Gamescom kicks off next week. While it doesn’t quite have the general industry hype that E3 tends to have, it’s easily my favourite of the great big Western video game conventions. Open to the public, Gamescom sees more than 360 000 people through its hallowed halls every year, looking to celebrate the latest available and upcoming video games. It’s also hosted in one of my favourite cities on the planet, Cologne. I’ve gone on a bit of a tangent, I suppose.
Anyway, Gamescom is next week, and – as is custom – the nominees for the Gamescom awards have been announced. For games to have been nominated, the publishers had to have paid a nominal fee, along with a host of other little rules. Next week a bunch of industry and media professionals will sit down with these games and judge which of them nab the coveted awards. Here are the nominees:
Category Group: Genre
Best Action Adventure Game
- Blacksad: Under the Skin, astragon Entertainment
- Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Nintendo
Best Action Game
- Borderlands 3, 2K
- DOOM Eternal, ZeniMax Germany
- Marvel’s Avengers, Square Enix
Best Family Game
- Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Luigi’s Mansion 3, Nintendo
Best Racing Game
- Grid, Koch Media
- Hot Wheels Infinite Loop, Mattel
- Need for Speed Heat, Electronic Arts
Best Role-Playing Game
- Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix
- Pokémon Schwert und Pokémon Schild, Nintendo
- Wasteland 3, Koch Media
Best Simulation Game
- Barotrauma, Daedalic Entertainment
- NBA 2K20, 2K
- Planet Zoo, Frontier
Best Sports Game
- EA SPORTS FIFA 20, Electronic Arts
- eFootball PES 2020, Konami
- Roller Champions, Ubisoft
Best Strategy Game
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Microsoft
- Desperados III, THQ Nordic
- Foundation, Polymorph Games
Most Original Game
- Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Felix The Reaper, Daedalic Entertainment
Category Group: Platform
Best Microsoft Xbox One Game
- Bleeding Edge, Microsoft
- Borderlands 3, 2K
- Gears 5, Microsoft
Best Nintendo Switch Game
- Luigi’s Mansion 3, Nintendo
- Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, Nintendo
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Nintendo
Best Sony PlayStation 4 Game
- Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix
Best Mobile Game
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar – Mobile Edition, HandyGames
- Hot Wheels Infinite Loop, Mattel
- Lock’s Quest, HandyGames
Best PC Game
- Borderlands 3, 2K
- DOOM Eternal, ZeniMax Germany
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Ubisoft
Last Updated: August 15, 2019
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 12:52
HOW CAN GAMES BE NOMINATED THAT ARE NOT OUT YET??????
#HAX
HvR
August 15, 2019 at 15:26
Best got to to be Age of Empires II
Re-remaster of 20 year old game yet to be released
G8crasha
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
Yeah. I’m confused! So, do they judge them on hype, trailers – what!
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
AND THE HYPE AWARD GOES TO…
Yahtzee
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
Borderlands 3
Guz
August 15, 2019 at 14:23
That could actually be an award category sadly
HairyEwok
August 15, 2019 at 13:16
Hey, at least Anthem isn’t there for Best PC Game. But yeah what bullshit is this, if games that aren’t released yet is on the list then we demand Cyberpunk2077 be on there.
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 13:17
And what about Call of Doody ReModernErEst 55?
Magoo マグ
August 15, 2019 at 13:23
It’s like taking someone out for dinner to a restaurant that you’ve never been to, picking something out on the menu and telling them “This is the best dish here.”
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 13:29
Perfect analogy
Geoffrey Tim
August 20, 2019 at 10:08
Well, not really – because the judges got to play these games before the doors opeened.
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 21, 2019 at 09:47
And before the doors opened, how much money/favours were exchanged?
Guz
August 15, 2019 at 14:23
Was also confused, somebody got paid somewhere for this list to be made #gamescapture
HvR
August 15, 2019 at 15:28
“games to have been nominated, the publishers had to have paid a “nominal fee””
Guz
August 15, 2019 at 15:48
Missed that, just skimmed thru the list of nominees .What a load of bull this is
HvR
August 15, 2019 at 15:20
Maybe Geoff should go educate them on why handing out awards based on expo presentation is a bad idea.
https://i0.wp.com/media.criticalhit.net/2014/06/Evolve-award.jpg
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 20, 2019 at 09:42
HAH
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
August 16, 2019 at 10:09
I was about to comment this.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
August 16, 2019 at 10:09
The award winners will definitely have trailers saying “Winner of # Gamescom awards”. Sigh
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 20, 2019 at 09:42
Pathetic. Lost all my respect and interest for Gamescom
HairyEwok
August 15, 2019 at 13:09
It would seem the best in some of these categories have a really low bar set.
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 12:52
Marvel’s Avengers????????
LOLWAT
Yahtzee
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
And this time lets not try and leak all the personal info on the attendees, mmmmmk.
Yahtzee
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
“Pokémon Schwert und Pokémon Schild”
Going full German today are we xD
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 12:59
Jawohl!
HairyEwok
August 15, 2019 at 13:09
Was zur Hölle!
HvR
August 15, 2019 at 15:10
zwischen meinen Pobacken
HairyEwok
August 15, 2019 at 13:09
It would seem the best in some of these categories have a really low bar set.
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 15, 2019 at 13:17
BEST surprise for me was Mutant Year Zero
HvR
August 15, 2019 at 15:26
That whole strategy game section is a joke.
Okay Foundation is something different and might deserve the nomination.
But a re-remaster instead of They are Billions, Planetfall, Anno, Total War?
Mister_Marston
August 16, 2019 at 00:33
Lmao