It’s that time of the year once again. Indeed, it’s the time for the Game Awards 2019. The time where we get exciting game announcements and awards for various games. This celebration of gaming will happen at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 12.
So, what games have been nominated to get the prestigious Game Awards? Well, the list is actually packed with heavy hitters from 2019. Unfortunately, I can say firsthand that there were some omissions that I am questioning… We’ll get to the opinion side of it later, though.
Game Awards 2019 Nominees
Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima’s love child is actually leading the charge this year. Other games such as Resident Evil 2 Remake, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and The Outer Worlds will also be part of the nomination list. However, most impressive of all is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which actually is nominated for Game of the Year.
Some people might argue that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shouldn’t count because it’s a 2018 game. However, the game was released shortly after the Game Awards ended, so this means that it was one of the first games to be released on the year. It’s a nebulous term if you ask me, but if the judges agree with it, well, this means that Smash will get my vote.
Regardless, here’s the full Nominees list for the Game Awards 2019:
Game of the Year
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai-Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Game Direction
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo/Focus Home)
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Art Direction
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best Score/Music
- Cadence of Hyrule (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom)
- Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Control (Remedy/505)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb, The Outer Worlds
- Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden, Control
- Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz, Gears 5
- Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff, Death Stranding
- Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling, Control
- Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, Death Stranding
Games for Impact
- Concrete Genie (Pixelopus/SIE)
- Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
- Kind Words (Popcannibal)
- Life Is Strange 2 (Dontnod/Square Enix)
- Sea of Solitude (Jo-Mei Games/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Katana ZERO (Askiisoft/Devoler)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
Best Mobile Game
- Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
- GRINDSTONE (Capybara Games)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
- Sky: Children of Light (Thatgamecompany)
- What the Golf? (Tribland)
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best VR/AR Game
- Asgard’s Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
- Blood & Truth (SIE London Studio/SIE)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games)
Best Action Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Astral Chain (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom/Capcom)
- Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
- Metro Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
- Control (Remedy/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
Best RPG
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Fighting Game
- Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo)
- Jump Force (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
- Mortal Kombat 11 (NetherRealm/WBIE)
- Samurai Showdown (SNK/Athlon)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
Best Family Game
- Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)
- Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
- Yoshi’s Crafted World (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall (Triumph Studios/Paradox)
- Anno 1800 (Blue Byte/Ubisoft)
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems/Koei Tecmo/Nintendo)
- Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Tropico 6 (Limbic Entertainment/Kalypso Media)
- Wargroove (Chucklefish)
Best Sports/Racing Game
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Beenox/Activision)
- DiRT Rally 2.0 (Codemasters)
- eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES Productions/Konami)
- F1 2019 (Codemasters)
- FIFA 20 (EA Sports)
Best Multiplayer Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Tetris 99 (Arika/Nintendo)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Fresh Indie Game (Presented by Subway)
- ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
- Nomada Studio for Gris
- DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
- Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
- Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
- House House for Untitled Goose Game
Content Creator of the Year
- Courage – Jack Dunlop
- Dr. Lupo – Benjamin Lupo
- Ewok – Soleil Wheeler
- Grefg – David Martínez
- Shroud – Michael Grzesiek
eSports Awards
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA2 (Valve)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Esports Player
- Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf (Immortals, Fortnite)
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom, League of Legends)
- Luka “Perkz” Perkovic (G2 Esports, League of Legends)
- Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CSGO)
- Jay “Sinatraa” Won (SF Shock, Overwatch)
Best Esports Team
- Astralis (CS:GO)
- G2 Esports (LOL)
- OG (DOTA2)
- San Francisco Shock (OWL)
- Team Liquid (CS:GO)
Best Esports Event
- 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
- EVO 2019
- Fortnite World Cup
- IEM Katowice 2019
- League of Legends World Championship 2019
- The International 2019
Best Esports Coach
- Eric “adreN” Hoag (Team Liquid, CS:GO)
- Nu-ri “Cain” Jang (Team Liquid, LOL)
- Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann (G2 Esports, LOL)
- Kim “Kkoma” Jeong-gyun (SK Telecom T1, LOL)
- Titouan “Sockshka” Merloz (OG, DOTA2)
- Danny “Zonic” Sørensen (Astralis, CSGO)
Best Esports Host
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Paul “Redeye” Chaloner
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Duan “Candice” Yu-Shuang
Indeed, it seems like the list of nominees for this year’s Game Awards is jam-packed with a lot of great contenders. However, it also looks like there are some contentious points. I mean, nothing wrong with including Monster Hunter’s latest expansion. But does it compare to the likes of Kingdom Hearts III? Probably not. Then again, Iceborne had a collaboration with GOTY nominee Resident Evil 2.
What do you think about the nominee list for this year’s Game Awards? Are you excited to see the event and looking at the announcements? What are your expectations for 2019’s Game Awards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.