The nominees for a number of categories, hosts, and a selection of game features have been revealed for The Game Awards 2020. Check it all out here.
With the year drawing to a close at long, long last, The Game Awards 2020 will invite gamers to look back over the year and vote for their favourite titles.
Read on for the full list of categories and their nominees, plus a a little more about the six nominees for 2020’s Game of the Year, as well as new information regarding the hosts and featured games at The Game Awards 2020,.
Game of the Year
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Build that island, catch them fishies. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a hugely anticipated title, being the first release in the franchise since Animal Crossing: New Leaf in 2012. Interestingly, it also soon became a political tool, with hopeful candidates using the game to advertise their election campaigns.
Doom Eternal
A strong contender for The Game Awards GOTY is Doom Eternal, which gave fans of the 2016 Doom reboot a chance to rip and tear like never before. Within months of launch, players had killed some 12 billion demons – a count worthy of the Slayer himself.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Fans of the Final Fantasy series (and great JRPGs in general) got the chance to experience a modernised version of an old favourite in this year’s remake. Clocked was lucky enough to learn about the creative process from series writer Banri Oda, which you can read right here.
Ghost of Tsushima
Alarm bells rang for some when Sucker Punch Productions, a North American developer, were going to develop a game set during the Mongol invasion of Japan. Thankfully, Ghost of Tsushima wound up being a brilliant stealth/action title, and a worthy contender for 2020’s Game of the Year.
Hades
Supergiant Games’ amazing roguelike hack-and-slash wound up being one of 2020’s most enjoyable surprises. Full of gameplay and narrative hooks to keep you going, Hades is a game that you’ll always want to play just one more time. Read our in-depth weapons guide here.
The Last of Us Part II
Another highly anticipated sequel, The Last of Us Part II delivered an emotional gut-punch that a surprisingly vocal contingent of gamers were just not ready for. The entire game – especially the narrative – was expertly crafted and polished. Not bad for a guitar simulator.
And there’s plenty of other Game Awards categories that your favourite games of 2020 will be vying for their place in. Here’s the full list:
Best Game Direction
Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades by Supergiant Games
Half Life: Alyx by Valve
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Narrative
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim by Vanillaware
Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades by Supergiant Games
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Art Direction
Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades by Supergiant Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps by Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Score and Music
Doom Eternal by id Software/Bethesda
Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix
Hades by Supergiant Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps by Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Audio Design
Doom Eternal by id Software/Bethesda
Half Life: Alyx by Valve
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil 3 by Capcom
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Performance
Ashley Johnson as Ellie in The Last of Us Part II
Laura Bailey as Abby in The Last of Us Part II
Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima
Logan Cunningham as Hades in Hades
Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales in Marvel’s Spider Man: Miles Morales
Games for Impact
If Found… by Dreamfeel
Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition by Cardboard Computer
Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus Games
Tell Me Why by Dontnod Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
Through the Darkest of Times by Paintbucket Games
Best Ongoing
Apex Legends by Respawn/EA
Destiny 2 by Bungie
Call of Duty: Warzone by Infinity Ward/Activision
Fortnite by Epic Games
No Man’s Sky by Hello Games
Best Indie
Carrion by Phobia Game Studio/Devolver
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout by Mediatonic/Devolver
Hades by Supergiant Games
Spelunky 2 by Mossmouth, LLC
Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus Games
Best Mobile Game
Among Us by Innersloth
Call of Duty Mobile by TiMi Studios/Activision
Genshin Impact by MiHoYo
Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games
Pokémon Cafe Mix by Genius Sonority
Best Community Support
Apex Legends by Respawn/EA
Destiny 2 by Bungie
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout by Mediatonic/Devolver
Fortnite by Epic Games
No Man’s Sky by Hello Games
Valorant by Riot Games
Best VR/AR
Dreams by Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Half Life: Alyx by Valve
Marvel’s Iron Man VR by Camouflaj/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Star Wars: Squadrons by Motive Studios/EA
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners by Skydance Interactive
Innovation in Accessibility
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla by Ubisoft Montreal
Grounded by Obsidian Entertainment
Hyperdot by Tribe Games
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Watch Dogs Legion by Ubisoft Toronto
Best Action
Doom Eternal by id Software/Bethesda
Hades by Supergiant Games
Half Life: Alyx by Valve
Nioh 2 by Team Ninja
Streets of Rage 4 by Dotemu
Best Action/Adventure
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla by Ubisoft Montreal
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Marvel’s Spider Man: Miles Morales by Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps by Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order by Respawn/EA
The Last of Us Part II by Naughty Dog
Best Role Playing
Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix
Genshin Impact by MiHoYo
Persona 5 Royal by Atlus/P Studio/Sega
Wasteland 3 by Inxile/Deep Silver
Yakuza: Like a Dragon by Ryu Ga Gotoku/Sega
Best Fighting
Granblue Fantasy: Versus by Arc System Works/Cygames/Xseed
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate by Netherrealm Studios/Warner Brothers Games
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition by Dimps/Capcom
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows by Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco
Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r] by French Bread/Arc System Works/Aksys
Best Family
Animal Crossing: New Horizons by Nintendo
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time by Toys for Bob/Activision
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout by Mediatonic/Devolver
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit by Velan Studios/Nintendo
Minecraft Dungeons by Mojang/Double Eleven/Xbox Game Studios
Paper Mario: The Origami King by Intelligent Systems/Nintendo
Best Sim/Strategy
Crusader Kings III by Paradox
Desperados by Mimimi Games/THQ Nordic
Gears Tactics by Splash Damage/The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios
Microsoft Flight Simulator by Asobo/Xbox Game Studios
XCOM: Chimera Squad by Firaxis/2K
Best Sports/Racing
Dirt 5 by Codemasters
F1 2020 by Codemasters
FIFA 21 by EA
NBA 2K21 by Visual Concepts/2K
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 by Vicarious Visions/Activision
Best Multiplayer
Animal Crossing: New Horizons by Nintendo
Among Us by Innersloth
Call of Duty: Warzone by Infinity Ward/Activision
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout by Mediatonic/Devolver
Valorant by Riot Games
Content Creator of the Year
Alanah Pearce
Jay Ann Lopez
Nickmercs
TimTheTatman
Valkyrae
Best Debut Game
Carrion by Phobia Game Studio/Devolver
Mortal Shell by Cold Symmetry/Playstack
Raji: An Ancient Epic by Nodding Heads Games
Röki by Polygon Treehouse
Phasmophobia by Kinetic Games
Everything else you need to know
Presenters
On December 5th, The Game Awards 2020 released a list of presenters who will be appearing on the night. There were a few surprises, to say the least.
The appearance of the Swedish Chef continues a running gag of Muppets characters appearing, with Pepe the King Prawn in 2018 and Bunsen and Beaker in 2019. Compared to the other presenters, the Swedish Chef truly has a connection with gaming culture.
Check out the full lists of The Game Awards 2020 presenters below.
Games to be revealed
It is expected that more titles will be announced, keep your eyes on this space as Geoff Keighley tweets out more reveals. Hopefully we won’t have a repeat of last year’s Fast & Furious Crossroads fiasco.
For now, just two games have been confirmed to feature.
- Dragon Age 4
- Crimson Desert (from the Black Desert Online team)
The Game Awards will air live on December the 10th. For nominations for Esports awards and all the finer details, visit the official page here.
