The 10th Annual Game Awards
Photo Credit: Polygon
The Game Awards, an annual award ceremony celebrating the achievements of the best video games worldwide, streamed live on Dec. 7 this year. Winners were decided by a blend of an international voting jury of global media and influencer outlets and a public vote.
The live stream of the 10th Game Awards was welcomed on all major streaming services and was streamed from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. With over 30 categories of awards to be honoured, and 112 games nominated, the Game Awards acknowledges the best video games in the global industry.
The most prestigious award, the Game of the Year, recognizes a game that delivers the absolute best experience. Six games were nominated: Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider Man 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2. The award was won by Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios.
Baldur’s Gate 3 not only won Game of the Year, but also Best Community Support Award for transparency and responsiveness in regards to social media activity; Best Multiplayer Award for outstanding massive multiplayer and co-op experiences in gameplay and design; and Best RPG with rich player customization and progression.
Best Performance was awarded to actor Neil Newbon for voice acting, motion, and performance. Lastly, Baldur’s Gate 3 also won Player’s Voice, which is entirely voted for by fans who choose their favourite game of 2023. Baldur’s Gate 3 was the ultimate winner at The Game Awards this year, taking the titles of six trophies.
Alan Wake 2, created by Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing, also performed well, winning three awards: Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. Alan Wake 2 showed outstanding innovation in game direction, creative technical achievement in design and animation, and excellent storytelling and narrative development.
Best Ongoing Game this year went to Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red, which was awarded to the game for its outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves player experience over time. Cyberpunk 2077 won the Best Ongoing Game, despite only recently being announced as fully completed. Many fans received this well, and although the game had a reputation of extreme bugs and glitches during its early release, fans thought it was a well deserved award after a long journey.
Best Esports Game of 2023 went to Valorant by Riot Games for the second year in a row. Valorant did this by delivering the best overall esports experience to players around the world in regards to tournaments, community support, and updates. Valorant beat Riot Games’ League of Legends, Lightspeed/KRAFTON/Level Infinite’s PUBG Mobile, and Valve’s Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2.
The Best Action/Adventure award, for combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving, was given to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom from Nintendo EPD/Nintendo. Despite being nominated for five different awards, the game only took home one award this year for its ongoing success.