God of War Wins GOTY at 2019 GDC Awards, Full List of Winners

[Mercenary09]

https://www.gdconf.com/news/god-war-wins-game-year-2019-game-developers-choice-awards

Tonight's the night: Sony Santa Monica and Sony Interactive Entertainment's epic reimagining of the intense action/adventure series, God of War, was honored with the prize for Game of the Year at tonight's 19th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony during GDC 2019!

God of War earned accolades for its mature narrative, dazzling visuals and refined combat gameplay. An archive of the award ceremony, as well as the full presentation of the Independent Games Festival Awards, can be viewed on the official GDC Twitch channel.

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Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Amy Hennig

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole.

Pioneer Award Winner
Rieko Kodama

The Pioneer Award (formerly known as the First Penguin Award) celebrates those individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design at a crucial juncture in video game history – paving the way for the myriads who followed them.


Audience Award Winner
Beat Saber

Game of the Year

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment) – Winner

Honorable Mentions: Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios & Sora / Nintendo), Into the Breach (Subset Games), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

Best Audio

Celeste (Matt Makes Games) – Winner
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games), Wandersong (Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Best Debut

Polyarc (Moss)
Mountains (Florence) – Winner
Nomada Studio (Gris)
Villa Gorilla (Yoku's Island Express)
Sabotage (The Messenger)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Games (Beat Saber), Digital Sun (Moonlighter), Two Point Studios (Two Point Hospital), Okomotive (Far: Lone Sails)

Best Design

Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
Into the Breach (Subset Games) – Winner
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Frostpunk (11 bit studios), Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)

Best Mobile Game

Alto's Odyssey (Snowman)
Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive) – Winner
Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Furistas Cat Cafe (Runaway), The Room: Old Sins (Fireproof Studios), Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage), Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox), Twinfold (Kenny Sun)

Innovation Award

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo) – Winner
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)

Honorable Mentions: Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Moss (Polyarc), A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

Best Narrative

Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909) – Winner
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions: Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge / Good Shepherd Entertainment)

Best Technology

Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games) – Winner

Honorable Mentions: Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios), Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)


Best Visual Art

Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital) – Winner
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)

Honorable Mentions: Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Below (Capybara Games)

Best VR/AR Game

Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
Beat Saber (Beat Games) – Winner
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Moss (Polyarc)
Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Jurassic World Alive (Ludia), In Death (Sólfar Studios), Tendar (Tender Claws), Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Deracine (FromSoftware / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

 

[Shambala]

As it should. I mean it was the best game last year no cap

 

[ScreamingMadden]

Good picks for the winners. Celeste bringing home that Best Audio award is great! Into the Breach getting Best Design is great too!

 

[DNAbro]

All of those are great choices for the categories.

 

[Mercenary09]

It honestly was great to see a lot of the indie games get recognition on a big stage here.

 

[mrmickfran]

Celeste winning best audio feels so good

Congrats, Lena

 

[daniel77733]

Congratulations to Sony Santa Monica for God of War. My second best game of the generation and my 2018 game of the year. Excellent masterpiece of a game.

 

[MillionIII]

God of awards

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

I wanted Lucas to win game of the year too but congrats to the god of war team

 

[Mercenary09]

I wanted Lucas to win game of the year too but congrats to the god of war team

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I know I honestly thought he was going to since the show was mainly giving the awards to the indie games. Would've been cool to see it win here.

 

[nib95]

Well deserved. Decent picks all around.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

I know I honestly thought he was going to since the show was mainly giving the awards to the indie games. Would've been cool to see it win here.

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Yep! He's the best and his game is great.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

Return of the Obra Dinn really should've won best visual art since that was the most impressive/unique style of the year.

 

[Mercenary09]

Still hoping Obra Dinn comes to consoles soon so that I can play it. All the recognition its gotten this award season has me interested.

 

[NSESN]

The lack of japanese winners/nominations is sad. For example Octopath isnt even in the HM for audio

 

[Lunatic]

Celeste getting it's fair nods. Respect

 

[John Frost]

Another one.

 

[francium87]

Glad Into the Breach won best design, what a game that was

 

[VFX_Veteran]

God of War over RDR2 and Spiderman? Not in my book. But happy to see RDR2 win best tech.

 

[ASaiyan]

It honestly was great to see a lot of the indie games get recognition on a big stage here.

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I liked Red Dead 2, but something about a one-man indie game slapping away a massive, multi-million dollar, professional actor-filled, crunch-built behemoth for Best Story just feels very right and poetic.

It's the industry's own developers standing up and rejecting the way things have become.

 

[Shan]

Eeesh, over Spidey? Blah

Well congrats to the winners!

 

[SamWilson]

I liked Red Dead 2, but something about a one-man indie game slapping away a massive, multi-million dollar, professional actor-filled, crunch-built behemoth for Best Story just feels very right and poetic.

It's the industry's own developers standing up and rejecting the way things have become.

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I think voters should be impartial. Those things shouldn't affect winners, especially something like Best Narrative.

But I get it. "Big company bad. Small company good." type thing.

 

[Natbat]

Still have God of War in my backlog after picking it up in a PSN sale. Right now I'd say Spider-Man is in my top 5 games of the generation. I can fully understand some of it's limitations and the repetition. But it's just so damn fun to play.

 

[ASaiyan]

I think voters should be impartial. Those things shouldn't affect winners, especially something like Best Narrative.

But I get it. "Big company bad. Small company good." type thing.

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Big companies don't have to be "bad". But by all accounts, everything about Red Dead 2's development was horrific. The GDC voters and/or their peers suffered immensely due to Rockstar's management of that project. They did take home one award, but I can see how many developers would not want to reward that kind of behavior. For this audience in particular, the "result" is not wholly separable from the deed.

 

[Anubis]

Gotg

 

[Young Liar]

Happy for Celeste, Florence, Gris, Into the Breach, and Return of the Obra Dinn getting recognition.

I don't necessarily think the A story of Obra Dinn is anything to write home about, but the storytelling for sure is innovative and expertly executed. None of the games nominated impressed me either in the narrative department. No standout story-focused games in 2018, really!

 

[Aters]

What's innovative about RDR2? What's so good about Spiderman's design?

 

[B.O.O.M.]

Well deserved. Some great choices overall too

 

[Estarossa]

Spider-Man nominated over MHW... no words.

 

[Shaneus]

Dead Cells literally no mentions, not even honorable ones. Am I being salty for thinking that's just fuckin' weird?

 

[El-Pistolero]

God of War over RDR2 and Spiderman? Not in my book. But happy to see RDR2 win best tech.

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I read that book: Anything but Sony... Chronicles of my hatered for a plastic toy.

Come at me if you can!

 

[Deleted member 37233]

The lack of japanese winners/nominations is sad. For example Octopath isnt even in the HM for audio

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It's also neither nominated, nor mentioned in Best Art Style :/

 

[ThisIsBlitz21]

Red Dead Redemption II brought innovation in what way? First game to have expanding/contracting horse testicles?

 

[Bishop89]

Deserved.

 

[Nightengale]

Red Dead Redemption II brought innovation in what way? First game to have expanding/contracting horse testicles?

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Innovation isn't always about creating a new idea/thing that never existed before - but showcasing a new way of doing things based off existing game design foundation.

Nothing about RDR2's 'dynamic world events or quest' are new-or-never-seen-before side content/world design. But the simple execution of not having those world events be marked with map markers, and spreading them around the world with such sheer density helps RDR2 to create the illusion of a living, breathing world better than other open world games even though it doesn't do anything 'newer' than other massive open world games of its ilk.

 

[Bundy]

And another one! God of Awards. Congrats to Sony Santa Monica Studio :)

 

[Phantom88]

Still hoping Obra Dinn comes to consoles soon so that I can play it. All the recognition its gotten this award season has me interested.

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Whats preventing you from playing it right now ?

 

[BrickArts295]

Cory right now:

Red Dead Redemption II brought innovation in what way? First game to have expanding/contracting horse testicles?

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It may not be seen as much, but seeing the NPC's actually build a house over time might have been one craziest things I have witnessed in a game. RDR2 has its issues with the gameplay but R* still continues to be unmatched when it comes to open world game design.

 

[kiriku]

Best Audio is a bit unfortunate, because I assume that means they group sound design and music together. I feel that often results in people just voting for the best soundtrack.

 

[TinfoilHatsROn]

Tim calling out THQNordic and puddlegate was fucking amazing lol.

Seriously though, congrats to all the winners!

My personal favorite is a tie between Beat Saber and Celeste but Florence, Return of the Obra Dinn, GoW are all games everyone should get.

 

[Sidewinder]

Astro Bot got robbed yet again ;(

 

[Mexen]

Congratulations to the winners. Really nice to Obra and Into the Breach win.

 

[Lukemia SL]

I read that book: Anything but Sony... Chronicles of my hatered for a plastic toy.

Come at me if you can!

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Hey I read that book today, wasn't worth reading.

Congratulations especially to God of War and Amy Hennig.

 

[mxbison]

RDR 2 missions feel like a 90's light gun shooter. Most innovative?

Nice to see the indies winning though

 

[benzopil]

Tetris Effect got robbed

 

[Kaswa101]

Well deserved!

 

[benzopil]

RDR2 has its issues with the gameplay but R* still continues to be unmatched when it comes to open world game design

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Let me introduce you to The Division 2
https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/b0jtrp/the_immersion_is_incredible/

 

[TsuWave]

GOTG

 

[Gamer17]

God of War over RDR2 and Spiderman? Not in my book. But happy to see RDR2 win best tech.

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No thanks .pressing x for hours to ride a horse to go fishing doesn't stand chance against god of war ;)

 

[Alienous]

I think God of War is a fantastic showcase of all of the disciplines involved in making a game at their best, so I'm always glad to see it get another GOTY trophy.