New Game Awards reveal first nominees
Debut ceremony to take place December 5
The nominees have been revealed for the inaugural Game Awards, which will take place in Las Vegas at the AXIS Theater in Planet Hollywood on December 5.
The awards were announced this month and its advisory board features Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America; Yves Guillemot, CEO, Ubisoft; Hideo Kojima; Shawn Layden, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America; Peter Moore, EA COO; Xbox boss Phil Spencer; Martin Tremblay, president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; Rockstar Games and Valve.
The awards include a number of jury-voted categories, featuring nominees picked by a jury of "28 international media." The nominees in those categories are:
Game of the Year
- Bayonetta 2
- Dark Souls II
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Hearthstone
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Developer of the Year
- Blizzard
- Monolith Productions
- Nintendo
- Telltale Games
- Ubisoft Montreal
Best Independent Game
- Broken Age: Act 1
- Monument Valley
- Shovel Knight
- Transistor
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Best Mobile/Handheld Game
- Bravely Default
- Hearthstone
- Monument Valley
- Super Smash Bros. 3DS
- Threes
Best Narrative
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
- The Walking Dead Season Two
- The Wolf Among Us
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
Best Score/Soundtrack
- Alien Isolation
- Child of Light
- Destiny
- Sunset Overdrive
- Transistor
Best Performance
- Adam Harrington as Bigby Wolf, The Wolf Among Us
- Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Melissa Hutchison as Clementine, The Walking Dead Season Two
- Trey Parker as Various Voices, South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Troy Baker as Talion, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Games For Change
- Mountain
- Never Alone
- The Last of Us: Left Behind
- This War of Mine
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Best Remaster
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
- The Last of Us Remastered
- The Master Chief Collection
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Best Shooter
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Destiny
- Far Cry 4
- Titanfall
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
Best Action/Adventure
- Alien Isolation
- Assassin's Creed Unity
- Bayonetta 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Sunset Overdrive
Best RPG
- Bravely Default
- Dark Souls II
- Divinity: Original Sin
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
Best Fighting Game
- Killer Instinct Season Two
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- Super Smash Bros. 3DS
- Super Smash Bros. Wii U
- Ultra Street Fighter IV
Best Family Game
- Disney Infinity 2.0
- Fantasia Music Evolved
- Mario Kart 8
- Skylanders Trap Team
- Tomodachi Life
Best Sports/Racing Game
- FIFA 15
- Forza Horizon 2
- Mario Kart 8
- NBA 2K15
- Trials Fusion
Best Online Experience
- Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
- Dark Souls II
- Destiny
- Hearthstone
- Titanfall
There are also a number of fan-voted categories, and the nominees for those are:
Most Anticipated Game
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Evolve
- Bloodborne
eSports Player of the Year
- Matt "NaDeSHoT" Haag
- Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund
- Xu "Fy" Linsen
- Martin "Rekkles" Larsson
- James "Firebat" Kostesich
eSports Team of the Year
- Ninjas in Pajamas
- Evil Geniuses
- Samsung White
- Edward Gaming
- Newbee
Trending Gamer
- TotalBiscuit
- Jeff Gerstmann
- PewDiePie
- Evan "Vanoss" Fong
- StampyLongHead
Best Fan Creation
- Twitch Plays Pokemon
- Luigi Death Stare
- Best Zelda Rap EVER!!!
- Minecraft - TITAN City
- Mine the Diamond (Minecraft song)