The Game Awards 2021 Nominees Revealed, Metroid Dread In The Running For GOTY

As 2021 comes to a close soon, the full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2021 has now been revealed!

This year, Nintendo’s Metroid Dread made it to onto the list of nominees for the coveted ‘Game Of The Year’ and ‘Best Action/Adventure’ categories. Meanwhile, a number of Nintendo’s other 2021 releases such as Mario Party Superstars, New Pokémon Snap, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, and WarioWare: Get It Together! are also in the running for the ‘Best Family Game’ category.

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.

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Metroid Dread
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village

Best Game Direction

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

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Returnal
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
• Psychonauts 2

Best Art Direction

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

• Deathloop
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• The Artful Escape

Best Score/Music

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

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Deathloop
• Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
• The Artful Escape

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

• Deathloop
• Forza Horizon 5
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village
• Returnal

Best Performance

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

• Erika Mori, Life is Strange
• Giancarlo Esposito, Far Cry 6
• Jason E. Kelley, Deathloop
• Maggie Robertson, Resident Evil Village
• Ozioama Akagha, Deathloop

Games for Impact

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

• Before Your Eyes
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• No Longer Home

Best Ongoing Game

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

• Apex Legends
• Call of Duty: War Zone
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact

Best Indie Game

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

• 12 Minutes
• Death’s Door
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Inscryption
• Loop Hero

Best Debut Indie Game

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

• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Sable
• The Artful Escape
• The Forgotten City
• Valheim

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

• Fantasian
• Genshin Impact
• League of Legends
• MARVEL Future Revolution
• Pokemon Unite

Best Community Support

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

• Apex Legends: Escape
• Destiny 2: Beyond Light
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Fortnite
• No Man’s Sky

Best VR/AR Game

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

• Hitman III
• I Expect You to Die 2
• Lone Echo II
• Resident Evil 4
• Sniper Elite VR

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.

• Far Cry 6
• Forza Horizon 5
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

Best Action Game

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

• Back 4 Blood
• Chivalry II
• Deathloop
• Far Cry 6
• Returnal

Best Action/Adventure Game

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

• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
• Metroid Dread
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village
• Psychonauts 2

Best RPG

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

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Monster Hunter Rise
• Scarlet Nexus
• Shin Megami Tensei V
• Tales of Arise

Best Fighting Game

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

• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
• Guilty Gear -Strive-
• Melty Blood: Type Lumina
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
• Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Best Family Game

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

• It Takes Two
• Mario Party Superstars
• New Pokémon Snap
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
• WarioWare: Get It Together!

Best Sports/Racing Game

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

• F1 2021
• Fifa 22
• Hot Wheels Unleashed
• Forza Horizon 5
• Riders Republic

Best SIM/Strategy Game

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

• Age of Empires IV
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination
• Humankind
• Inscryption
• Microsoft Flight Simulator

Best Multiplayer Game

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

• Back 4 Blood
• It Takes Two
• Knockout City
• Monster Hunter Rise
• New World
• Valheim

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.

• Dream
• Fuslie
• Gaules
• Ibai
• TheGrefg

Best Esports Athlete

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.

• Chris “Simp” Lehr
• Heo “ShowMaker” Su
• Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
• Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

Best Esports Coach

The esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

• Airat “Silent” Gaziev
• Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
• James “Crowder” Crowder
• Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

Best Esports Event

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

• The International 2021
• 2021 League of Legends World Championship
• Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
• PGL Major Stockholm 2021
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020

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
• CS:GO
• DOTA2
• League of Legends
• Valorant

Best Esports Team

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

• Atlanta FaZe, Call of Duty
• DWG KIA, League of Legends
• NAVI, CS:GO
• Team Spirit, DOTA2
• Sentinels, Valorant

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

• Elden Ring
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Starfield