Death Stranding receives seven nominations for 2020 GDC awards, including GOTY

The Game Developers Choice Awards has today announced the nominees for its 20th annual awards, which will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco alongside the Independent Games Festival Awards. The awards will be hosted by Kim Swift, former design director of EA's Network Meta and currently the game design director for Stadia Games & Entertainment at Google.

Death Stranding picked up the most nominations this year with seven total, including a Game of the Year nomination. Control and Outer Wilds received five nominations each (also including Game of the Year), and other games picking up several nominations included Disco Elysium, Untitled Goose Game, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Here are the finalists for each category of the 2020 Game Developers Choice Awards, as well as honorable mentions:

Game of the Year

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)

Best Audio

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Honorable Mentions: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring the Legend of Zelda (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Ape Out (Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy, Matt Boch/Devolver Digital), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Debut

• ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
• Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
• William Chyr Studios for Manifold Garden
• Foam Sword Games for Knights and Bikes
• Chance Agency for Neo Cab

Best Design

• Baba Is You (Hempuli)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision Publishing)
• Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)

Honorable Mentions: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM), Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)

Best Mobile

• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• What the Golf? (Triband Productions/The Label Limited)
• Grindstone (Capybara Games)
• Sky: Children of the Light (Thatgamecompany)
• Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)

Honorable Mentions: Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Assemble with Care (ustwo), Pilgrims (Amanita Design), Archero (Habby), Card of Darkness (Choice Provisions), Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)

Innovation Award

• Untitled Goose Game (house House/Panic)
• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
• Baba Is You (Hempuli)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games), Hypnospace Outlaw (Tendershoot, ThatWhichIs Media/No More Robots), Kind Words (Popcannibal), Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo), Wattam (Funomena/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Narrative

• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division)
• Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo Games/Nintendo), A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo Studio/Focus Home Interactive), Heaven's Vault (Inkle), Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik/Akupara Games), Telling Lies (Drowning a Mermaid Productions, Furious Bee/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Technology

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
• Noita (Nolla Games)

Honorable Mentions: Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios), Resident Evil 2 (Capcom), Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studios), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts), Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)

Best Visual Art

• Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Honorable Mentions: Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive), Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic), The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo), Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo), Void Bastards (Blue Manchu/Humble Bundle)

Best VR/AR Game

• Vader Immortal (ILMxLAB/Disney)
• Blood & Truth (SCEE Studio London/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Asgard's Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
• Boneworks (Stress Level Zero)
• Pistol Whip (Cloudhead Games)

Honorable Mentions: Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games), Falcon Age (Outerloop Games), Ghost Giant (Zoink), Vacation Simulator (Owlchemy Labs), Stormland (Insomniac Games/Oculus Studios)

For the record: After publication, GDC reached out to us to update awards host Kim Swift's originally-stated job title to game design director for Stadia 2P Games. After making this correction, we were contacted again and asked to change her title to game design director for Stadia Games & Entertainment (Google). The latest change is reflected above.