It’s been a damned good year for gaming, even if the rest pf 2016 hasn’t exactly left many people happy. We’ve been treated to gems like the perpetually popular Overwatch, Nathan Drake’s swansong in Uncharted and damned good shooters like Doom and Titanfall 2. And so, so much more. Soon it’ll be time to recognise them as just about every publication on planet earth has some sort of Game of the Year award. Yes, we’ll soon have our own – but the most official of them all are just called the…Game Awards.
The show will be broadcast on December 1 2016 on just about every streaming service the internet has to offer – but it’ll be on at 4 in the morning here in SA, so we’ll just catch up later.
Here though, are the categories and nominees, and how it was all decided.
“Nominees and winners for most categories of The Game Awards are selected by 29 global media and influencer outlets. These publications submit ballots in a nomination and winner round, based on the collective and diverse feedback of their staff. Fan voting determines winners in select categories.”
The Game Awards 2016 Nominees
Game of the Year
- Doom (id Software / Bethesda)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Studio/Game Direction
- Blizzard (Overwatch)
- DICE (Battlefield 1)
- id Software (Doom)
- Naughty Dog (Uncharted 4)
- Respawn (Titanfall 2)
Best Narrative
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Mafia 3 (Hangar 13/2K Games)
- Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony)
Best Art Direction
- Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Music/Sound Design
- Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
- Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
- Thumper (Drool)
Best Performance
- Alex Hernandez as Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
- Cissy Jones as Delilah (Firewatch)
- Emily Rose as Elena (Uncharted 4)
- Nolan North as Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4)
- Rich Summer as Henry (Firewatch)
- Tory Baker as Sam Drake (Uncharted 4)
Games for Impact Award
- 1979 Revolution (iNK Stories)
- Block’Hood (Plethora Project/Devolver Digital)
- Orwell (Osmotic Studios/Surprise Attack)
- Sea Hero Quest (Glitchers)
- That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
Best Independent Game
- Firewatch (Campo Santo)
- Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
- Inside (Playdead)
- Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish)
- The Witness (Thekla)
Best Mobile/Handheld
- Clash Royale (Supercell)
- Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
- Pokemon Go (Niantic)
- Severed (Drinkbox Studios)
Best VR Game
- Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady/Warner Bros.)
- EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
- Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs)
- Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
- Thumper (Drool)
Best Action Game
- Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
- Doom (id Software/Bethesda)
- Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Hitman (IO Interactive/Square Enix)
- Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
- Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog /Sony)
Best RPG
- Dark Souls 3 (From Software/Bandai Namco)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED)
- World of Warcraft: Legion (Blizzard)
- Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)
Best Fighting Game
- Killer Instinct Season 3 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft)
- The King of Fighters XIV (SNK/Atlus USA)
- Pokken Tournament (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Company)
- Street Fighter V (Capcom)
Best Family Game
- Dragon Quest Builders (Square Enix)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TT Fusion/Warner Bros.)
- Pokemon Go (Niantic)
- Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
- Skylanders: Imaginators (Toys for Bob/Activision)
Best Strategy Game
- Civilization 6 (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
- Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
- The Banner Saga 2 (Stoic Studio/Versus Evil)
- Total War: Warhammer (The Creative Assembly/SEGA)
- XCOM 2 (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
Best Sports / Racing Game
- FIFA 17 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft)
- MLB The Show 2016 (SIE San Diego Studio/Sony)
- NBA 2K17 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PES Productions/Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
- Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
- Overcooked (Ghost Town Games/Team17)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Most Anticipated Game
- God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony)
- Mass Effect: Andromeda (BioWare/EAs)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
Fans’ Choice
Best eSports Player
- Faker – [Lee Sang-Hyeok] SK Telecom T1, League of Legends
- Coldzera – [Marcelo David] SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Byun-Hyun Woo – Starcraft 2
- Infiltrator – [Lee Seeon-woo] Team Razer, Street Fighter 5
- Hungrybox – [Juan Debiedma] Team Liquid, Super Smash Bros.
Best eSports Team
- SK Telecom T1 – Game: League of Legends
- Wings Gaming – Game: DOTA 2
- SK Gaming
- ROX Tigers – Game: League of Legends
- Cloud 9
Best eSports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Street Fighter 5 (Capcom)
Trending Gamer
- AngryJoeShow
- Boogie2988
- Danny O’Dwyer
- JackSpeticeye
- Lirik
Best Fan Creation
- Project A2MR
- Pokémon Uranium
- Brutal Doom 64
- Endereal: The Shards of Order
Last Updated: November 17, 2016
Ir0nseraph
November 17, 2016 at 08:27
Damn it was a good year for gaming, and some of those choices won’t be easy.
Uncharted for Game of the year and Overwatch for anything to do with multiplayer, but I hope Doom gets a piece of the pie, that game was rocking.
Gears was great but it wasn’t the best game this year in it’s category.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:02
I need to play Doom. I really really need to play Doom.
Ir0nseraph
November 17, 2016 at 09:04
You really need to.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:07
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e87cb055a047ed1f6375f9c964061aafc209e7f9d5cc87a28c729215bbd477c.jpg
Magoo
November 17, 2016 at 08:27
Most anticipated game: No Man’s Sky…
Ir0nseraph
November 17, 2016 at 08:27
XD
Original Heretic
November 17, 2016 at 08:47
Under game awards razzies, yeah.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 08:28
[quickly scans through]
YAY NO CoD!!!!!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:36
o/ YUS! o/
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:08
Why does everyone hate COD so much?
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
Overhyped, copypasted mediocre PoS game
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:16
Best answer. They lost me after the Modern Warfare series and Black Ops.
Geoffrey Tim
November 17, 2016 at 09:22
Wrong though. The MP this year was copy pasted. The SP was actually realy fresh and exciting. Loved it.
BakedBagel
November 17, 2016 at 09:24
Out of the last 7 or 8 games from IW/Treyarch
only about 2 or 3 have NOT been copy pasted tbh.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:32
So one out of 10 CoD campaigns is decent?
Matthew Holliday
November 17, 2016 at 12:51
Never really enjoyed any of the campaigns, they were good at being time filling fluff, but nothing Id ever have spent money on.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:26
With COD I mainly just play campaigns. Don’t like the multiplayer bit, that’s where BF comes in.
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 09:27
Why spend that amount of money for an hour’s worth of entertainment?
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:29
I dunno. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt because the Modern Warfare is so close to my heart.
Matthew Holliday
November 17, 2016 at 12:53
played the shit out of MW1 and 2, but nothing has grabbed my interest since.
blops was okay
ghosts was just the pits, in every conceivable definition, an utter waste of money
advanced warfare was meh.
I never fell for the Infinite Warfare marketing, so i cant comment.
Id pay for the MW1 remaster or a MW2 remaster, but other than that, theyv lost a customer.
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
I’d rather spend a weekend playing NMS then playing CoD for a hour (And finish it’s campaign)
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
All the kids do it
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:11
CoD is actually a great game as it and Mobas keep most of the vile gaming comunity away from other much more fun MP games. 😛
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:14
Not a great game, I’d rather say the game is USEFUL
Darren Peach
November 17, 2016 at 11:01
The MP is terrible this year. Really bad. The single player was very good but also a touch morbid. Not everyone has to die……SPOILER ALERT !
Matthew Holliday
November 17, 2016 at 12:46
CoD forgot what made it good.
Adding more and more fluff untill it turned into a meme.
badly optimized console ports, copy paste, broken matchmaking system
But mostly, the balanced tactic orientated shooter was taken over by the 14 year old 420mlg360noscopeswaglife.
Shadowblade Tokashi
November 17, 2016 at 08:33
Best Mobile/Handheld
– Pokemon Go
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAH … *breathe* HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* …. *breathe* HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 08:54
BREATHE!
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 17, 2016 at 08:34
Heh. I own and/or have played exactly one of those.
I think JJ owns Oxenfree though…
Captain JJ
November 17, 2016 at 08:54
Bastard! XD
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:35
Best Independent Game
Firewatch (Campo Santo)
Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
Inside (Playdead)
Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish)
The Witness (Thekla)
^that is the only category that matters
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:37
Firewatch was fun, still need to try that new mode they released
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:38
If stardew does not win, I will flip some tables!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:41
I need to play Stardew badly
Lu
November 17, 2016 at 08:44
Stardew is LIFE!
Matthew Holliday
November 17, 2016 at 12:57
Firewatch made for some good time wasting for a day or two.
good stuff.
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 08:53
STARDEW!
Raptor Rants
November 17, 2016 at 08:35
I vote for any game that had 0 launch issues….. mmmmm no takers?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:35
Doom
Deceased
November 17, 2016 at 10:22
Doom and Overwatch
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:35
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 08:41
How do we know this is the real Hammersteyn?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:42
XD
https://media.giphy.com/media/2WGaGfzdEre6c/giphy.gif
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 08:43
XD Yay, Hammer is back
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:44
LOL
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 08:49
Those look like sidevotes, not upvotes
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:55
He hands out upvotes, not his fault what they do with it, then again it is Zoidberg.
Original Heretic
November 17, 2016 at 08:48
Will the real Hammersteyn please stand up. I repeat, will the real Hammersteyn please stand up.
We’re gonna have a problem here…
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:02
I need to play that. Seriosuly.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
Yes you do, how’s Overwatch?
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:14
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5f188231e54c3f20b47150682082b0f10def1b9711bac4d59689ee4c17472fb2.jpg
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 09:15
Pity you play on a console. Filthy peasant. 😛
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:16
XD
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:18
I got like a 35 kill streak first match I tried. Either I don’t suck anymore for some or other reason or the people I played against seriously suck.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:18
Was the same almost for me, but when they start matchmaking that kill steak decreases rapidly
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:20
I only played 3 matches, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. And this coming from a guy that’s very ware of cartooney games.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:31
*wary
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:31
Damn.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:32
Rule 13, if you dish it out, expect to do the dishes when caught 😛
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:36
True dat.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:37
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1870f9e120d95d8da4c4febb716a2d4a814635ad6453790aa0595254a8e94330.jpg
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:20
Lots of squeakers though.
Deceased
November 17, 2016 at 10:24
Though – I believe there are less on PC – just saying
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 10:28
I would believe that. They congregate around consoles to torment adults.
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:37
They should have a category for the biggest fookups of the year. And NMS should be in there
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:44
As well as Mafia 3, The Division, Homefront: The Revolution and Umbrella Corps
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 08:48
You shut your big mouth about the Division!
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:04
Tell them.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
*Tell him
😛
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:12
I stand corrected. Damn, yesterday I was the Grammar Nazi.
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:51
I think I have conditioned myself so much, I have forgotten that division was a game
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 08:53
The Division wasn’t a complete fook up… it was just the Dark Zone.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:54
It is kinda hard picking 5 disappointing games this year
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:54
If you game on PC, it’s really kind of easy 😛
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:55
Rofl
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 08:55
*only
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 08:59
See, it is me
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:05
I agree.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:08
^THIS
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:09
Did they ever fix the DZ?
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:11
I went in there and had fun for the first time. Seems a little more balanced. But if you are alone, it’s still risky. Can’t fix assholes.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:12
Never went back to check
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 09:26
No idea, haven’t played the game in months. @ottokie:disqus even uninstalled it 😛
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:27
I recently reinstalled it for the survival DLC next week. It actually looks super fun.
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:30
Mine is updated as well, but I’m too busy slaying dragons and making armour at the moment
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:31
I think Survival is going to kick ass.
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 09:56
Mine updated, haven’t run it though.
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 10:41
We should make a 4 man team for our first run.
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 09:33
Even deleted the last remaining shyt out of my registry
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 09:34
You just never had proper squadmates!
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 09:56
Screw you buddy!
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 10:17
WTF?
SquadmateS (not singular)
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 10:58
I was IN that squad! 😛
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 08:59
I was wondering where The Division was…..*tongue in cheek waiting for the lashing to start.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:06
Homefront. I had such big hopes. I can’t even bring myself to finish the damn thing.
VampyreSquirrel
November 17, 2016 at 08:52
NMS could be in there 3 times.
Captain JJ
November 17, 2016 at 08:55
NMS messed up so badly that it would probably not even qualify to be nominated for that.
Ottokie
November 17, 2016 at 08:56
It should have a category of it’s own
Captain JJ
November 17, 2016 at 12:13
Ah. So in the future when a game fails, then it gets the No Man’s Sky award.
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:05
Just games or companies? Cause then it will be a huge list. Oculus exclusivity, Bethesda review embargo,Konami everything, AMD GPU “misinformation”. The list goes on.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:09
EA
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:10
Actually EA has not done anything really bad this year that I can recall.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:17
They hiked the prices of their games after release without saying why and we’re still waiting
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:21
Everyone does that at some point or another …. would not call it an EA exclusive. Rather look at MS R1.5k standard digital edition of Gears. That is BS.
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 09:18
Rent a server…
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
November 17, 2016 at 09:19
Forgot about that 🙁
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:22
Design choice …. noit a good one but still not something classified as “bad”. Now if they lied about it then yeah.
Lord Chaos
November 17, 2016 at 09:24
Maybe not bad, but the idea as well as options available are a fookup. For now, will need to see if they improve it.
Aries
November 17, 2016 at 10:48
They did sort of lie about it
Admiral Chief Argonian
November 17, 2016 at 08:51
MASS EFFECT!
Captain JJ
November 17, 2016 at 08:53
Abzu looks incredible.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 08:56
Gears 4, BF1, Rainbow Six siege, Titanfall 2 are quite rightly nominated. Just a question, why did Gears, BF 1 and Titanfall get nominated for best Multiplayer Game? Shouldn’t it be games that are multiplayer only with no campaign???
Geoffrey Tim
November 17, 2016 at 09:21
No, that’s absurd.
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:24
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c37ea8a7b96aabcc1d4bb453a38c54e89bf0d79c14d87a33d077644d869bca6f.gif
Andre Fourie
November 17, 2016 at 09:01
OVERWATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9fff6913eaf57ca1dc63938e756328bb32cdb8a4c72ba22d79c17495a9c2098.gif
Sageville
November 17, 2016 at 09:03
I think Overwatch will clean up all over the place…
I never even heard of this “Inside” game though…
Kromas Ryder
November 17, 2016 at 09:07
Overwatch and Doom will take it all except most anticipated … that will go to Mass Effect.
Deceased
November 17, 2016 at 10:27
^ This guy knows what he’s talking about…
BringBackRucking
November 17, 2016 at 09:31
@Lazygamer
Will you be streaming this?
Date and time please.
Geoffrey Tim
November 17, 2016 at 11:55
It will be broadcast live via PSN, Steam, Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, Xbox Live. 6pm PT/9pm ET/2am UK/4am SA
Deceased
November 17, 2016 at 10:20
It’s rather unfair – Doom and Overwatch are going to take most of the titles 😐
( Also – if Doom doesn’t get the Best Music Award – this shit is rigged 😐 )
Aries
November 17, 2016 at 10:46
Uncharted, Pokemon Go, Overwatch and the Witcher 3 dlc (Shows alot that)
Avithar
November 17, 2016 at 11:36
My prediction for some of the categories are:
Game of the Year: Doom
Best Studio: Dice
Best Narrative: Mafia 3
Best Art: Overwatch
Best Music: Doom
Best Performance: Mafia 3
Best Mobile: Pokemon
Best VR: Batman
Best Action: Gears of War
Best Adventure: Hitman
RPG: Wow Legion
Best Fighting: Street Fighter
Best Family Game: Ratched and Clank
Best Sport: Forza or Fifa
Best Multiplayer: Bf1
Most Anticipated: Red Dead
and thats my whole 2c for the day
iusedtobe(a)regular
November 17, 2016 at 20:08
I dont know about the other categories but there is just no way U4 is not winning GOTY and ND studio of the year.
Avithar
November 18, 2016 at 09:17
but why?
oVg
November 17, 2016 at 11:50
Blood and Wine, Best 50hour experience this year.
oVg
November 17, 2016 at 11:58
If Rise of tomb Raider had the same frame rate as the PS4 reboot from 2 years ago then I would place it higher than U4
40 Insane Frogs
November 17, 2016 at 13:57
Titanfall? But no Battlefield 1? What the hell are these guys smoking?
Audacity (or-das-it-eeee-eee)
November 17, 2016 at 15:06
I’m so glad Troy Bakers name isn’t here
(Hue Hue for when you get the joke)
Thats_How_I_Troll
November 17, 2016 at 16:28
Best journalistic creations: White boys club / Whitelashing….
I have a new Pitchfork:
(o_O) ?