Arguably the biggest video game award show of the year, the titular Game Awards have evolved over the years to be an annual event that’s actually well worth a watch not only due to the kudos thrown at deserving winners but also for sneak peeks at upcoming titles. Last year saw Mortal Kombat 11, Rage 2 and the Outer Worlds all steal the spotlight with trailer debuts, while games such as God of War, Forza Horizon 4 and Fortnite cleaned up nicely in the awards section.
This year though? It’s going to be another tight race to the top as 2019 was another stellar year for new releases. The 2019 nominees have been announced, with Death Stranding unsurprisingly grabbing nominations in eight of the categories. Game Awards show host and boss Geoff Keighley apparently knows Hideo Kojima, according to my sources.
Here’s the full list for games of the year:
Game of the Year
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai-Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Game Direction
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo/Focus Home)
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Art Direction
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
- Cadence of Hyrule (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom)
- Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb, The Outer Worlds
- Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden, Control
- Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz, Gears 5
- Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff, Death Stranding
- Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling, Control
- Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, Death Stranding
Games for Impact
- Concrete Genie (Pixelopus/SIE)
- Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- Kind Words (Popcannibal)
- Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod/Square Enix)
- Sea of Solitude (Jo-Mei Games/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Katana ZERO (Askiisoft/Devoler)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Mobile Game
- Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
- GRINDSTONE (Capybara Games)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
- Sky: Children of Light (Thatgamecompany)
- What the Golf? (Tribland)
Best VR/AR Game
- Asgard’s Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
- Blood & Truth (SIE London Studio/SIE)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games)
Best Action Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Astral Chain (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
- Metro Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
Best RPG
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Final Fantasy 14 (Square Enix)
- Kingdom Hearts 3 (Square Enix)
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Fighting Game
- Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo)
- Jump Force (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
- Mortal Kombat 11 (NetherRealm/WBIE)
- Samurai Showdown (SNK/Athlon)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
Best Family Game
- Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)
- Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
- Yoshi’s Crafted World (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall (Triumph Studios/Paradox)
- Anno 1800 (Blue Byte/Ubisoft)
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems/Koei Tecmo/Nintendo)
- Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Tropico 6 (Limbic Entertainment/Kalypso Media)
- Wargroove (Chucklefish)
Best Sports/Racing Game
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Beenox/Activision)
- DiRT Rally 2.0 (Codemasters)
- eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES Productions/Konami)
- F1 2019 (Codemasters)
- FIFA 20 (EA Sports)
Best Multiplayer Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Tetris 99 (Arika/Nintendo)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Fresh Indie Developer
- ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
- Nomada Studio for Gris
- DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
- Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
- Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
- House House for Untitled Goose Game
Content Creator of the Year
- Courage – Jack Dunlop
- Dr. Lupo – Benjamin Lupo
- Ewok – Soleil Wheeler
- Grefg – David Martínez
- Shroud – Michael Grzesiek
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA2 (Valve)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Esports Player
- Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf (Immortals, Fortnite)
- Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom, League of Legends)
- Luka ‘Perkz’ Perkovic (G2 Esports, League of Legends)
- Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CSGO)
- Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won (SF Shock, Overwatch)
Best Esports Team
- Astralis (CS:GO)
- G2 Esports (LOL)
- OG (DOTA2)
- San Francisco Shock (OWL)
- Team Liquid (CS:GO)
Best Esports Event
- 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
- EVO 2019
- Fortnite World Cup
- IEM Katowice 2019
- League of Legends World Championship 2019
- The International 2019
Best Esports Coach
- Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag (Team Liquid, CS:GO)
- Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang (Team Liquid, LOL)
- Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann (G2 Esports, LOL)
- Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun (SK Telecom T1, LOL)
- Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz (OG, DOTA2)
- Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen (Astralis, CSGO)
Best Esports Host
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Paul “Redeye” Chaloner
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Duan “Candice” Yu-Shuang
I can’t believe Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance didn’t make the cut yet again. The Game Awards take place on December 12, from 17:30 PT which is the ungodly hour of 03:30 AM this side of the world.
Last Updated: November 20, 2019
Kromas
November 20, 2019 at 08:12
Too many “Best E-sports ….” catagories. I mean come on!
Also Outer Worlds will beat Death Stranding so meh.
Pariah
November 20, 2019 at 08:42
Yeah it still doesn’t come close to physical sports circle-jerking, so I’ll take 8 or 10 esports awards any day.
Pariah
November 20, 2019 at 08:42
No real surprises in that list.
Alessandro Barbosa
November 20, 2019 at 12:45
The Outer Wilds should be in a lot more categories. And Death Stranding in…fewer
Matthew Figueira
November 21, 2019 at 13:07
Petition to change the name of either The Outer Wilds or The Outer Worlds so morons like me don’t get confused xD
Yozzie
November 20, 2019 at 08:27
Death Stranding is by no means a good “game” the gameplay itself is very very bland and basic. But the story on the other hand was amazing. Kojima is making a good move to rather go into movies.
Marius Nell
November 20, 2019 at 09:52
Disagree. Most open world games I hate the moment to moment gameplay since the open worlde merely padds the playtime and the mission is only at the destination. In Death Stranding I abselutely love every second of gameplay and every couple of hours new items unlock that fundementally change how I plan and play my journeys.
Also what defines a Good game? level of polish should definately be there as well as graphic fedelity and for such a small team in such a big game and big publishers should be ashamed at the state they release games these days.
Not every game is a fit for every player but claiming its not a Good “game” not a fair statement.
Remember the days when Telltales The walking dead was game of the year? It was a visual novel yet still a brilliant game
Yozzie
November 20, 2019 at 10:17
Fair points. To me I pit it together with how other games are polished with movement, animations and combat. So when saying it’s not a good game is just my own opinion. I would happily pay $60 for this with the gameplay cut out and only play the cutscenes like a movie.
Admiral Chief
November 20, 2019 at 08:32
I’m very happy to see Outer Worlds feature so much!
G8crasha
November 20, 2019 at 09:08
I am more excited about seeing announcements for new games. I couldn’t care much for the awards!
Jacques Van Zyl
November 20, 2019 at 11:53
Kind Words is really nice! A sleeper gem I think.
Jonah Cash
November 20, 2019 at 20:26
The only award worthwhile is this one:
Best Sports/Racing Game
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Beenox/Activision)
DiRT Rally 2.0 (Codemasters)
eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES Productions/Konami)
F1 2019 (Codemasters)
FIFA 20 (EA Sports)
Ask Hammer, he knows what is up!