The developer-picked nominations are led by Deathloop with a total of six nominations, followed by It Takes Two with five and Forza Horizon 5 with four nominations. All three have also been nominated for Game of the Year award alongside Inscryption and Resident Evil Village. Each year, organizers also hand out three specialty awards: the Pioneer Award, Audience Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award. The Pioneer Award, formerly known as the First Penguin Award, celebrates individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design that paved the way for those who followed them. Previous winners include Roberta Williams, Jordan Mechner, David Braben, Ralph Baer, Steve Russell, Yu Suzuki, and Gabe Newell. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an important impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole. Previous winners include Amy Hennig, Tim Schafer, Todd Howard, Tim Sweeney, Hironobu, Sakaguchi, Ken Kutaragi, and Bioware Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. The Audience Award winner is selected via a public vote from the list of finalist games from every Main Category. The full list of finalists and honorable mentions can be found below.
22nd Annual GDC Award Nominees
Game of the Year
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital) Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios) Resident Evil Village (Capcom) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Honorable Mentions: Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios), Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix), Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios), Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji), Death’s Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital) Best Audio
Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix) Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios), It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts), Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), Kid A Mnesia: Exhibition (Arbitrarily Good Productions, Namethemachine / Epic Games), Resident Evil Village (Capcom) Best Debut
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab) Valheim (Iron Gate Studio / Coffee Stain Publishing) Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / WhisperGames) The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive) Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
Honorable Mentions: Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), ElecHead (Tsuyomi / NamaTakahashi), Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk / Humble) Best Design
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts) Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios) Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
Honorable Mentions: Resident Evil Village (Capcom), Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble), Death’s Door (Acid Nerve, Devolver Digital), Loop Hero (Four Quarters, Devolver Digital) Innovation Award
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts) Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / WhisperGames) Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble) Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Honorable Mentions: Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji), Loop Hero (Four Quarters, Devolver Digital) Best Narrative
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal / Square Enix) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts) Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios) Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble)
Honorable Mentions: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab), Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine / Square Enix), The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller / Dear Villagers), Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital), Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / WhisperGames) Social Impact Award
Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games) It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts) Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine / Square Enix) Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games) Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory: A Colorful Tale Team / Finji)
Honorable Mentions: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios) Best Technology
Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios) Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield 2042 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Resident Evil Village (Capcom) Best Visual Art
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios) Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab) Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
Honorable Mentions: The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive), Resident Evil Village (Capcom), Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller), Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
