Horizon Zero Dawn wins Writers Guild Award for best video game writing

Horizon Zero Dawn has been recognised with the Writers Guild Award for best video game writing, fending off competition from Dishonoured: Death of the Outsider, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow, and Madden NFL 18: Longshot.

Narrative director John Gonzalez and lead writer Benjamin McCaw collected the award on behalf of the writing team at Guerilla Games.

"As writers who care deeply about the craft of telling stories, it's incredibly exciting for us to be receiving this award in the company of so many other writers whose work we admire and appreciate," said Gonzalez.

Guerilla's critically-acclaimed PlayStation 4 exclusive sold 2.6 million units in just two weeks after its launch in February last year, making it the fastest-selling first-party new IP released on the platform.

"We want to dedicate this award to two women who did not live to see this tonight," said Gonzalez after accepting the award. "Our mother's, Ann Gonzalez and Susan McCaw.

"It is no coincidence that their sons went on to write an epic with a strong female protagonist in which human love in general, and maternal love in particular loomed so large. We learned that from them. This is for them. Thank you, they are not forgotten."

Thanks and appreciate were also extended to the rest of the writing staff, Anne Toole, Dee Warrick, and Meg Jayanth, along with the development team at Guerilla Games, and the voice cast led by Ashley Burch.