It’s awards season! The anticipation builds as The Game Awards 2024 approaches, and this year’s nominees have just been announced.

Looking back, “Baldur’s Gate 3” secured the Game of the Year title last year. Now, a new set of contenders are ready to compete for the coveted title this year. The nominees include “Astro Bot,” “Balatro,” “Black Myth: Wukong,” “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,” “Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth,” and “Metaphor: ReFantazio.”

With seven nominations each, “Astro Bot” and “Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth” are leading the nominations. Among publishers, Sony has emerged as a front-runner with 16 nominations, closely followed by Square Enix and Xbox, each garnering 12, and Sega with 11.

These nominees were selected by a global panel of over 130 media publications and outlets.

Make sure you’re free on Thursday, December 12, as that’s when the ceremony will take place. The event promises not only awards but also exciting game announcements, exclusive trailers, and the latest news. Keep up with GameSpot for ongoing updates and all the details as the event unfolds.

Game of the Year

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Game Direction

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Adaptation

• Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
• Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
• Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)

Best Narrative

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
• Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Art Direction

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Best Score And Music

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
• Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)

Best Audio Design

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Performance

• Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
• Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
• Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Innovation In Accessibility

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
• Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

Games for Impact

• Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)
• Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)

Best Ongoing Game

• Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
• Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Community Support

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

• Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
• UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

• Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
• Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
• The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

• AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
• Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
• Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best VR/AR Game

• Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
• Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
• Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)
• Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
• Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)

Best Action Game

• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
• Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Action Adventure Game

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
• Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)

Best RPG

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Fighting Game

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
• Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Best Family Game

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
• Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
• The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
• Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
• Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
• Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)

Best Sports/Racing

• F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
• NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
• Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
• WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)