The nominees for the 2024 Game Awards are in: This year’s lineup is led by the PlayStation-exclusive Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, with seven nominations each including Game of the Year. Balatro, a PC Gamer favorite, is in the running for five awards, and it also pleases me to report that after crushing the 2023 Game Awards, Baldur’s Gate 3 is back for more.
Larian’s RPG epic is only up for one award this year, which probably comes as a relief to all the other contenders. Baldur’s Gate 3 vying for the Best Community Support award, alongside Final Fantasy 14, Fortnite, Helldivers 2, and No Man’s Sky. I have to think it’s a favorite in the category: Larian’s post-launch support for the game has nothing short of remarkable, and maybe even more impressively I can’t think of a single Helldivers 2-style misstep it’s made along the way.
The big category, as always, is Game of the Year. Alongside Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the 2024 nominees include Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The indie hit Balatro, one of the more insidious time-killers of the year, is also up for Best Game Direction, Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game.
The Game Awards winners are chosen by a “blended vote,” 90% from a “voting jury” and 10% based on fan voting. “Given that some games are exclusive to one platform, a public vote puts single-platform games at an inherent disadvantage over multi-platform titles,” the Awards Processes FAQ explains. “In addition, it is important that winners cannot be ‘socially engineered’ in any way. We find that a blended vote is the most credible and authentic way to select winners.”
If you want to throw your weight behind your favorites, you can cast your ballot now at thegameawards.com. Nominations for the separate “Players’ Voice” award, which is 100% chosen by fans, will be announced on December 2.
The Game Awards 2024 will be broadcast live on Twitch, YouTube, Steam, Tiktok, and a whole bunch of others beginning at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET on December 12. The full list of nominees is below.
Game of the Year
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Game Direction
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Best Score and Music
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Best Audio Design
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII RebirthHannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double ExposureHumberly González, Star Wars OutlawsLuke Roberts, Silent Hill 2Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)Diablo 4 (Blizzard/Xbox)Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Games for Impact
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)Diablo 4 (Blizzard/Xbox)Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)Fortnite (Epic Games)Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)Final Fantasy 14 (Square Enix)Fortnite (Epic Games)Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)UFO 50 (Mossmouth)
Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)
Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Action/Adventure Game
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (Square Enix)Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best Fighting Game
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Best Family Game
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Best Multiplayer Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Adaptation
Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Content Creator of the Year
CaseOhIlloJuan Techno GamerzTypicalGamerUsada Pekora
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)DOTA 2 (Valve)League of Legends (Riot Games)Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)Valorant (Riot Games
Best Esports Athlete
33 – Neta ShapiraAleksib – Aleksi VirolainenChovy – Jeong Ji-hoonFaker – Lee Sang-hyeokZyWoO – Mathieu HerbautZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)Gen.G (League of Legends)NAVI (Counter-Strike)T1 (League of Legends)Team Liquid (DOTA 2)
