Overwatch storms GDC Awards, No Man's Sky picks up 'Innovation' prize

Overwatch was crowned Game of the Year at last night's annual Game Developer's Choice Awards 2017—held as part of this year's Game Developer's Conference currently being held in San Francisco. 

Up against Sony and Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4, Playdead's indie darling Inside, Arkane and Bethesda's Dishonored, and Campo Santo's Firewatch, Blizzard's team-based shooter triumphed in the ceremony's top offering; and also grabbed Best Design on the night. 

No Man's Sky also picked up the event's Innovation Award, ahead of Pokemon Go, Inside, Firewatch, and The Witness. Hello Games' Innes McKendrick took to Twitter to express he and his team's surprise.

McKendrick then confessed the Hello Games crew were eating dinner and "talking about how [they] definitely wouldn't win an award." 

Here's a rundown of the finalists and winners in their entirety:

Game of the Year

  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)—WINNER
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)

Best Audio

  • Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts)
  • Thumper (Drool)
  • DOOM (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Inside (Playdead)—WINNER
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Best Debut 

  • Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
  • Campo Santo (Firewatch)—WINNER
  • ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
  • Drool (Thumper)
  • Night School Studio (Oxenfree)

Best Design

  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)—WINNER
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
  • The Witness (Thekla)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • DOOM (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

  • Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Clash Royale (Supercell)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)—WINNER
  • Reigns (Nerial/Devolver Digital)
  • Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak/The Pokémon Company)

Innovation Award

  • The Witness (Thekla)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)—WINNER
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)

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)—WINNER

Best Technology

  • Battlefield 1 (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)—WINNER

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)—WINNER

Best VR/AR Game

  • Rez Infinite (Monstars/Enhance Games)
  • Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
  • Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)—WINNER
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games/Northway Games)

Ambassador Award

  • Mark Deloura

Pioneer Award

  • Jordan Mechner

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Tim Sweeney

Audience Award

  • Battlefield 1

Catch up with our GDC 2017 coverage by following this link

Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show
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