The Game Awards on Monday announced its nominations for the best video games of 2024 in multiple categories. PS5 exclusive Astro Bot and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth each received seven nominations, including the coveted Game of the Year honor. Other nominees for the night’s top prize include action RPG Black Myth: Wukong, indie roguelike deck-building game Balatro, groundbreaking RPG Metaphor: Refantazio, and Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree – the first DLC to be nominated for Game of the Year.
Metaphor: ReFantazio was also nominated for Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, and Best Role Playing, for a total of six nominations. Indie darling Balatro, a poker-inspired roguelike deck-building game, finished with the third-highest number of nominations with five, while Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree were nominated with four each.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s Game of the Year nomination angered some fans because it’s not an indie game. The Game Awards will now allow DLC, remasters and remakes to be nominated in all categories “if the jury deems the new creative and technical work worthy of nomination”. Inclusion of the Elden Ring expansion in the category meant the critically acclaimed Yakuza: Infinite Fortune missed out on a Game of the Year nomination.
In terms of independent games, nominees for the best independent game include “Animal Well”, “Balatro”, “Lorelei and the Laser Eyes”, “Neva”, and “UFO 50”. Balatro is this year’s cross-platform breakthrough, and was also nominated for Best Game Direction, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game. Neva, a puzzle platformer from publisher Devolver Digital, also received two nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Impact Game, for a total of three nominations.
The 2024 Game Awards mark the first time since 2019 that a Nintendo-published game is not in contention for the Game of the Year Award. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was nominated for Best Action/Adventure Game and Best Family Game.
The 2024 Game Awards will take place live at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on December 12, 2024, and will be broadcast globally on online platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. The ceremony will be hosted by creator and producer Geoff Keighley. Here’s the full list of nominees:
best game of the year
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (local Thunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
“Elden Ring” Tree Shadow (FromSoftware/ Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Best game guide
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Balatro (local Thunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
“Elden Ring” Tree Shadow (FromSoftware/ Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
best narrative
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Senua’s Legend: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
“Silent Hill 2” (Bloober Team/ Konami)
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
“Elden Ring” Tree Shadow (FromSoftware/ Bandai Namco)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Best soundtrack and music
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
“Silent Hill 2” (Bloober Team/ Konami)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best audio design
Astro Bot (Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Senua’s Legend: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
“Silent Hill 2” (Bloober Team/ Konami)
best performance
Brianna White, Final Fantasy VII Reborn
Hannah Telle, “Life is Strange: Double Exposure”
Humberly Gonzalez, “Star Wars: Desperados”
Luke Roberts “Silent Hill 2”
Melina Jurgens “Senna’s Legend: Hellblade II”
Accessible innovation
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Dragon Age: Veiled Guard (BioWare/EA)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Star Wars Desperados (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
influence game
Closer (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
Senua’s Legend: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Kenzella’s Story: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
Best ongoing games
Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Lorelai and Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mosmouth)
Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Lord of the Manor (Slavic Magic/Masked Horse)
Pacific Avenue (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
Brave Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolvers)
Best Mobile Games
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/ TPCI)
Roaring Waves (Kuro Games)
No Zen Zero Zone (miHoYo)
Best VR/AR Games
Arizona Sunshine Remastered (Vertigo Games)
Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
Batman: Shadow of Arkham (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)
Metal: Hellsingers VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
Subway Awakening (Vertigo Game)
best action games
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Best Action/Adventure Game
Astro Bot (Asobi Team/SIE)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
“Silent Hill 2” (Bloober Team/ Konami)
Star Wars Desperados (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
“Elden Ring” Tree Shadow (FromSoftware/ Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Reborn (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
best fighting games
Dragon Ball: Sparks fly! Zero (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rise (Arc System Works/ Cygames)
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Gamers First Games/WB Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Best Family Games
Astro Bot (Asobi Team/SIE)
Princess Peach: It’s show time! (Good impression/Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Extravaganza (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Brave Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolvers)
Best Simulation/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology: Retelling (Edge of the World/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
Frostpunk 2 (11-bit Studio)
Kunitsujin: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
Lord of the Manor (Slavic Magic/Masked Horse)
Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concept/2K)
Topspin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
“WWE 2K24” (Visual Concept/2K)
Best Multiplayer Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldiver 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)
Super Mario Party Extravaganza (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
best fit
Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
“Fallout” (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)
Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Like a Dragon (SEGA/Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)
most anticipated games
“Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Sucker Punch Productions/SIE
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
“Metroid 4: Beyond” (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
Content Creator of the Year
Case
ilojuan
technology player
typical player
usada pecola
Best esports games
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot Games)
Best eSports Athlete
33 (Neta Shapira)
Aleksi Virolainen
Chovy (played by Jung Ji-hoon)
Faker (Lee Sang Hyuk)
ZyWoO (Matthew Herbot)
ZmjjKk（Zheng Yongkang）
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Games (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends)
Team Liquid(DOTA 2)