Geoff Keighley has announced every nominee for The Game Awards 2022, with God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring leading the way with ten and seven nominations respectively.
God of War: Ragnarok’s nominations include Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, two in Best Performance, Best Action/Adventure, and Innovation In Accessibility.
Elden Ring saw a number of similar nominations, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design and Best RPG.
The full list of categories and nominations for The Game Awards 2022 are as follows:
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Stray
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Elden Ring
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- Scorn
- Stray
Best Score/Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Olivier Deriviere – A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Tsukasa Saitoh – Elden Ring
- Bear McCreary – God of War: Ragnarok
- Two Feathers – Metal Hellsinger
- Yasunori Mitsuda
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Ashly Birch – Horizon: Forbidden West
- Charlotte McBurney – A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Christopher Judge – God of War: Ragnarok
- Manon Gage – Immortality
- Sunny Suljic – God of War: Ragnarok
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- A Memoir Blue
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- Endling – Extinction is Forever
- Hindsight
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy 14 Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Indie Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- Cult of the Lamb
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Stray
- TUNIC
Best Debut Indie Game
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- Neon White
- NORCO
- Stray
- TUNIC
- Vampire Survivors
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- Apex Legends Mobile
- Diablo Immortal
- Genshin Impact
- Marvel Snap
- Tower of Fantasy
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy 14 Online
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Best VR/AR Game
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- After the Fall
- Among Us VR
- BONELAB
- Moss: Book II
- Red Matter 2
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.
- As Dusk Falls
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Returnal
- Return to Monkey Island
- The Last of Us Part 1
- The Quarry
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Bayonetta 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Action/Adventure Game
For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- TUNIC
Best RPG
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Elden Ring
- Live a Live
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Triangle Strategy
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- DNF Duel
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
- The King of Fighters 15
- MultiVersus
- Sifu
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Splatoon 3
Best Sports/Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- F1 22
- FIFA 23
- NBA 2K23
- Gran Turismo 7
- OlliOlli World
Best SIM/Strategy Game
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Total War: WARHAMMER 3
- Two Point Campus
- Victoria 3
Best Multiplayer Game
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Multiversus
- Overwatch 2
- Splatoon 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella
Best Esports Athlete
The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.
- Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan – CS:GO)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
- Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)
Best Esports Coach
The Esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
- Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
- Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
- Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
- Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)
Best Esports Event
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- EVO 2022
- 2022 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
- VALORANT Champions 2022
Best Esports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- DOTA 2
- League of Legends
- Rocket League
- VALORANT
Best Esports Team
Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
- FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
- LOUD (Valorant)
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- Final Fantasy 16
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Adaptation
Celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment including TV, movies, comics, and more.
- Arcane: League of Legends
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
- The Cuphead Show!
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Uncharted
The public can now vote for the nominees they think are most deserving of each individual award on The Game Awards website, with the awards ceremony taking place on December 8.
Last year’s awards saw It Takes Two take Game of the Year, while Deathloop won Best Game Direction, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy won Best Narrative, and Final Fantasy 14 Online won Best Ongoing Game.
The Game Awards is also a big source of video game announcements, new trailers, and so on, with 2021’s ceremony hosting the reveal of Star Wars: Eclipse, Alan Wake 2, Wonder Women, and more.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
