‘Red Dead Redemption 2,’ ‘God of War,’ ‘Spider-Man’ lead GDC Awards nominees

By Aaron Mamiit January 5, 2019

The 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards has revealed its nominated games, and to no surprise, leading the way are Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, and Spider-Man.

For the 2018 GDC Awards, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch and Horizon Zero Dawn for the PlayStation 4 were the frontunners with six nominations each, including Game of the Year. The latest The Legend of Zelda entry was the big winner with three awards, namely Game of the Year, Best Audio, and Best Design.

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Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, and Spider-Man will hope to replicate the success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the 19th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards.

Red Dead Redemption 2 received seven nominations, while God of War and Spider-Man, both PlayStation 4 exclusives, received six nominations each. All three games are vying for the coveted Game of the Year award, alongside Return of the Obra Dinn and Celeste, which received four and three nominations, respectively.

Interestingly, four of the five Game of the Year award nominees, excluding Celeste, were also nominated for the Best Narrative award, joined by Florence which was given an Honorable Mention for Game of the Year.

The 2019 GDC Awards will also hand out the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Pioneer Award. Amy Hennig, creative director and writer for Naughty Dog’s Uncharted franchise, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The winner of the Pioneer Award, meanwhile, will be announced at a later date.

The nominees and the winners of the Game Developers Choice Awards are selected by the International Choice Awards Network, which is an invitation-only organization of video game developers from all part of the industry. All games released within 2018 are eligible for eligible for the 2019 GDC Awards.

The winners of the 19th Annual GDC Awards will be announced during this year’s Game Developers Conference, which will be held on March 20 at the San Francisco Moscone Center in conjunction with the Independent Games Festival Awards.

This year’s GDC Awards will bring back as its host Tim Schafer, the founder of Double Fine productions, which is hard at work on the highly anticipated Psychonauts 2.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

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)

Best Debut

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

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)

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)

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)

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)

Best Technology

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

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)

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)

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)

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Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…

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