21st Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

Honoring the Best Games of 2020

For photos, please browse our albums.

Pioneer Award

Tom Fulp

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.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Laralyn McWilliams

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.

Audience Award

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Game of the Year

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Finalists:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Doom Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Genshin impact (miHoYo)

Best Audio

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Finalists:

• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Doom Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo), Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios / iam8bit), Fuser (Harmonix Music Systems / NCsoft)

Best Debut

Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)

Finalists:

• Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital / Playism, Origame Digital)
• Carrion (Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital)
• Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry / Playstack)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games / Super!Com)

Honorable Mentions: Call of the Sea (Out of the Blue / Raw Fury), Röki (Polygon Treehouse / CI Games), If Found… (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Best Design

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Finalists:

• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive), Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Innovation Award

Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Finalists:

• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)

Honorable Mentions: Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment), The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)

Best Mobile Game

Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Finalists:

• The Pathless (Giant Squid / Annapurna Interactive)
• Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
• Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwo / PID Publishing)
• If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority / Nintendo / The Pokémon Company), Reigns: Beyond (Nerial / Devolver Digital)

Best Narrative

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Finalists:

• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer / Annapurna Interactive)
• Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Vanillaware / Atlus)

Best Technology

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)

Finalists:

• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Visual Art

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Finalists:

• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios / iam8bit)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital / Playism, Origame Digital), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best VR/AR Game

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Finalists:

• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)
• Paper Beast (Pixel Reef)
• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Star Wars: Squadrons (Motive Studios / Electronic Arts)

Honorable Mentions: Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games), The Room VR: A Dark Matter (Fireproof Games), Iron Man VR (Camouflaj / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Until You Fall (Schell Games)