The nominees for the 2023 Game Awards, which honor the year’s most inventive, unique, and narratively-driven games, were announced on Monday. The recently released high fantasy role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 and the horror film Alan Wake 2 lead the pack with eight nominations apiece, including Best Game Direction, Outstanding Story, and Game of the Year. So far at The Game Awards, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 have split the lead with eight nominations each. Both films are also nominated for Game of the Year, therefore competition between the two sequels for the first place might ensue.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Resident Evil 4, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will compete for the primary GOTY prize against the two. Although there is undoubtedly tough competition between these two titles, they have previously triumphed in an awards ceremony: Baldur’s Gate 3 took the Ultimate Game of the Year and Alan Wake 2 took home the Critics’ Choice Award at The Golden Joysticks.
Starfield, an Xbox exclusive, received a nomination for Best RPG but was noticeably absent from most of the key categories. Ben Starr, a British actor, is competing against Idris Elba, who appeared in the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC Phantom Liberty, for Best Performance in Final Fantasy XVI.
The categories in which Alan Wake 2 is being considered are as follows:
- Best Performance (Melani Liburd)
- Best Art Direction
- Best Score and Music
- Best Audio Design
- Best Narrative
- Best Action Adventure Game
- Best Game Direction
- Game of the Year
As an RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3 surpasses Alan Wake 2 in a few distinct ways. The complete list of its nominees is as follows:
- Best Performance (Neil Newbon)
- Best Multiplayer Game
- Best Score and Music
- Best Narrative
- Best Community Support
- Best Role-Playing Game
- Best Game Direction
- Game of the Year
December 7 is when the real Game Awards will happen. It’s important to keep in mind that these are only nominations, thus neither Alan Wake 2 nor Baldur’s Gate 3 are certain prizes just yet. Nevertheless, given that its developers have already seen some success with award shows, we shouldn’t expect them to return home empty-handed. Even though they are quite different experiences, it’s not surprising to see both games tied at this point because they are among the best-reviewed titles of the year.
About the Game Award
The Game Awards, which were founded by writer Geoff Keighley in 2014, have become a significant occasion; according to organizers, 103 million people watched the live-streamed event last year. Many fans watch the ceremony, which doubles as an awards presentation and preview event, in hopes of seeing new trailers and hearing about upcoming films.
The presentation is sometimes criticized for spending more time displaying advertisements and trailers than it does awarding prizes, but there are frequently significant announcements. Nonetheless, a total of 31 awards are given out in a variety of categories, such as accessibility and creativity, best indie game, and audio design. The previous year’s winner, God of War Ragnarök, took home six prizes, including Best Performance for Christopher Judge, who voiced Kratos.
