Finalists & Winners
Honoring the Best Games of 2021
Ambassador Award Winner
Steven Spohn
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.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Yuji Horii
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 Winner
Valheim (Iron Gate Studio / Coffee Stain Publishing)
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
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital) - WINNER
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios), Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix), Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios), Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji), Death's Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital)
Best Audio
Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble) - WINNER
Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios), It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts), Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), Kid A Mnesia: Exhibition (Arbitrarily Good Productions, Namethemachine / Epic Games), Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Debut
Valheim (Iron Gate Studio) - WINNER
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games)
The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur)
Sable (Shedworks)
Honorable Mentions: Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), ElecHead (Tsuyomi / NamaTakahashi), Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk / Humble)
Best Design
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts) - WINNER
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
Honorable Mentions: Resident Evil Village (Capcom), Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble), Death's Door (Acid Nerve, Devolver Digital), Loop Hero (Four Quarters, Devolver Digital)
Innovation Award
Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble) - WINNER
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / WhisperGames)
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Honorable Mentions: Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji), Loop Hero (Four Quarters, Devolver Digital)
Best Narrative
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios) - WINNER
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble)
Honorable Mentions: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab), Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine / Square Enix), The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller / Dear Villagers), Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital), Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / WhisperGames)
Social Impact Award
Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games) - WINNER
Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji)
Honorable Mentions: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Best Technology
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield 2042 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Visual Art
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment) - WINNER
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive), Resident Evil Village (Capcom), Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)