The nominees for the 17th annual Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced, and this year's pack is headed up by Inside, the atmospheric 2D platformer developed by Limbo studio Playdead. Inside drew six nominations including the Innovation Award, Best Visual Art, and Game of the Year, followed closely by the hit FPS Overwatch and the indie adventure Firewatch, which have five nominations each. This year's event also features a brand-new category, Best VR/AR Game, with Superhot VR and Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives among the games vying for the title.
Other multi-nominated games from 2016 include Doom, Battlefield 1, No Man's Sky (yes, that No Man's Sky, for Innovation Award and Best Technology), Oxenfree, Thumper, and The Witness. Winners will be announced during a ceremony that will begin at 6:30 pm PT on March 1, hosted (for the sixth time!) by Double Fine Productions boss Tim Schafer. The show will be livestreamed at twitch.tv/gdc.
Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!
Best Audio
- Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
- Thumper (Drool)
- DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games), Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
Best Debut
- Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
- Campo Santo (Firewatch)
- ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
- Drool (Thumper)
- Night School Studio (Oxenfree)
- Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)
Best Design
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Witness (Thekla)
- Inside (Playdead)
- DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
- Honorable Mentions: Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dark Souls III (From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Hitman (IO Interactive / Square Enix)
Best Mobile/Handheld Game
- Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Clash Royale (Supercell)
- Pokémon Go (Niantic)
- Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Pokémon Sun/Moon(Game Freak / The Pokémon Company)
- Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)
Innovation Award
- The Witness (Thekla)
- Inside (Playdead)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
- Pokemon Go (Niantic)
- Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
Best Narrative
- The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
- Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV (Cardboard Computer), Mafia III (Hangar 13 / 2K Games)
Best Technology
- Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)
Best Visual Art
- Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
- The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Honorable Mentions: The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Abzu (Giant Squid Studios), Thumper (Drool), DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
Best VR/AR Game
- Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games)
- Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
- Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)
- Pokémon Go (Niantic)
- Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games)
- Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)
Game of the Year
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
- Honorable Mentions: DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks ), The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
