Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part II, and Hades Lead This Year’s GDC Awards Nominations

The Game Developers Conference is nearly upon us, which means it’s almost time for the Game Developers Choice Awards. The game industry’s premier award show announced its nominees today, and let’s just say it’s a pretty good day for Sony.

There’s a three-way tie for the most nominations, with Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part II and Hades predictably leading the pack for most of the same six nominations, including Game of the Year. The other games vying for the top award are Half-Life: Alyx and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The rest of the categories they’re competing for are Best Audio, Best Design, Best Narrative, and Best Visual Art. Hades has secured a nomination for the Innovation Award, which will put it against Microsoft Flight Simulator, Dreams, Half-Life: Alyx and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Both Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II secured Best Technology noms, pitting them against Microsoft Flight Simulator, Dreams and Half-Life: Alyx.

Outside of three big contenders, Half-Life: Alyx has secured five nominations in many of the same categories, but has also nabbed one for Best VR/AR Game, which has it competing against The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, Paper Beast, Dreams and Star Wars: Squadrons. Fellow Game of the Year contender Animal Crossing: New Horizons is only nominated once elsewhere for Best Design.

For Best Debut, Phasmophobia, Umurangi Generation (please come to Switch already, my crops are dying), Carrion, Mortal Shell and Raji: An Ancient Epic are all in the running. And over in Best Mobile Game, The Pathless, Genshin Impact, Legends of Runeterra, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and If Found… have all gotten nominations. Is it a little weird that all of these are playable on other systems but got stuck with the always slighted and much ignored “mobile game” distinction? Sure, but that’s the games industry’s problem.

Both Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077 got a single nomination for Best Audio and Best Visual Art, respectively, while Final Fantasy VII: Remake got two in Best Audio and Best Narrative. Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition also secured single nominations for Best Visual Art and Best Narrative, respectively.

We’ll find out who wins what when the award show streams live at 4:30 p.m. on July 21 as part of this year’s virtual GDC.