Nominees for the 2018 Game Developer Choice Awards Announced

This year’s GDC nominees include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn along with several indie titles.

Earlier this week, the nominees for the IGF Awards at GDC were announced. Now, the official nominees for the 2018 Game Developer Choice Awards have been revealed.

Leading the pack this year include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, both of which were nominated for a total of six awards.

Meanwhile, several indie games have landed themselves nominations as well including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Cuphead, Helllade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and Night in the Woods, among others.

To find out the winners, be sure to check out the 2018 GDC Awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 21st at 6:30 p.m. (PST) at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Below, you'll find the full list of nominees for the 2018 Game Developer Choice Awards!

Nominees for the 2018 Game Developer Choice Awards

Best Audio

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts), Resident Evil 4: Biohazard (Capcom), Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision), Persona 5 (P-Studio/Atlus), Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/Finji)

Best Debut

  • Team Cherry (Hollow Knight)
  • Sidebar Games (Golf Story)
  • Studio MDHR (Cuphead)
  • Infinite Fall (Night in the Woods)
  • Jason Roberts/Buried Signal (Gorogoa)

Honorable Mentions: Game Grumps (Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator), Terrible Toybox (Thimbleweed Park), Team Salvato (Doki Doki Literature Club), Lizardcube (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap)

Best Design

  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix)

Honorable Mentions: Cuphead (Studio MDHR), Gorogoa (Jason Roberts/Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive), What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive), Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios), Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy), Prey (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)

Best Mobile Game

  • Reigns: Her Majesty (Nerial/Devolver Digital)
  • Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh and Sylvain Tegroeg)
  • Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)
  • Gorogoa (Jason Roberts/Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt/Figs/ARTE France/Playdius)

Honorable Mentions: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo), Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules), Flipflop Solitaire (Zach Gage), Gnog (KO_OP/Double Fine Productions)

Innovation Award

  • Gorogoa (Jason Roberts/Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Everything (David OReilly/Double Find Productions)
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)

Honorable Mentions: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Cuphead (Studio MDHR), Nier Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix), Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Tacoma (Fullbright), Pyre (Supergiant Games)

Best Narrative

  • Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/Finji)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks)

Honorable Mentions: Nier: Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix), Tacoma (Fullbright), Persona 5 (P-Studio/Atlus), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios), Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Technology

  • Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars Battlefront 2 (EA DICE Electronic Arts), Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames Bethesda Softworks), Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Nier: Automata (Platinum Games /Square Enix), Resident Evil 7 biohazard (Capcom)

Best Visual Art

  • Persona 5 (P-Studio/Atlus)
  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/Finji)

Honorable Mentions: Gorogoa (Jason Roberts/Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive), Star Wars Battlefront 2 (EA DICE/Electronic Arts), Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best VR/AR Game

  • Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
  • Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment/Ubisoft)
  • Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
  • The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim VR (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)

Honorable Mentions: Farpoint (Impulse Gear/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (Owlchemy Labs/Adult Swim Games), Luna (Funomena), Robo Recall (Epic Games), Gnog (KO_OP/Double Fine Productions), Doom VFR (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)

Game of the Year

  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Honorable Mentions: Cuphead (Studio MDHR), What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive), Persona 5 (P-Studio/Atlus), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory), Gorogoa (Jason Robert/Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive), Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios), Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/Finji)

For more information on the 2018 Game Developer Choice Awards, be sure to check out the official website. The GDC Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 21st at 6:30 p.m. (PST) at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. To find out the winners, be sure to check back here at Indie Obscura! 

Morgan is a writer, indie game lover, and socially awkward coffee addict. Need something? Morgan can be reached at morgan.shaver@allgamers.com or if you like, you can say hello using GIFs on Twitter.

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