2017 GDC Awards: Overwatch, Dishonored 2, Inside, more up for Game of the Year – here’s the full list nominees

By Stephany Nunneley

The annual Game Developers Conference returns in February, along with the Game Developers Choice Awards.

GDC organizers sent over the list of nominees and honorable mentions today, noting that Firewatch, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Dishonored 2, Inside, and Overwatch were all up for Game of the Year.

Along with the aforementioned, other titles have been nominated for multiple categories. DOOM has three nominations as does Pokemon GO.

Battlefield 1 is up for two awards alongside The Witness, Oxenfree, Thumper, The Last Guardian and No Man’s Sky.

The games which were nominated for each category had to have been released and made publicly available during the 2016 calendar year.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was named game of the year at the 2016 GDC Awards and also took home the award for best technology.

The complete list of nominees, including honorable mentions, for the 17th annual Game Developers Choice Awards are listed below.

Best Audio

• Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Thumper (Drool)
• DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games), Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)

Best Debut

• Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
• Campo Santo (Firewatch)
• ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
• Drool (Thumper)
• Night School Studio (Oxenfree)

Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)

Best Design

• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• The Witness (Thekla)
• Inside (Playdead)
• DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Honorable Mentions: Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dark Souls III (From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Hitman (IO Interactive / Square Enix)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

• Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• Clash Royale (Supercell)
• Pokémon Go (Niantic)
• Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
• Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokémon Company)

Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)

Innovation Award

• The Witness (Thekla)
• Inside (Playdead)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
• Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
• Pokemon Go (Niantic)

Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)

Best Narrative

• The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)

Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Kentucky Route Zero – Act IV (Cardboard Computer), Mafia III (Hangar 13 / 2K Games)

Best Technology

• Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)

Best Visual Art

• Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
• The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Inside (Playdead)

Honorable Mentions: The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Abzu (Giant Squid Studios), Thumper (Drool), DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Best VR/AR Game

• Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games)
• Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
• Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)
• Pokémon Go (Niantic)
• Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games)

Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)

Game of the Year

• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)

Honorable Mentions: DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)

GDC 2017 takes place February 27 through March 3 in San Francisco. Winners of the Game Developers Choice Awards will be announced alongside the Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 1 at 6.30pm PT/9.30pm ET/2am UK.

Double Fine founder Tim Schafer will return as host of the awards show for his sixth time.