23rd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

Honoring the Best Games of 2022

For photos, please browse our albums.

Audience Award

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

The Audience Award winner is selected from the list of finalist games from every Main Category. The Audience Award winner is selected through a public vote.

Game of the Year

Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Finalists:

• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)

Honorable Mentions: Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age / Fellow Traveller), Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital), Horizon Forbidden West (Geurrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Marvel Snap (Second Dinner Studios, Inc. / Nuverse), Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive), Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Best Audio

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

Finalists:

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Metal: Hellsinger (The Outsiders / Funcom)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment), Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive), Persona 5 Royal (ATLUS / SEGA), Splatoon 5 (Nintendo), TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)

Best Debut

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)

Finalists:

• Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
• NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)
• Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Honorable Mentions: Chained Echoes (Matthias Linda / Deck13), Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital), Marvel Snap (Second Dinner Studios, Inc. / Nuverse), The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), Trombone Champ (Holy Wow Studios LLC)

Best Design

Elden Ring (From Software Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Finalists:

• Marvel Snap (Second Dinner Studios, Inc. / Nurverse)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studios / Annapurna Interactive)
• TUNIC (Team TUNIC / Finji)

Honorable Mentions: Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital), Dwarf Fortress (Bay 12 Games / Kitfox Games), God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid), Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Innovation Award

IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)

Finalists:

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studios / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital), Dwarf Fortress (Bay 12 Games / Kitfox Games), God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sont Interactive Entertainment), Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Trombone Champ (Holy Wow Studios LLC)

Best Narrative

Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)

Finalists:

• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games / Finji)
• IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)
• Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox / Devolver Digital)

Honorable Mentions: A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment), Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age / Fellow Traveller), Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sont Interactive Entertainment), NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury), Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio / Assemble Entertainment)

Social Impact Award

Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age / Fellow Traveller)

Finalists:

• As Dusk Falls (INTERIOR/NIGHT / Xbox Game Studios)
• Endling – Extinction Is Forever (Herobeat Studios / HandyGames)
• I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games / Finji)
• OlliOlli World (Roll7 / Private Division)
• We Are OFK (Team OFK)

Honorable Mentions: Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games), God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Hindsight (Team Hindsight / Annapurna Interactive), NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury), Terra Nil (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)

Best Technology

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

Finalists:

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Beenox, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Activision Shanghai, Demonware, Toys for Bob / Activision)
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Dwarf Fortress (Bay 12 Games / Kitfox Games), Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive / Focus Entertainment), IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid), Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive), Teardown (Tuxedo Labs)

Best Visual Art

Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Finalists:

• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment), Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital), Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive), OlliOlli World (Roll7 / Private Division), TUNIC (TUNIC Team / Finji)