Games of the Year 2017: The nominees

Look alive, PC gamers—it's almost game of the year time! This time next week, we'll begin posting our picks for the best PC games of the year. Today, you can get an early look at the contenders.

How'd we pick our game of the year nominees? Under extreme duress, each member of our staff sweated out a list of their six favorite games released in 2017. With nominations compiled, the team then got together to argue over the winners and put together a final list that represents the best of PC gaming.

As usual, our awards categories are tailored to the games we most want to celebrate. That means they're not exactly the same as you'll see in our 2016 awards or 2015 awards. This year, we're excited to highlight the mod of the year, best visual novel, and funniest game.

Look for our GOTY awards to start rolling out soon, along with heartfelt personal picks from the entire staff.

Best action game

Absolver
The Evil Within 2
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Nier: Automata
Quake Champions
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

Best co-op game

Destiny 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Fortnite
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands

Best comedy game

Night in the Woods
Oikospiel
Thimbleweed Park
West of Loathing

Best expansion

Dishonored 2: Death of the Outsider
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Best mod

Sim Settlements for Fallout 4
The Long War 2 for XCOM 2
WolfenDoom: Blade of Agony
FAR: Fix Automata Resolution
Sanic, Big Smoke and Naruto skins for TLOZ: Breath of the Wild
OpenIV

Best ongoing game

Elite: Dangerous
Hearthstone
No Man's Sky
Rainbow Six Siege

Best open world game

Assassin's Creed: Origins
The Long Dark
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
West of Loathing

Best platformer

Hollow Knight
Rain World
Sonic Mania

Best setting

Assassin's Creed: Origins
Prey
Resident Evil 7
The Sexy Brutale
Tacoma

Best story

Nier: Automata
Stories Untold
What Remains of Edith Finch
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

Best strategy game

Bomber Crew
Oxygen Not Included
Tooth and Tail
Total War: Warhammer 2
Unexplored

Best visual novel

Butterfly Soup
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Dream Daddy
The Lion's Song
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

Breakout game of the year

Cuphead
Nier: Automata
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Game of the year

Assassin's Creed: Origins
Destiny 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Nier: Automata
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Total War: Warhammer 2
What Remains of Edith Finch

The collective PC Gamer editorial team worked together to write this article. PC Gamer is the global authority on PC games—starting in 1993 with the magazine, and then in 2010 with this website you're currently reading. We have writers across the US, UK and Australia, who you can read about here.

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