17th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

Honoring the Best Games of 2016

For photos, please browse our albums.

Lifetime Achievement Award

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

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

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

Battlefield 1 (EA DICE)

Game of the Year

Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Finalists:

• 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)

Finalists:

• 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)

Finalists:

• 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

Firewatch (Campo Santo)

Finalists:

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

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

Best Design

Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Finalists:

• 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)

Finalists:

• 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 Montréal / 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)

Finalists:

• 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)

Finalists:

• 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)