The Game Awards 2020 Nominees Revealed, Animal Crossing: New Horizons Included

As 2020 is coming to an end, the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2020 have finally been revealed.

As its been a comparatively slow year for Nintendo in terms of new releases, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Paper Mario: The Origami King, and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit are the only major Nintendo games that appear among the list of nominees. Voting is now live on the Game Awards website here, and you can find the full list of nominees below:

Game of the Year

Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
• DOOM Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

Best Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

• Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (written by George Kamitani)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (written by Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroaki Iwaki, and Sachie Hirano)
• Ghost of Tsushima (written by Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, and Jordan Lemos)
• Hades (written by Greg Kasavin)
• The Last of Us Part II (written by Neil Druckmann and Haley Gross)

 

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

• Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

Best Score and Music

For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

• DOOM Eternal (composed by Mick Gordon)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamazu, and Mitsuto Suzuki)
• Hades (composed by Darren Korb)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (composed by Garreth Coker)
• The Last of Us Part II (composed by Gustavo Santaolala with additional music by Mac Quayle)

 

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

• DOOM Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Resident Evil 3 (Capcom)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

Best Performance

Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.

• 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

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.

• If Found… (Dreamfeel)
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer)
• Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)
• Tell Me Why (Dontnod Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
• Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket Games)

 

Best Ongoing

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward / Activision)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

 

Best Indie

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

• Carrion (Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth)
• Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

 

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

• Among Us (Innersloth)
• Call of Duty Mobile (Timi Studios / Activision)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
• Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
• Pokemon Cafe Mix (Genius Sonority / Nintendo)

 

Best Community Support

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

 

Best VR / AR

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Marvel’s Iron Man VR (Camouflaj / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Star Wars: Squadrons (Motive Studios / Electronic Arts)
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)

 

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
• Grounded (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
• Hyperdot (Tribe Games)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)

 

Best Action

For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

• DOOM Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Nioh 2 (Team Ninja)
• Streets of Rage 4 (Dotemu)

 

Best Action / Adventure

For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

Best Role-Playing

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

• Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
• Persona 5 Royal (Atlus / P Studio / Sega)
• Wasteland 3 (inXile Entertainment / Deep Silver)
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega)

 

Best Fighting

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

• Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Arc System Works / Cygames / XSEED Games)
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• Street Fighter V Champion Edition (Dimps / Capcom)
• One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (Spike Chunsoft / Bandai Namco)
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] (French-Bread / Arc System Works / Aksys Games)

 

Best Family

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
• Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Toys for Bob / Activision)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (Velan Studios / Nintendo)
• Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang / Double Eleven / Xbox Game Studios)
• Paper Mario: The Origami King (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)

 

Best Sim / Strategy

Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

• Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studios / Paradox Interactive)
• Desperados III (Mimimi Games / THQ Nordic)
• Gears Tactics (Splash Damage / The Coalition / Xbox Game Studios)
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)
• XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis / 2K Games)

 

Best Sports / Racing

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

• DIRT 5 (Codemasters Cheshire / Codemasters)
• F1 2020 (Codemasters Birmingham / Codemasters)
• FIFA 21 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
• NBA 2K21 (Visual Concepts / 2K Games)
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (Vicarious Visions / Activision)

 

Best Multiplayer

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
• Among Us (InnerslotH)
• Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward / Activision)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

 

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2020.

• Alanah Pearce
• Jay Ann Lopez
• Nickmercs
• timthetatman
• Valkyrae

 

Best Debut Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

• Carrion (Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital)
• Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry / Playstack)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games / Super.com)
• Roki (Polygon Treehouse / United Label)
• Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)

 

Best eSports Athlete

The eSports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2020, irrespective of game.

• Ian “Crimsix” Porter (Call of Duty)
• Heo “Showmaker” Su (League of Legends)
• Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu (League of Legends)
• Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro (Call of Duty)
• Matthieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)

 

Best eSports Coach

The eSports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2020.

• Danny “Zonic” Sorensen (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
• Dae-Hee “Crusty” Park (Overwatch)
• Fabian “Grabbz” Lohmann (League of Legends)
• Lee “Zefa” Jae-Min (League of Legends)
• Raymond “Rambo” Lussier (Call of Duty)

 

Best eSports Event

Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.

• BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
• Call of Duty League Championship 2020 (Call of Duty)
• IEM Katowice 2020 (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
• League of Legends World Championship 2020 (League of Legends)
• Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020 (Overwatch)

 

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.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward / Raven Software / Activision)
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

 

Best eSports Host

The best host or commentator of eSports events (both in-venue and/or broadcast) in 2020, irrespective of game or language.

• Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
• Alex “Machine” Richardson
• Effje “Sjokz” Depoortere
• James “Dash” Patterson
• Jorien “Sheever” Van Der Heijden

 

Best eSports Team

Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2020.

• Dawon Gaming (League of Legends)
• Dallas Empire (Call of Duty)
• G2 eSports (League of Legends)
• San Francisco Shock (Overwatch)
• Team Secret (DOTA 2)

The Game Awards 2020 will be broadcast live on December 10th via various online platforms.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.