There’s been a veritable avalanche of great games in 2024, and the big hitters are now up for the gold.
The nominations for The Game Awards were announced on Monday evening, with Game of the Year nominees Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and Metaphor: ReFantazio dominating the list.
Indie games like Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Neva, Indika, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Manor Lords, Pacific Drive, and more are all up for awards, and major releases like Helldivers 2, Silent Hill 2, Star Wars Outlaws, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are up for awards too — though not Game of the Year.
And for TV fans, Arcane, Fallout, Knuckles, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft are all nominated for Best Adaptation.
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Notably, one of the biggest snubs was BioWare’s excellent Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which only landed one nomination this year for Innovation in Accessibility. I’m sure complete and utter icon Taash would have something to say about this.
Here are the nominations for The Game Awards 2024 — have you played them all?
Game of the Year
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Game Direction
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: ReFantanzio
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Silent Hill 2
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Neva
Best Score and Music
Astro Bot
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Silent Hill 2
Stellar Blade
Best Audio Design
Astro Bot
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Silent Hill 2
Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Diablo IV
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Star Wars Outlaws
Games for Impact
Closer the Distance
Indika
Neva
Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2
Diablo IV
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
Mashable Top Stories
No Man’s Sky
Best Independent Game
Animal Well
Balatro
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Neva
UFO 50
Best Debut Indie Game
Balatro
Animal Well
Manor Lords
Pacific Drive
The Plucky Squire
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Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey
Balatro
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
Wuthering Waves
Zenless Zone Zero
Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Metal: Hellsinger VR
Metro Awakening
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2
Stellar Blade
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Action/Adventure Game
Astro Bot
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars Outlaws
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Fighting Game
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
MultiVersus
Tekken 8
Best Family Game
Astro Bot
Princess Peach Showtime
Super Mario Party Jamboree
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The Plucky Squire
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology: Retold
Frostpunk 2
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Manor Lords
Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24
EA Sports FC 25
NBA 2K25
Top Spin 2K25
WWE 2K24
Best Multiplayer Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Tekken 8
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
Best Adaptation
Arcane
Fallout
Knuckles
Like a Dragon: Yakuza
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yotei
Grand Theft Auto VI
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Monster Hunter Wilds
Content Creator of the Year
CaseOh
IlloJuan
Techno Gamerz
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2
DOTA 2
League of Legends
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
33
Aleksib
Chovy
Faker
ZyWoO
ZmjjKk
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends)
Team Liquid (DOTA 2)
The Game Awards will be announced on Dec. 12 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will be streaming live on The Game Awards website.