Gaming & Comics
The Game Awards 2021 Nominees: ‘It Takes Two,’ ‘Deathloop,’ and More
The Game Awards 2021 has announced nominees in 30 different categories ahead of the live event on Dec. 9.
We’re less than a month away from the biggest night in video games. On Nov. 16, The Game Awards 2021 announced its nominees, featuring dozens of titles, studios, esports teams, and streamers across 30 categories. As always, in addition to the awards, the show will feature special guest appearances and exciting announcements for games in 2022 and beyond. Host Geoff Keighley, the creator of Summer Game Fest, has already teased via Epic Games that the night will feature around 40 to 50 games “in some way or another.”
Ahead of the live show on Dec. 9, fans can vote for their favorite games in each category. The nominees with the most votes will take home the trophies during the show. The complete list of The Game Awards 2021 nominees can be found below.
Game of the Year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Game Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Narrative
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Art Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
Best Score and Music
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
- Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
- The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Performance
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life Is Strange: True Colors
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, Deathloop
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
- Life Is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
- No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
Best Indie
- 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)
Best Mobile Game
- Fantasian (Mistwalker)
- Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
- League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
- MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
- Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokemon Company)
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Innovation in Accessibility
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Best VR/AR
- Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
- I Expect You to Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)
- Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Best Action Game
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Action/Adventure
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Role Playing
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
- Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Best Fighting
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
- Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Best Family
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)
- New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
- WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best Sim/Strategy
- Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
- Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Sports/Racing
- F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
- Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- New World (Amazon Games)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)
Content Creator of the Year
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
Best Debut Indie
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
- Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)
Most Anticipated Game
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
Best Esports Game
- Call of Duty (Activision)
- CS:GO (Valve)
- DOTA2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Best Esports Team
- Atlanta FaZe (COD)
- DWG KIA (LOL)
- Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (DOTA2)
Best Esports Coach
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
Voting is open now via The Game Awards website. The awards show premieres live on Dec. 9, 2021, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
