Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 dominate The Game Awards nominations

We’re less than a month away from The Game Awards and just yesterday, host and creator Geoff Keighley announced this year’s nominees.

It’s no secret that 2023 has been stacked. I’d even go as far as saying that it was nigh impossible to make it through this year without developing a backlog. Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 (PS5) landed on the same day, as did Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Usually, it’s pretty easy to pick out the year’s GOTY contenders but 2023 brought us so many that we were guaranteed a couple of snubs. Well, with the nominations now in, we know that Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 are leading the pack.

Take a look at our review of Alan Wake 2 below.

Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 both garnered eight nominations each. Baldur’s Gate 3 is up for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Score/Music, Best Performance for Neil Newbon, Best Community Support, Best RPG, and Best Multiplayer. Alan Wake 2 was nominated for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Sound Design, Best Performance for Melanie Liburd, and Best Action/Adventure Game.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was next in line, receiving seven nominations, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Hi-Fi Rush which gained five nominations each. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Final Fantasy XVI gained four, while Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6 followed with three. Notably, Starfield came away with just one nomination (Best RPG) while Hogwarts Legacy left totally empty handed.

In terms of who made the cut for Game of the Year, Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are the six games in contention. You can check out the full list of nominations below.

Game of the Year

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

Best Game Direction

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

Best Narrative

• Alan Wake 2
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Best Art Direction

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

Best Score/Music

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

Best Audio Design

• Alan Wake 2
• Dead Space
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2
• Resident Evil 4

Best Performance

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

Games for Impact

• A Space for the Unbound
• Chants of Sennaar
• Goodbye Volcano High
• Tchia
• Terra Nil
• Venba

Best Ongoing Game

• Apex Legends
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact

Best Indie Game

• Cocoon
• Dave the Diver
• Dredge
• Sea of Stars
• Viewfinder

Best Debut Indie Game

• Cocoon
• Dredge
• Pizza Tower
• Venba
• Viewfinder

Best Mobile Game

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

Best Community Support

• Baldur's Gate 3
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy XVI
• No Man's Sky

Best VR/AR Game

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

Innovation in Accessibility

• Diablo IV
• Forza Motorsport
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2
• Mortal Kombat 1
• Street Fighter 6

Best Action Game

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

Best Action/Adventure Game

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

Best RPG

• Baldur's Gate 3
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Lies of P
• Sea of Stars
• Starfield

Best Fighting Game

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

Best Family Game

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

Best Sports/Racing Game

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

Best SIM/Strategy Game

• Advanced Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
• Cities: Skylines II
• Company of Heroes 3
• Fire Emblem Engage
• Pikmin 4

Best Multiplayer Game

• Baldur's Gate 3
• Diablo IV
• Party Animals
• Street Fighter 6
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Content Creator of the Year

• IronMouse
• PeopleMakeGames
• Quackity
• Spreen
• SypherPK

Best Esports Athlete

• Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok
• Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut
• Max ‘Demon1’ Mazanov
• Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez
• Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk
• Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen

Best Esports Coach

• Christine ‘Potter’ Chi
• Danny ‘Zonic’ Sorensen
• Jordan ‘Gunba’ Graham
• Remy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam
• Yoon ‘Homme’ Sung-young

Best Esports Event

• 2023 League of Legends World Championship
• Blast.tv Paris Major 2023
• EVO 2023
• The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
• VALORANT Champions 2023

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike 2
• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• PUBG Mobile
• Valorant

Best Esports Team

• Evil Geniuses
• Fnatic
• Gaimin
• JD Gaming
• Team Vitality

Most Anticipated Game

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Hades 2
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Star Wars Outlaws
• Tekken 8

Best Adaptation

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

The Game Awards will air on 7 December.