The 18th annual Game Developers Choice Awards took place Wednesday, March 21, right in the middle of the Game Developers Conference. The awards honor the best game of the year, as selected by game developers.
The biggest winners of the evening were The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Game of the Year, Best Audio, Best Design), Gorogoa (Best Mobile Game, Innovation Award), and Cuphead (Best Debut, Vest Visual Art). See the full list of winners below, and watch the archived stream via Twitch.
GAME OF THE YEAR
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames / Square Enix)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
BEST AUDIO
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Cuphead (StudioMDHR)
Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames / Square Enix)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST DEBUT
StudioMDHR (Cuphead)
Team Cherry (Hollow Knight)
Sidebar Games (Golf Story)
Infinite Fall (Night in the Woods)
Jason Roberts / Buried Signal (Gorogoa)
BEST DESIGN
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames / Square Enix)
BEST MOBILE GAME
Gorogoa (Jason Roberts / Buried Signal / Annapurna Interactive)
Reigns: Her Majesty (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh and Sylvain Tegroeg)
Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)
Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt / Figs / ARTE France / Playdius)
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 Fine Productions)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
BEST NARRATIVE
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall / Finji)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks)
BEST TECHNOLOGY
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
BEST VISUAL ART
Cuphead (StudioMDHR)
Persona 5 (P-Studio / Atlus)
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)
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 V: Skyrim VR (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
The award show also awarded the Audience Award, which is chosen via a public voting process, to NieR: Automata and PlatinumGames. Rami Ismail was awarded the Ambassador Award for his outreach to game developers around the world, while veteran game developer Tim Schafer was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Every year sees countless amazing games worthy of recognition, but this year in particular has seen some of the strongest titles to arrive this generation. The GDCAs give us an opportunity to reflect on and honor the games that provided us with endless joy,” said Katie Stern, General Manager of the Game Developers Conference. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild helped us rediscover a childlike sense of adventure and discovery. Titles like Gorogoa and What Remains of Edith Finch offered us distinct creative visions that can only be experienced in games, and games like Cuphead and Horizon Zero Dawn crafted worlds we could lose ourselves in. Congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees and winners and thank you for your creativity and dedication.”
