Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us 2 and Hades Among GDC Awards Nominees

The next edition of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) will be held on July 19-23. Traditionally, it will be accompanied by the prestigious Game Developers Choice Awards gala. In the last few hours we found out which titles have a chance to win.

Three games received the most nominations, as many as six. The first of them is Ghost of Tsushima. This Samurai tale from Sucker Punch is up for Best Game of the Year, Best Sound, Best Design, Best Narrative, Best Technology and Best Art Direction.

The Last of Us: Part II also hopes to end the night with the most awards. The controversial follow-up to Naughty Dog's 2013 hit was nominated in the same categories as Ghost of Tsushima.

Finally, Hades also has a chance at six statuettes. The independent action RPG from Supergiant Games, the creators of Bastion and Transistor, may receive awards for Best Game, Best Sound, Best Design, Innovation, Best Technology and Best Art Design.

Half-Life: Alyx received five nominations, while Dreams received three. Cyberpunk 2077 has a chance for one statuette.

The full list of Game Developers Choice Awards categories, along with the nominated titles, can be found below. You may notice that honorable mentions are also provided. The productions listed under these categories, however, have no chance of receiving an award.

Nominations for the GDC Awards 2021

Game of the Year

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

Honorable Mentions: Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Doom Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Best Sound

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

Honorable Mentions: Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo), Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios / iam8bit), Fuser (Harmonix Music Systems / NCsoft)

Best Debut

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

Honorable Mentions: Call of the Sea (Out of the Blue / Raw Fury), Röki (Polygon Treehouse / CI Games), If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Best Project

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

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive), Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Innovation

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

Honorable Mentions: Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment), The Last of Us: Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)

Best Mobile Game

1. The Pathless (Giant Squid / Annapurna Interactive)
2. Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
3. Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
4. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwo / PID Publishing)
5. If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority / Nintendo / The Pokémon Company), Reigns: Beyond (Nerial / Devolver Digital)

Best Narrative

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

Honorable Mentions: Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Vanillaware / Atlus)

Best Technology

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

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Art Direction

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

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix), Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital / Playism, Origame Digital), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best VR/AR Game

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

Honorable Mentions: Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games), The Room VR: A Dark Matter (Fireproof Games), Iron Man VR (Camouflaj / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Until You Fall (Schell Games)

The winners in each category will be selected by a jury made up of members of the so-called International Choice Awards Network (ICAN) - a chapter made up of specially invited leading game developers from around the world. Their final verdict will be known on July 21. Everyone who buys a ticket to GDC 2021 will be able to watch the gala.

This year's Game Developers Conference will also be accompanied by the Independent Games Festival Awards. The nominees have not yet been announced.

1. GDC - official website