Technology

The Game Awards 2024 nominations: Which games are up for the gold?

Five images from the Game of the Year nominees.

There’s been a veritable avalanche of great games in 2024, and the big hitters are now up for the gold.

The nominations for The Game Awards were announced on Monday evening, with Game of the Year nominees Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and Metaphor: ReFantazio dominating the list.

Indie games like Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Neva, Indika, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Manor Lords, Pacific Drive, and more are all up for awards, and major releases like Helldivers 2, Silent Hill 2, Star Wars Outlaws, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are up for awards too — though not Game of the Year.

And for TV fans, Arcane, Fallout, Knuckles, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft are all nominated for Best Adaptation.

Notably, one of the biggest snubs was BioWare’s excellent Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which only landed one nomination this year for Innovation in Accessibility. I’m sure complete and utter icon Taash would have something to say about this.

Here are the nominations for The Game Awards 2024 — have you played them all?

Game of the Year

Astro Bot

Balatro

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Best Game Direction

Astro Bot

Balatro

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Best Narrative

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Metaphor: ReFantanzio

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Silent Hill 2

Best Art Direction

Astro Bot

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Neva

Best Score and Music

Astro Bot

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Silent Hill 2

Stellar Blade

Best Audio Design

Astro Bot

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Silent Hill 2

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

Diablo IV

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Star Wars Outlaws

Games for Impact

Closer the Distance

Indika

Neva

Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Tales of Kenzera: Zau

Best Ongoing Game

Destiny 2

Diablo IV

Final Fantasy XIV

Fortnite

Helldivers 2

Best Community Support

Baldur’s Gate 3

Final Fantasy XIV

Fortnite

Helldivers 2

No Man’s Sky

Best Independent Game

Animal Well

Balatro

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Neva

UFO 50

Best Debut Indie Game

Balatro

Animal Well

Manor Lords

Pacific Drive

The Plucky Squire

Best Mobile Game

AFK Journey

Balatro

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket

Wuthering Waves

Zenless Zone Zero

Best VR/AR Game

Arizona Sunshine Remake

Asgard’s Wrath 2

Batman: Arkham Shadow

Metal: Hellsinger VR

Metro Awakening

Best Action Game

Black Myth: Wukong

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Helldivers 2

Stellar Blade

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Best Action/Adventure Game

Astro Bot

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Silent Hill 2

Star Wars Outlaws

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Best RPG

Dragon’s Dogma 2

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Best Fighting Game

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics

MultiVersus

Tekken 8

Best Family Game

Astro Bot

Princess Peach Showtime

Super Mario Party Jamboree

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

The Plucky Squire

Best Sim/Strategy Game

Age of Mythology: Retold

Frostpunk 2

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

Manor Lords

Unicorn Overlord

Best Sports/Racing Game

F1 24

EA Sports FC 25

NBA 2K25

Top Spin 2K25

WWE 2K24

Best Multiplayer Game

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Helldivers 2

Super Mario Party Jamboree

Tekken 8

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2

Best Adaptation

Arcane

Fallout

Knuckles

Like a Dragon: Yakuza

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Most Anticipated Game

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Ghost of Yotei

Grand Theft Auto VI

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Monster Hunter Wilds

Content Creator of the Year

CaseOh

IlloJuan

Techno Gamerz

TypicalGamer

Usada Pekora

Best Esports Game

Counter-Strike 2

DOTA 2

League of Legends

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

33

Aleksib

Chovy

Faker

ZyWoO

ZmjjKk

Best Esports Team

Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)

Gen.G (League of Legends)

NAVI (Counter-Strike)

T1 (League of Legends)

Team Liquid (DOTA 2)

The Game Awards will be announced on Dec. 12 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will be streaming live on The Game Awards website.

Mashable