As 2022 comes to an end, it’s again time to give recognition to some of the best video games released this year. The 2021 edition of the awards didn’t have a lot of games to work with because of the pandemic. But this year is different as developers and publishers released a lot of great games. With so many great titles out there, picking out which games to include in the awards wasn’t an easy thing to do. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait that long on who’s nominated as The Game Award Nominees have been identified.
The Game Awards Nominees 2022
It’s not surprising that the highly acclaimed and marketed titles like Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok are dominating the nominations. But it’s also good to see that highly regarded indie game Stray is also getting its deserved recognition. Let’s look at the list of nominees in each category for The Game Awards 2022. The announcement of winners will take place on December 8, 2022.
Game of The Year
The most prestigious category is the Game of The Year. And there are currently 6 nominations for this most coveted award. There’s Elden Ring from FromSoftware / Bandai Namco, God of War Ragnarök from Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment, and the cute indie game Stray by BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive. Rounding out the list of nominees are A Plague: Requiem from Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment, Horizon Forbidden Forest from Guerilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 of Monolith Soft / Nintendo.
Best Game Direction
For the Best Game Direction category, there are 5 nominations. Four of the nominations are in the running for the Game of the Year award and they are Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarök, Horizon Forbidden West, and Stray. Joining these games for the title of Best Game Direction is the indie adventure game Immortality. It was developed and published by Half Mermaid.
Best Narrative
The Best Narrative category of The Game Awards features 5 nominees. This will be the third category wherethat games like Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarök, and Horizon Forbidden West will be nominated. Completing the nomination are Immortality and A Plague Tale: Requiem, which are the second nominations for both games.
Best Art Direction
One thing that makes games great aside from the gameplay is their artistic design and animation. And 5 games are battling for that title to win the Best Art Direction category. Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West are being nominated for their fourth category while Stray is going for its third nomination. A new title that’s joining the more well-known games is the survival game Scorn, which is developed by Ebb Software and published by Kepler Interactive.
Best Score & Music
A great game also features great music. And according to The Game Awards jury, these are the 5 games that deserve to be nominated. It’s headlined by Elden Ring with its composer Tsukasa Saitoh and God of War Ragnarok with Bear Mccreary. A Plague Tale: Requiem (Olivier Deriviere) is joining them for its third category to be nominated in. Completing the list of nominations for best score and music are Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Yasunori Mitsuda) and the rhythmic FPS game Metal: Hellsinger (Two Feathers), which is developed by The Outsiders and published by Funcom.
Best Audio Design
In-game audio and sound design are also important in providing players with a great gaming experience. For this category, the jury is nominating Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West. Joining these 3 great games are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II from Infinity Ward / Activision and Gran Turismo 7 from Polyphony / Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Best Ongoing
Not all games released will have an ending. Some continuously provide new content for players to enjoy. The Game Awards recognizes this in the Best Ongoing category. And the nominees are Apex Legends of Respawn / Electronic Arts, Destiny 2 of Bungie, and Final Fantasy XIV of Square Enix. Completing the 5 nominees for this category are Epic Games’ Fortnite and Hoyoverse’s Genshin Impact.
Best Indie
Not all great games are released by well-known publishers. There are also great indie games out there for you to play and they are recognized by The Game Awards. The nominees for the Best Indie game of 2022 are Stray, Cult of the Lamb of Massive Monster / Devolver Digital, Sifu of Sloclap, Neon White by Angel Matrix / Annapurna, and Tunic by Tunic Team / Finji.
Games For Impact
For games that provide thought-provoking messages or meaning, there’s the Games For Impact award. There are 6 games nominated for this award. There’s A Memoir Blue, which is published by Cloisters Interactive and developed by Annapurna, and As Dusk Falls from publisher Interior Night and developer Xbox Game Studios. Citizen Sleeper of developer Jump Over The Age and publisher Fellow Traveller is also nominated together with Endling – Extinction is Forever from developer Herobeat Studios and publisher Handy Games. Completing the nominees are Hindsight by Team Hindsight and Annapurna, and I Was A Teenage Exocolonist by Northway Games and Finji.
Most Anticipated Game
Not all of the games nominated are already released. Some are just announced but are still in development. But their announcements alone excited many players, which is why they’re nominated for the Most Anticipated Game. Starting off the nominees are Final Fantasy XVI of Square Enix and Hogwarts Legacy of Avalanche Software and WB Games. There’s also Resident Evil 4 by Capcom and Starfield by Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda. Completing the list is The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom by Nintendo EPD and Nintendo.
Innovation In Accessibility
Some games are recognized for their technological features that allow them to reach a wider audience and be played by more people. The games being recognized for this feat are God of War Ragnarok, As Dusk Falls, and The Quarry from Supermassive Games and 2k. Completing the list of nominees for the Innovation in Accessibility award are The Last of Us Part 1 from Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Return to Monkey Island from Terrible Toybox and Devolver Digital.
Other The Game Awards Categories
There are a total of 31 categories for The Game Awards 2022. And below are the nominees for the other categories.
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West
- Charlotte McBurney as Amicia de Rune in A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Christopher Judge as Kratos in God Of War Ragnarok
- Sunny Suljic as Atreus in God Of War Ragnarok
- Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality
Best Mobile Game
- Apex Legends Mobile from Lightspeed & Quantum, Respawn, and Electronic Arts
- Diablo Immortal from Blizzard and NetEase
- Genshin Impact from Hoyoverse
- Marvel Snap from Second Dinner Studios and Nuverse
- Tower of Fantasy from Hotta Studio, Perfect World, and Level Infinite
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends by Respawn and Electronic Arts
- Destiny 2 from Bungie
- Final Fantasy XIV from Square Enix
- Fortnite by Epic Games
- No Man’s Sky by Hello Games
Best VR/AR
- After the Fall from Vertigo Games
- Among Us VR by Schell Games and InnerSloth
- Bonelab by Stress Level Zero
- Moss: Book II from Polyarc
- Red Matter 2 by Vertical Robot
Best Action Game
- Bayonetta 3 from Platinum Games and Nintendo
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II by Infinity Ward and Activision
- Neon White by Angel Matrix and Annapurna
- Sifu from Sloclap
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge from Tribute Games and Dotemu
Best Action/Adventure Game
- God of War Ragnarok from Sony Santa Monica and Sony Interactive Entertainment
- A Plague Tale: Requiem by Asobo Studio and Focus Entertainment
- Horizon Forbidden West from Guerilla Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Stray From BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna
- Tunic by the Tunic Team and Finji
Best Role Playing Game
- Elden Ring by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco
- Live A Live from Square Enix and Nintendo
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus by Game Freak, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company
- Triangle Strategy by Artdink and Square Enix
- Xenoblade Chronicle 3 from Monolith Soft and Nintendo
Best Fighting Game
- DNF Duel by Arc System Works, Eighting, Neople, and Nexon
- Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R from Cyberconnect 2 Co. Ltd and Bandai Namco
- The King of Fighters XV by SNK and Plaion
- Multiversus from Player First Games and WB Games
- Sifu by Sloclap
Best Family Game
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land from Hal Laboratory and Nintendo
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga by Traveller’s Tale and WB Games
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope from Ubisoft Milan, Paris, and Ubisoft
- Nintendo Switch Sports by Nintendo EPD and Nintendo
- Splatoon 3 from Nintendo EPD and Nintendo
Best SIM/Strategy Game
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope from Ubisoft Milan, Paris, and Ubisoft
- Dune: Spice Wars by Shiro Games and Funcom
- Total War: Warhammer III from Creative Assembly and Sega
- Two Point Campus by Two Point Studios and Sega
- Victoria 3 from Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive
Best Sports/Racing Game
- F1 22 by Codemasters and EA Sports
- FIFA 23 from EA Vancouver, Romania, and EA Sports
- NBA 2K23 by Visual Concepts and 2k Sports
- Gran Turismo 7 from Polyphony Digital and Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Olliolli World by Roll 7 and Pirate Division
Best Multiplayer Game
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II by Infinity Ward and Activision
- Multiversus from Player First Games and WB Games
- Overwatch 2 by Blizzard
- Splatoon 3 from Nintendo EPD and Nintendo
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge from Tribute Games and Dotemu
Content Creator of the Year
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella
Best Debut Indie Game
- Neon White by Angel Matrix and Annapurna
- Norco from Geography of Robots and Raw Fury
- Stray From BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna
- Tunic by the Tunic Team and Finji
- Vampire Survivors from Poncle
Best Adaptation
- Arcane: League of Legends 2 by Fortiche, Riot Games, and Netflix
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners from Studio Trigger, CD Projekt, and Netflix
- The Cuphead Show by Studio MDHR, King Features Syndicate, and Netflix
- Sonic The Hedgehog 2 from Sega Sammy Group and Paramount Pictures
- Uncharted by PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike Global Offensive by Valve
- Dota 2 by Valve
- League of Legends by Riot Games
- Rocket League by Psyonix
- Valorant by Riot Games
Best Esports Athlete
- Jeong “Chovy” Ji-Hoon who plays for Gen G. and LoL
- Lee “Faker Sang-Hyeok who plays for T1 and LoL
- Finn “Karrigan” Andersen who’s part of Faze Clan and plays CS:GO
- Oleksandr “S1MPLE” Kostyliev who’s part of Natus Vincere and plays CS:GO
- Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker who’s part of Cloud 9 and plays Valorant
Best Esports Team
- Darkzero Esports which plays Apex Legends
- Faze Clan which plays CS:GO
- Gen.G which plays League of Legends
- LA Thieves which plays Call of Duty
- Loud which plays Valorant
Best Esports Coach
- Andrii “B1AD3” Horodenskyi coach of Natus Vincere in CS:GO
- Matheus “Bzka” Tarasconi coach of Loud in Valorant
- Erik “D00MBR0S” Sandgren coach of FPX in Valorant
- Robert “Robban” Dahlström coach of Faze Clan in CS:GO
- Go “Score” Dong-Bin coach of Gen.G in LoL
Best Esports Event
- EVO 2022
- 2022 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Seasonal Invitational
- Valorant Champions 2022
Final Thoughts
The Game Awards 2022 has a total of 31 categories. And on December 8, we’ll find out who the winners are in each of these categories. So, don’t miss the event and see who made the best games in The Game Awards 2022.
