It’s that time of the year again where discussions are to be had on what games truly deserve to be called the “best” in their genres. The 2019 game awards nominee list has been announced and it’s packed with games you may have already expected but also some pleasant surprises in between! Let’s look at the whole list below:
Game of the Year – Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Resident Evil 2 Remake
- Sekiro Shadow Die Twice
- The Outer Worlds
Best Action Game – For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.
- Apex Legends
- Astral Chain
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Devil May Cry 5
- Gears 5
- Metro Exodus
Best Action/Adventure Game – For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Borderlands 3
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Best Art Direction – For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Gris
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Best Audio Design (Presented by Dolby) – Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Gears 5
- Resident Evil 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Best Community Support – Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness.
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Content Creator of the Year – For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the industry in 2019.
- Courage – Jack Dunlop
- Dr. Lupo – Benjamin Lupo
- Ewok – Soleil Wheeler
- Grefg – David Martinez
- Shroud – Michael Grzesiek
Best Esports Coach – The esports coach judged to be the most oustanding for performance and conduct in 2019.
- Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag(Team Liquid, CS:GO)
- Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang (Team Liquid, LOL)
- Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann(G2 Esports, LOL)
- Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun (SK Telecom T1, LOL)
- Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz(OG, DOTA2)
- Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen (Astralis, CSGO)
Best Esports Event – Recognizing a singular event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants, in-person fans, and the broadcast audience.
- 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
- EVO 2019
- Fortnite World Cup
- IEM Katowice 2019
- League of Legends World Championship 2019
- The International 2019
Best Esports Game – For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support, and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- DOTA2
- Fortnite
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
Best Esports Host – The best host or commentator of esports events (both in-venue and/or broadcast) in 2019, irrespective of game or language.
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Paul “Redeye” Chaloner
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Duan “Candice” Yu-Shuang
Best Esports Player – The esports player judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2019, irrespective of game.
- Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf (Immortals, Fortnite)
- Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom, League of Legends)
- Luka ‘Perkz’ Perkovic (G2 Esports, League of Legends)
- Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CSGO)
- Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won (SF Shock, Overwatch)
Best Esports Team – Recognizing an individual esports team judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2019.
- Astralis (CS:GO)
- G2 Esports(LOL)
- OG (DOTA2)
- San Francisco Shock(OWL)
- Team Liquid(CS:GO)
Best Family Game – For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
Best Fighting Game – For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- Dead or Alive 6
- Jump Force
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Samurai Showdown
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Fresh Indie Developer (Presented by Subway) – Recognizing a new independent studio that released its first game in 2019.
- ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
- Nomada Studio for Gris
- DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
- Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
- Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
- House House for Untitled Goose Game
Best Game Direction – Awarded to a game studio for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Outer Wilds
Games for Impact – For a thought provoking game with a profound pro-social meaning or message.
- Concrete Genie
- Gris
- Kind Words
- Life is Strange 2
- Sea of Solitude
Best Independent Game – For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Baba Is You
- Disco Elysium
- Katana ZERO
- Outer Wilds
- Untitled Goose Game
Best Mobile Game – For the best game playable on a dedicated mobile device.
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- GRINDSTONE
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Sky: Children of Light
- What the Golf?
Best Multiplayer Game – For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
- Apex Legends
- Borderlands 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Tetris 99
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Best Narrative – For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Disco Elysium
- The Outer Worlds
Best Ongoing Game – Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Best Performance – Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb in The Outer Worlds
- Courtney Hopeas Jesse Faden in Control
- Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz in Gears 5
- Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff in Death Stranding
- Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling in Control
- Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges in Death Stranding
Best Role-Playing Game – For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Disco Elysium
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
- The Outer Worlds
Best Score/Music Game (Presented by Spotify) – For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Cadence of Hyrule
- Death Stranding
- Devil May Cry 5
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
Best Sports/Racing Game – For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
- DiRT Rally 2.0
- eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020
- F1 2019
- FIFA 20
Best Strategy Game – Best game focused on real time or turn-based strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Anno 1800
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Tropico 6
- Wargroove
Best VR/AR Game – For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Asgard‘s Warth
- Blood & Truth
- Beat Saber
- No Man’s Sky
- Trover Saves the Universe
You may vote for any of the categories above through this link, so make it count and show your support to your picks!
Did any of your favorites make the cut? What game do you think deserves game of the year? Let us know in the comments below!
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
