2023 Finalists
Honoring the Best Games of 2022
Audience Award
WINNER: 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
WINNER: Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
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
WINNER: God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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
WINNER: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
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
WINNER: Elden Ring (From Software Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
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
WINNER: MMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)
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
WINNER: Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
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
WINNER: Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age / Fellow Traveller)
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
WINNER: God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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
WINNER: Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
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)