19th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

Honoring the Best Games of 2018

For photos, please browse our albums.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Amy Hennig

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

Rieko Kodama

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 in video game history - paving the way for the myriads who followed them.

Audience Award

Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Game of the Year

God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Finalists:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)

Honorable Mentions: Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios & Sora / Nintendo), Into the Breach (Subset Games), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

Best Audio

Celeste (Matt Makes Games)

Finalists:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games), Wandersong (Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Best Debut

Florence (Mountains)

Finalists:

• Moss (Polyarc)
• Gris (Nomada Studio)
• Yoku's Island Express (Villa Gorilla)
• The Messenger (Sabotage)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games), Moonlighter (Digital Sun), Two Point Hospital (Two Point Studios), Far: Lone Sails (Okomotive)

Best Design

Into the Breach (Subset Games)

Finalists:

• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Frostpunk (11 bit studios), Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

Best Mobile Game

Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)

Finalists:

• Alto's Odyssey (Snowman)
• Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
• Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
• Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Furistas Cat Cafe (Runaway), The Room: Old Sins (Fireproof Studios), Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage), Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox), Twinfold (Kenny Sun)

Innovation Award

Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Finalists:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Honorable Mentions: Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Moss (Polyarc), A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

Best Narrative

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Finalists:

• Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions: Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge / Good Shepherd Entertainment)

Best Technology

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Finalists:

• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
• Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios), Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montréal and Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Best Visual Art

Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)

Finalists:

• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions: Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Below (Capybara Games)

Best VR/AR Game

Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Finalists:

• Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Moss (Polyarc)
• Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Jurassic World Alive (Ludia), In Death (Sólfar Studios), Tendar (Tender Claws), Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Deracine (FromSoftware / Sony Interactive Entertainment)