The 2024 Game Awards nominations have officially been announced, and Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio are in line to win the top gear.
Game of the Year nominees #TheGameAwards December 12:
Vote now: https://t.co/P4m9cg1cnD pic.twitter.com/jdEKGcYcKw
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) November 18, 2024
Game of the Year nominees top the list and, as expected, include: Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. The last game has already sparked a discussion among fans about whether it is worth considering adding it to the GOTY category. Here are the official criteria for The Game Awards.
The aim of the Game Awards is to annually recognize the best inventive and technical work, regardless of the content’s release format. Expansion packs, novel game seasons, DLC, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories if the jury determines that the novel inventive and technical work is worthy of nomination. Factors to consider include the newness of the content and its price/value.
Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth lead the way with seven nominations, and Metaphor with six. PlayStation games received 16 nominations, making them the most nominated publisher. You can read the full list of nominees below.
Game of the year
- Astrobot
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantasia
The best direction of the game
- Astrobot
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantasia
The best narrative
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a dragon: infinite wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantanzio
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Ciche Wzgórze 2
Best art direction
- Astrobot
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree
- Metaphor: ReFantasia
- Neva
Highest score and music
- Astrobot
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantasia
- Ciche Wzgórze 2
- Starblade
Best audio design
- Astrobot
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
- Ciche Wzgórze 2
Best performance
- Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
- Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
- Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
- Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Innovations in accessibility
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Diablo IV
- Dragon Age: Guardian of the Veil
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Outlaws from Star Wars
Impact games
- Closer to the distance
- Indicate
- Neva
- Life is Strange: Double Exposure
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Kenzera’s Tales: Zau
Best ongoing game
- Destiny 2
- Diablo IV
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
The best community support
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
- No man’s sky
The best indie game
- Animal well
- Balatro
- Lorelei and the laser eyes
- Neva
- UFO 50
Best debut indie game
- Balatro
- Animal well
- Court lords
- Pacific Drive
- Brave squire
The best mobile game
- AFK Journey
- Balatro
- Pocket for the Pokémon Trading card game
- Windy waves
- Zen-free ground zero
The best VR/AR game
- Remake of “Arizona Sunshine”.
- Wrath of Asgard 2
- Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Metal: Hellsinger VR
- Subway awakening
The best action game
- Black Myth: Wukong
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Helldivers 2
- Starblade
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
The best action/adventure game
- ASTROBOT
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Ciche Wzgórze 2
- Outlaws from Star Wars
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The best RPG game
- Dragon Dogma 2
- Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a dragon: infinite wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantasia
The best fighting game
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
- Dragon Ball: Spark! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
- Marvel vs Capcom Fight Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
- MultiVersus (gamer games/WB games)
- Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
The best family game
- Princess Peach: It’s show time!
- Astrobot
- Super Mario Party
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Brave squire
The best simulation/strategy game
- Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
- Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
- Lords of the manors (Slavic magic/hooded horse)
- Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)
The best sports/racing game
- F1 24
- EA Sports FC 25
- NBA 2K25
- Top Spin 2K25
- WWE 2K24
The best multiplayer game
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Helldivers 2
- Super Mario Party
- Tekken 8
- Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
The best adaptation
- Secret
- Fall
- Knuckles
- Like a Dragon: Yakuza
- Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
The most anticipated game
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Yotei’s spirit
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Wild monster hunters
Content Creator of the Year
- CaseOh
- IlloJuan
- TechnoGamez
- Typical Player
- Used Pekora
The best esports game
- DOTA 2
- Counter-Strike 2
- League of Legends
- Mobile phone legends: Bang Bang
- Evaluation
The best esports athlete
- 33 – Szapir’s granddaughter
- Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
- Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
- The Forger – Lee Sang-hyeok
- ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
- ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
The best esports team
- Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- NAVI (counterattack)
- T1 (League of Legends)
- Team Fluid (DOTA 2)
Kat Bailey is IGN’s news director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Got a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
