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Finalists & Winners

Honoring the Best Games of 2016

For photos, please browse our albums.

Lifetime Achievement Winner

Tim Sweeney

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole.

Pioneer Award Winner

Jordan Mechner

The Pioneer Award (formerly known as the First Penguin Award) celebrates those individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design at a crucial juncture video game history - paving the way for the myriads who followed them.

Ambassador Award Winner

Mark DeLoura

The Ambassador Award honors an individual or individuals who have helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to be an advocate for video games and help further our art.

Audience Award Winner

Battlefield 1 (EA DICE)

Game of the Year

Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Inside (Playdead)
Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)

Honorable Mentions: DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)

Innovation Award

No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

The Witness (Thekla)
Inside (Playdead)
Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
Pokémon Go (Niantic)

Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)

Best Audio

Inside (Playdead)

Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
Thumper (Drool)
DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games), Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)

Best Debut

Campo Santo (Firewatch)

Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
Drool (Thumper)
Night School Studio (Oxenfree)

Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)

Best Design

Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
The Witness (Thekla)
Inside (Playdead)
DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Honorable Mentions: Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts), Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dark Souls III (From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Hitman (IO Interactive / Square Enix)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

Pokémon Go (Niantic)

Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Clash Royale (Supercell)
Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokémon Company)

Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)

Best Narrative

Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)

The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Inside (Playdead)

Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV (Cardboard Computer), Mafia III (Hangar 13 / 2K Games)

Best Technology

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokémon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)

Best Visual Art

Inside (Playdead)

Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Abzu (Giant Squid Studios), Thumper (Drool), DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Best VR/AR Game

Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)

Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games)
Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
Pokémon Go (Niantic)
Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games)

Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)