The Loadout Blog

Entertainment|Gaming

By Drew Bryant
November 16, 2022, theloadoutblog.com

On Tuesday, Geoff Keighley announced all the nominees for The Game Awards 2022. Santa Monica Studio’s God Of War: Ragnarok and From Software’s Elden Ring led the way with ten and seven award nominations respectively.

God of War: Ragnarok nominations include Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, two in Best Performance, Best Action/Adventure, and Innovation In Accessibility.

From Software’s Elden Ring award nominations include Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, and Best RPG.

Below, is the full list of all the categories and nominees for the 2022 Game Awards.

The 2022 Game Awards Nominees

Game of the Year

Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Game Direction

Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality
Stray

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

Elden Ring
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon: Forbidden West
Scorn
Stray

Best Score/Music

For outstanding music, inclusive of the score, original song, and/or licensed soundtrack.

Olivier Deriviere – A Plague Tale: Requiem
Tsukasa Saitoh – Elden Ring
Bear McCreary – God of War: Ragnarok
Two Feathers – Metal Hellinger
Yasunori Mitsuda

Best Audio Design

Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok
Gran Turismo 7
Horizon Forbidden West
Best Performance

Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion, and/or performance capture.

Ashly Birch – Horizon: Forbidden West
Charlotte McBurney – A Plague Tale: Requiem
Christopher Judge – God of War: Ragnarok
Manon Gage – Immortality
Sunny Suljic – God of War: Ragnarok

Games for Impact

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.

A Memoir Blue
As Dusk Falls
Citizen Sleeper
Endling – Extinction is Forever
Hindsight
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Best Ongoing Game

Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.

Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy 14 Online
Fortnite
Genshin Impact

Best Indie Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

Cult of the Lamb
Neon White
Sifu
Stray
TUNIC

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

Neon White
NORCO
Stray
TUNIC
Vampire Survivors

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

Apex Legends Mobile
Diablo Immortal
Genshin Impact
Marvel Snap
Tower of Fantasy

Best Community Support

Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency, and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.

Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy 14 Online
Fortnite
No Man’s Sky

Best VR/AR Game

For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

After the Fall
Among Us VR
BONELAB
Moss: Book II
Red Matter 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology, and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

As Dusk Falls
God of War: Ragnarok
Returnal
Return to Monkey Island
The Last of Us Part 1
The Quarry

Best Action Game

The best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

Bayonetta 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Neon White
Sifu
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game

For the best action/adventure game, combine combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
TUNIC

Best RPG

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

Elden Ring
Live a Live
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Fighting Game

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

DNF Duel
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
The King of Fighters 15
MultiVersus
Sifu

Best Family Game

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Nintendo Switch Sports
Splatoon 3

Best Sports/Racing Game

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

F1 22
FIFA 23
NBA 2K23
Gran Turismo 7
OlliOlli World

Best SIM/Strategy Game

The best game focused on real-time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

Dune: Spice Wars
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Total War: WARHAMMER 3
Two Point Campus
Victoria 3

Best Multiplayer Game

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Multiversus
Overwatch 2
Splatoon 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.

Karl Jacobs
Ludwig
Nibellion
Nobru
QTCinderella

Best Esports Athlete

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.

Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan – CS: GO)
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS: GO)
Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

Best Esports Coach

The Esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS: GO)
Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS: GO)
Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.

EVO 2022
2022 League of Legends World Championship
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
VALORANT Champions 2022

Best Esports Game

For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support, and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
DOTA 2
League of Legends
Rocket League
VALORANT

Best Esports Team

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
FaZe Clan (CS: GO)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
LOUD (Valorant)

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

Final Fantasy 16
Hogwarts Legacy
Resident Evil 4
Starfield
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best Adaptation

Celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment including TV, movies, comics, and more.

Arcane: League of Legends
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
The Cuphead Show!
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Uncharted

What are your favorite games from the last year? Let us know in the comments before.

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