Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

GDC Awards 2021 nominees include The Last of Us Part II, Hades, and Ghost of Tsushima

By

The nominees for the 21st annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) have been announced. The winners will be selected during the GDCA ceremony, which will take place during the 2021 Game Developers Conference on July 21, 2021.

Leading the list are The Last of Us Part II, Hades, and Ghost of Tsushima, all of which have six nominations each — including Game of the Year. Elsewhere, Half-Life: Alyx, the most recent entry in the acclaimed series, sits comfortably at five nominations. Interestingly, each Game of the Year nominee is exclusive to one platform, with the exception of Hades, which is available on both PC and Nintendo Switch.

Recommended Videos

The nomination list largely looks similar to previous ceremonies like The Game Awards. The only notable absence from the list is Among Us, an indie game that became a smash hit in 2020. Despite the fact that the game initially launched in 2018, it was a staple of 2020 award nominations and year-end roundups.

Below is the full list of GDCA nominees:

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Best Audio

  • Hades (Supergiant Games)
  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Doom Eternal (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix)
  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Debut

  • Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)
  • Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital/Playism, Origame Digital)
  • Carrion (Phobia Game Studio/Devolver Digital)
  • Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry/Playstack)
  • Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games/Super!Com)

Best Design

  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Hades (Supergiant Games)
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)
  • Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Innovation Award

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Dreams (Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver Digital)
  • Hades (Supergiant Games)

Best Mobile Game

  • The Pathless (Giant Squid/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
  • Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
  • Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwo/PID Publishing)
  • If Found… (Dreamfeel/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Narrative

  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix)
  • Hades (Supergiant Games)
  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Technology

  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
  • Dreams (Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Visual Art

  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Hades (Supergiant Games)
  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios/iam8bit)
  • Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED/CD Projekt)

Best VR/AR Game

  • The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)
  • Paper Beast (Pixel Reef)
  • Dreams (Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
  • Star Wars: Squadrons (Motive Studios/Electronic Arts)

Game of the Year

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
  • Hades (Supergiant Games)
  • Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
The Last of Us Part II sells 4 million copies in three days, setting new record
the last of us part ii tips featured

Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II has set a new launch sales record with 4 million units sold in its first three days on store shelves.

The Last of Us Part II's record makes it the "fastest-selling first-party PlayStation 4 exclusive ever," Sony senior vice president of PlayStation marketing Eric Lempel said in a blog post on Friday. Naughty Dog, which developed the game, is a wholly owned Sony development house.

Read more
The Last of Us Part II: 12 tips for staying alive
the last of us part ii tips featured

The Last of Us Part II is a difficult game, not only in terms of subject matter, but also in gameplay. It's a survival game, and although it plays like Uncharted in some areas, you can't run through the game with guns blazing like you're Nathan Drake. Our 12 tips will help you survive the overgrown cityscapes of The Last of Us Part II. 

Further reading

Read more
The Last of Us Part II: Where to find every weapon
the last of us part ii where to find every weapon tlou2 weapons

Seeing as how shooting is one of the central mechanics of The Last of Us Part II, you won't get far without an arsenal of weapons. While the game is designed for you to stealthily get around enemies, there are sections in which you must engage in firearm combat -- whether you use a bow, rifle, or even a flamethrower. However, some of the game's weapons are easily overlooked and are hidden in clever locations, which is why you'll want to be thorough when exploring your surroundings.

Or you can use this guide we've put together, highlighting all 12 weapons in the game and where to find them. It's recommended to find them all, because -- as befits a survival game -- there is limited ammo throughout The Last of Us Part II. The more weapons you have, the less you have to worry about being left defenseless, since ammo is scarce.

Read more