Last Friday, The Game Awards 2023 ceremony was hosted at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles and live-streamed to viewers all over the world. 2023 has been a massive year for games and saw majorly successful titles competing for the same awards. Not only that, but exciting news about upcoming games and trailers had fans hyped up all night.
There were 31 categories and the winners were decided by fans and a voting jury of experts. For the majority of the winners, fans’ choice weighed 10% while the experts’ choice weighed 90%. A separate Players’ Voice award was 100% voted for by the public. After four weeks of voting, fans finally got to see if their most beloved games would be recognised.
Game of the Year
The biggest award of the night had very strong contenders from this year’s releases. All the nominees were fan favourites and excelled in every aspect. Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are all great games in their own right, but only one could win Game of the Year, and that was Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3, developed by Larian Studios, was the biggest winner of the night, winning six out of nine nominations for The Game Awards. In addition to being the most prestigious Game of the Year, they also won Best Role Playing Game, Best Multiplayer, and Players’ Voice. The game had been in development for six years and offered an interactive player experience like no other. With all the love and critical acclaim it has gotten since its release, it’s safe to say that Baldur’s Gate 3 deserves the awards they won. Watch the moment when CEO and Founder of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, accepted the Game of the Year award (and in full suit of armour no less).
Reveals, trailers, and more
This year’s Game Awards had some exciting news on long-awaited games, some of which were being revealed for the very first time. Monster Hunter fans can look forward to slaying and carving more monsters in Monster Hunter: Wilds, which is coming in 2025. Look forward to playing as a certain vampire hunter, because Marvel’s Blade is in development at Arkane Lyon, the same studio behind Dishonored and Deathloop. Hello Games, developer of No Man’s Sky, also revealed Light No Fire, set in a world “the size of Earth”.
Hideo Kajima gave a first look into his upcoming Xbox game, now titled OD, with Jordan Peele being revealed as a collaborator and the likes of Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier set to feature in the game. Released games got some love too — God of War Ragnarok will be getting a free DLC available on December 12 while Final Fantasy XVI just dropped Echoes of the Fallen with a second DLC, The Rising Tide, coming in spring 2024.
Though 2023 has been a great year for games, the next few years are looking to be just as promising. Head below for the full list of winners from the award show.
2023 Winners of The Game Awards
Game of the Year: Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
Best Game Direction: Alan Wake 2 — Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing
Best Narrative: Alan Wake 2 — Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing
Best Art Direction: Alan Wake 2 — Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing
Best Score and Music: Final Fantasy XVI — Masayoshi Soken
Best Audio Design: Hi-Fi Rush — Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks
Best Performance: Neil Newbon as Astarion — Baldur’s Gate 3
Games for Impact: Tchia — Awaceb / Kepler Interactive
Best Independent Game: Sea of Stars — Sabotage Studios
Best Debut Indie Game: Cocoon — Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive
Best Ongoing Game: Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt
Best Community Support: Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
Best Mobile Game: Honkai: Star Rail — miHoYo / HoYoverse
Best VR/AR Game: Resident Evil Village — Capcom
Best Action Game: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon — FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment
Best Action/Adventure Game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
Best Role Playing Game: Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter 6 — Capcom
Best Family Game: Super Mario Bros. Wonder — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
Best Sim/Strategy Game: Pikmin 4 — Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
Best Sports/Racing Game: Forza Motorsport — Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Best Multiplayer Game: Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
Innovation in Accessibility: Forza Motorsport — Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Best Adaptation: The Last of Us (television series) — PlayStation Productions / HBO
Most Anticipated Game: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — Square Enix Creative Business Unit I / Square Enix
Players’ Voice: Baldur’s Gate 3 — Larian Studios
Best Video Games Released In 2023: ‘Starfield’, ‘Diablo 4’, ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ And More
How To Play All The Existing ‘GTA’ Games In Chronological Order While You Wait For ‘GTA 6’
(Images: The Game Awards)
This article first appeared in Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong
