Red Dead 2 Leads GDC Awards Nominations

The annual Game Developers Choice Awards will be returning for another year this March. Ahead of the show, organizers have now revealed the list of this year's nominees in each category, with Red Dead Redemption 2 leading the way in total nominations.

Rockstar's critically acclaimed open-world western is up for seven awards, including Best Audio, Best Design, and Game of the Year. The title is certainly no stranger to accolades; it took home four awards during The Game Awards this past December, and it was selected as GameSpot's overall Game of the Year for 2018.

Not far behind are two of PS4's biggest exclusives of 2018: God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man, each of which has earned six nominations. Indie hits Celeste and Return of the Obra Dinn are also each up for multiple awards, including Game of the Year. You can take a look at the full list of nominees and honorable mentions in each category below.

In addition to the video game awards, this year's show will present two developers with the Pioneer and Lifetime Achievement awards. The recipient of the former will be announced at a later date, while the latter will be awarded to industry veteran Amy Hennig, who has worked on Naughty Dog's Uncharted series as a writer and director.

The Game Developers Choice Awards are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30 PM PT. The event will be held at the San Francisco Moscone Center during this year's Game Developers Conference, with Double Fine founder Tim Schafer set to return as the host. If you can't attend in person, you'll be able to watch the awards show on Twitch and other as-yet unannounced platforms.

In addition to the GDC Awards, the winners of the 2019 Independent Games Festival are slated to be announced on March 20. The nominees for this year's awards were recently announced and include the aforementioned Return of the Obra Dinn, as well as the "voyeur simulator" Do Not Feed the Monkeys, the beautiful Alto's Odyssey, and others.

Best Audio

• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)

Honorable Mentions

• Beat Saber (Beat Games)
• Wandersong (Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)

• Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Best Debut

• Polyarc (Moss)
• Mountains (Florence)
• Nomada Studio (Gris)
• Villa Gorilla (Yoku's Island Express)
• Sabotage (The Messenger)

Honorable Mentions

• Beat Games (Beat Saber)
• Digital Sun (Moonlighter)
• Two Point Studios (Two Point Hospital)
• Okomotive (Far: Lone Sails)

Best Design

• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• Into the Breach (Subset Games)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions

• Frostpunk (11 bit studios)
• Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

Best Mobile Game

• Alto's Odyssey (Snowman)
• Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
• Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
• Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
• Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions

• Furistas Cat Cafe (Runaway)
• The Room: Old Sins (Fireproof Studios)
• Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage)
• Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox)
• Twinfold (Kenny Sun)

Innovation Award

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
• Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Honorable Mentions

• Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Moss (Polyarc)
• A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

Best Narrative

• Florence (Mountains/Annapurna Interactive)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions

• Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
• Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
• Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge / Good Shepherd Entertainment)

Best Technology

• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
• Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions

• Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios)
• Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
• Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Best Visual Art

• Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions

• Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
• Below (Capybara Games)

Best VR/AR Game

• Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
• Beat Saber (Beat Games)
• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Moss (Polyarc)
• Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions

• Jurassic World Alive (Ludia)
• In Death (Sólfar Studios)
• Tendar (Tender Claws)
• Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Deracine (FromSoftware / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Game of the Year

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
• Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
• God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions

• Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios & Sora / Nintendo)
• Into the Breach (Subset Games)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
• Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
• Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

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