Finalists
Honoring the Best Games of 2022
Audience Award
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.
Cast your vote for GDCA 2023 category nominees, honoring the best games from 2022, by clicking the "Cast your vote" button below.
Game of the Year
Finalists
- 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
Finalists
- 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)
- 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
Finalists
- Neon White (Angel Matrix / Annapurna Interactive)
- NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- 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
Finalists
- 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
Finalists
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)
- 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
Finalists
- God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games / Finji)
- IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid)
- Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
- 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
Finalists
- As Dusk Falls (INTERIOR/NIGHT / Xbox Game Studios)
- Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age / Fellow Traveller)
- 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
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)
- God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive 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
Finalists
- 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)