual award game awards website, The award ceremony will be held on December 8th.

At last year’s awards, It Takes Two won Game of the Year, Deathloop for Best Game Direction, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy for Best Narrative and Final Fantasy 14 Online for Best Ongoing Game.

The Game Awards are also a great source for video game announcements, new trailers and more, with Star Wars: Eclipse, Alan Wake 2, Wonder Woman and more announced at the 2021 awards ceremony.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He talks about witchers all day long.