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The Game Awards 2023: All nominees and winners

Two particular games scooped up most of the prizes.

Georgina Young

Published: 4:06, 8 Dec 2023
Updated: 4:06, 8 Dec 2023

THE Game Awards is often thought of as the gaming Oscars as it is the year’s biggest award show for all things gaming.

Another thing people often say is that 2023 has been the best year ever for gaming, with what feels like more 80+ releases than any other year.

Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake were the big winners at this year's awards.Credit: Larian Studios

However, of all those amazing games only a handful of them can take home the prize.

Here are the winners in all categories at The Game Awards 2023.

Game of the Year

Baldur’s Gate 3 really cleaned up at this year’s awards and rightly so given how much everyone loved it.

Resident Evil 4
Spider-Man 2
Alan Wake 2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Game Direction

Bringing the strong sense of impending doom, we were still surprised to see Alan Wake 2 walk away with this one.

Spider-Man 2
Alan Wake 2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Narrative

A story told through fragments, where you switch between two characters and the inside of their minds, Alan Wake 2 is a gripping story.

Baldur’s Gate 3
Alan Wake 2
Final Fantasy 16
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Spider-Man 2

Best Art Direction

The dark atmosphere made Alan Wake 2 as terrifying as it is, giving it the award for best art direction.

Hi-Fi Rush
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Lies of P
Alan Wake 2

Best Score & Music

Final Fantasy is known for its incredible music and while there was some good competition, 16 managed to wow fans one more time.

Hi-Fi Rush
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Final Fantasy 16
Baldur’s Gate 3
Alan Wake 2

Best Audio Design

Hi-Fi Rush is a game all about how everything moves on time to the beat and it felt obvious it would win this award.

Dead Space
Alan Wake 2
Hi-Fi Rush
Resident Evil 4
Spider-Man 2

Best Performance

Players fell in love with the charming Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 and it’s easy to see why Newbon took home this award.

Ben Starr – Final Fantasy 16
Idris Elba – Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cameron Monaghan – Star Wars Jedi Survivor
Melanie Liburd – Alan Wake 2
Neil Newbon – Baldur’s Gate 3
Yuri Lowenthal – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Forza put a lot of effort into making it playable for all types of players including audio description and ASL, a worthy winner of this award.

Forza Motorsport
Diablo 4
Hi-Fi Rush
Spider-Man 2
Mortal Kombat 1
Street Fighter 6

Games for Impact

Tchia let more people experience the culture of New Caledonia, which is why it won this award.

A Space for the Unbound
Venba
Goodbye, Volcano High
Tchia
Chants of Sennar
Terra Nil

Best Ongoing Game

Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky launch, but has since come back strong, in particular with the recent Phantom Liberty DLC.

Fortnite
Genshin Impact
Apex Legends
Final Fantasy 14
Cyberpunk 2077

Best Community Support

Releasing in early access, Baldur’s Gate 3 managed to tweak the game until it was ready for its fantastic release.

Baldur’s Gate 3
Cyberpunk 2077
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy 14
No Man’s Sky

Best Independent Game

Sea of Stars brought back old-school RPGs in a way that was modern enough for new audiences.

Cocoon
Dave the Diver
Sea of Stars
Viewfinder
Dredge

Best Debut Indie Game

Cocoon added a new depth to puzzle games that we have never seen before and is well deserving of this award.

Venba
Dredge
Viewfinder
Cocoon
Pizza Tower

Best Mobile Game

From the developers of Genshin Impact, one of the most played games all around the world, Honkai Star Rail was sure to be a success.

Terra Nil
Honkai Star Rail
Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis
Hello Kitty: Island Adventure
Monster Hunter Now

Best VR/AR Game

Since Resident Evil 7 was transferred to VR we got hooked on this new kind of horror, so it’s no surprise that Village took this one.

Resident Evil Village VR mode
Gran Turismo 7
Horizon: Call of the Mountain
Synapse
Humanity

Best Action Game

FromSoftware usually does well at The Game Awards, and Armored Core has continued its streak.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Dead Island 2
Remnant 2
Hi-Fi Rush
Ghostrunner 2

Best Action/Adventure Game

Just like Breath of the Wild the year it came out, Tears of the Kingdom blew players away with how far it pushed the medium.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Alan Wake 2
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Resident Evil 4
Spider-Man 2

Best Role-Playing Game

We expected Baldur’s Gate 3 to clean up at the awards this year, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed.

Baldur’s Gate 3
Lies of P
Sea of Stars
Starfield
Final Fantasy 16

Best Fighting Game

Mortal Kombat 1 tried its best but when it comes to fighting games there is currently no better game than Street Fighter 6.

God of Rock
Street Fighter 6
Mortal Kombat 1
Pocket Bravery
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2

Best Family Game

Also nominated for Game of the Year, it seemed obvious that Mario would take home this award.

Pikmin 4
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Sonic Superstars
Party Animals
Disney Illusion Island

Best Sim/Strategy Game

While this category upset strategy fans, Pikmin 4 made the genre more accessible for a variety of players.

Cities: Skylines 2
Advance Wars 1+2: ReBoot Camp
Company of Heroes 3
Fire Emblem Engage
Pikmin 4

Best Sports/Racing Game

There was only one outstanding sports game this year, and Forza Motorsport was notable for so much more than it’s great accessibility.

EA Sports FC 24
F1 23
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
The Crew Motorfest
Forza Motorsport

Best Multiplayer Game

While Nintendo is best known for its fantastic multiplayer, Baldur’s Gate 3 was just a standout game this year.

Baldur’s Gate 3
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Party Animals
Diablo 4
Street Fighter 6

Player’s Voice Award

Voted for entirely by players, it’s good to see that players' thoughts align so closely with the critics on Baldur’s Gate 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Genshin Impact
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Best Adaptation

The Last of Us made a whole new audience aware of just how great gaming story-telling is.

Gran Turismo
The Last of Us
Castlevania: Nocturne
Twisted Metal
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Most Anticipated Game

We’ve been waiting a long time for the Final Fantasy 7 remake and it didn’t surprise anyone when the sequel took home this award.

Hades 2
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Star Wars Outlaws
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
Tekken 8

Content Creator of the Year

A Vtuber has won creator of the year for the first time ever, and accepted her award via her Vtuber persona.

People Make Games
Quackity
Ironmouse
Sypherpk
Spreen

Best Esports Game

Valorant has a passionate community and has pulled the award out here, but overall League of Legends cleaned up in the esports categories.

DOTA 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
PUBG Mobile
Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok – League of Legends
Mathieu “Zywoo” Herbaut – CS:GO
Max “Demon1” Mazanov – Valorant
Paco “Hydra” Rusiwiez – Call of Duty
Park “Ruler” Jae-Hyuk – League of Legends
Phillip “Imperialhal” Dosen – Apex Legends

Best Esports Team

Evil Geniuses – Valorant
FNATIC – Valorant
Gamin Gladiators – DOTA 2
JD Gaming – League of Legends
Team Vitality – Counter-Strike

Best Esports Coach

Christine “Potter” Chi – Evil Geniuses
Danny “Zonic” Sorenson – Team Falcons
Jordan “Gunba” Graham – Florida Mayhem
Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam – Team Vitality
Yoon “Homme” Sung-Young – JD Gaming

Best Esports Event

2023 League of Legends World Championship
Blast TV Paris Major 2023
EVO 2023
The International DOTA Championships 2023
Valorant Championships 2023

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