The Game Awards 2023: Winners, Announcements And So Much More

Thursday night marked The Game Awards, a celebration of the video game industry's technical and artistic accomplishments. Baldur's Gate 3 emerged as the standout victor at The Game Awards, securing six accolades, including the prestigious Game of the Year. The annual ceremony, dedicated to honoring outstanding achievements in gaming, also bestowed awards upon the game for Best Community Support, Best RPG, Best Multiplayer, Players' Voice, and recognized Neil Newbon, the actor behind Astarion, with the Best Performance award.

This recognition stands as the pinnacle accomplishment for a Dungeons & Dragons-based game, which, for the majority of its six-year development period by the Belgian company Larian Studios, remained relatively unnoticed. However, upon its summer release—23 years after its predecessor—the game captured the attention of gamers. They applauded its robust character creator, intricate narrative, and diverging paths that created a sense of boundless possibilities within its fictional universe teeming with vampires and elves.

The other nominees for game of the year were Alan Wake 2, by Remedy Entertainment; Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, by Insomniac Games; Resident Evil 4, by Capcom; Super Mario Bros. Wonder, by Nintendo; and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, by Nintendo.

Leading up to Thursday's awards, both Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 had the highest number of nominations, each receiving eight nods. Alan Wake 2 performed impressively during the ceremony during the ceremony, securing three trophies in the categories of Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and Best Game Direction.

Announcements At The Gaming Awards 2023

The awards ceremony in Los Angeles doubled as an extensive showcase for upcoming games, with a significant number of them being previously undisclosed, attracting many fans eager to watch new trailers and receive announcements about upcoming titles.

Among the showcased titles were "Big Walk" by House House, the creators of the eccentric Untitled Goose Game; reimagined classics from Sega, such as Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio; an immersive reinterpretation of "Jurassic Park"; and "OD," a new horror game crafted by the visionary game designer Hideo Kojima. Additionally, Ubisoft's long-delayed pirate game, Skull & Bones, was given a new release date: Feb. 16.

Hollywood At The Gaming Awards

Notably, Hollywood celebrities took the stage, highlighting the increasing convergence of the movie and video game industries. The actors Matthew McConaughey, Timothée Chalamet, Simu Liu, and filmmaker Jordan Peele, collaborating with Kojima, made appearances to endorse and promote various games.

“It has progressively gotten larger and larger,” noted Alyssa Mercante, a senior editor at the gaming website Kotaku, who was present at the ceremony. “Essentially it is like the Oscars — if the Oscars also had movie trailers.” 

Mercante pointed out that the event served as a reflection on both the triumphs and challenges within the industry. Despite analysts indicating a relatively equal split in gender among players, she noted that men still outnumber women in leadership roles within the gaming sector.

The 10th edition of the Game Awards was broadcasted live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on December 7, reaching audiences on over 30 platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok Live, and X.

Winners Of The Gaming Awards 2023

Here is the full winners list with other nominees in the categories:

Game of the Year

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Game Direction

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Adaptation

Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix)

Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)

The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures)

Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)

Best Narrative

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)

Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Best Art Direction

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)

Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Score and Music

Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)

Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)

Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Audio Design

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA)

Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Best Performance

Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI

Cameron Monaghan, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor

Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2

Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3

Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)

Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)

Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Games for Impact

A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus)

Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment)

Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)

Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)

Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix)

Venba (Visai Games)

Best Ongoing Game

Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA)

Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Community Support

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)

Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET)

Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)

Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)

Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Debut Indie Game

Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)

Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17)

Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)

Venba (Visai Games)

Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)

Best Mobile Game

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix)

Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)

Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment)

Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom)

Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)

Best VR/AR Game

Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)

Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games)

Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE)

Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)

Synapse (nDreams)

Best Action Game

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver)

Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games)

Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)

Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)

Best Action/Adventure Game

Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best RPG

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)

Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games)

Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)

Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)

Best Fighting Game

God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games)

Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment)

Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube)

Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Best Family Game

Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney)

Party Animals (Recreate Games)

Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo)

Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive)

Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega)

Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sports/Racing

EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)

F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports)

Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)

The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)

Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)

Party Animals (Recreate Games)

Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Players’ Voice

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red)

Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / SIE)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Most Anticipated Game

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Hades II (Supergiant Games)

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika)

Content Creator of the Year

IronMouse

PeopleMakeGames

Quackity

Spreen

SypherPK

Best Esports Game

Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)

Dota 2 (Valve)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO)

Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant)

Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty)

Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends)

Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)

Best Esports Team

Evil Geniuses (Valorant)

Fnatic (Valorant)

Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)

JD Gaming (League of Legends)

Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)

Best Esports Coach

Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)

Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike)

Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch)

Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike)

Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)

Best Esports Event

2023 League of Legends World Championship

Blast.tv Paris Major 2023

EVO 2023

The International Dota 2 Championships 2023

Valorant Champions 2023