The winners for the 5th annual War of Awards, the awards showdown where fans determine the best games among the major award winners, have been decided after an impassioned caucus-style live debate at PAX East 2019.
All nominees in the War of Awards earned their place in the ceremony by winning one or more awards from the following bodies and awards programs: Golden Joysticks, Game Awards, DICE, NAVGTR, SXSW, IGF, Indie Prize, GDC, and GANG awards.
Golden Joysticks winners prevailed the most, with 4 wins at War of Awards. NAVGTR saw 3 winners advance. GANG and DICE had 2, and IGF and SXSW had 1. GDC and The Game Awards saw none of their winners prevail.
Fans of each game attending the ceremony at PAX East 2019 debated which title was the most deserving, with the game that has the most supporters in each category being declared the winner. The full list of winners and nominees is available below.
Excellence in Art + Graphics Nominees
God of War (Golden Joysticks, DICE, NAVGTR, SXSW)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Game Awards)
Gris (NAVGTR, GDC)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (NAVGTR)
Octopath Traveler (SXSW)
Mirror Drop (IGF)
Numbala (Indie Prize)
Excellence in Art + Graphics Award Winner: God of War
Excellence in Audio Nominees
God of War (Golden Joysticks, DICE, NAVGTR, GANG)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Game Awards, SXSW)
Detroit: Become Human (NAVGTR)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (NAVGTR)
Tetris Effect (SXSW)
Paratopic (IGF)
Celeste (GDC)
Zebrainy ABC (Indie Prize)
Excellence in Audio Award Winner: God of War
Best Character / Performer Nominees
Detroit: Become Human – Connor (Golden Joysticks)
Red Dead Redemption 2 – Arthur Morgan (Game Awards)
God of War – Kratos (DICE, NAVGTR)
Marvel’s Spider-Man – Mary Jane (NAVGTR)
Best Character / Performer Award Winner: Detroit: Become Human – Connor
Excellence in Game Design Nominees
God of War (DICE, NAVGTR, SXSW)
Hollow Knight (NAVGTR)
Super Smash Bros Ultimate (SXSW)
Opus Magnum (IGF)
Into the Breach (GDC)
Enigmabox (Indie Prize)
Excellence in Game Design Award Winner: Hollow Knight
Best Story Nominees
God of War (Golden Joysticks, DICE, NAVGTR)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Game Awards)
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (NAVGTR)
Detroit: Become Human (SXSW)
Return of the Obra Dinn (IGF, GDC)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (GANG)
Galaxy of Pen and Paper (Indie Prize)
Best Story Award Winner: Marvel’s Spider-Man
Excellence in Multiplayer Nominees
Monster Hunter: World (Golden Joysticks)
Fortnite (Golden Joysticks, Game Awards, DICE, SXSW)
We Were Here Too (Indie Prize)
Excellence Multiplayer Award Winner: Monster Hunter: World
Game of the Year Nominees
Fortnite (Golden Joysticks)
God of War (Game Awards, DICE, NAVGTR, SXSW, GDC)
Return of the Obra Dinn (IGF)
Running Knight (Indie Prize)
Game of the Year: Return of the Obra Dinn
Watch the excited reactions of the attendees below!
Leaders who presented the best arguments for their candidates as determined by HipHopGamer were asked to give their predictions for next year’s War of Awards race. After an audience vote on those predictions, Apex Legends emerged as the game most likely to win War of Awards next year.
“We witnessed the release of some truly fantastic games in 2018, and you could see the fans’ passion for them in our debates this weekend,” said Thomas Allen, creator, War of Awards. “The thrill of taking these discussions out of comment sections and industry voting panels and into a live caucus format produces some exciting results.”
Live video from the event was recorded on Twitch. An edited video of the event will later appear on the War of Awards Twitch channel. The ceremony was hosted by Vanessa Fernandez and HipHopGamer. To learn more about War of Awards, please visit the official site and join the Discord server for updates.
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