With December almost here, nominations for The Game Award 2021 have been announced, and it seems this is going to be Deathloop’s year. Arkane’s latest is nominated for 9 awards, while Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart sits in second place with 6 nominations. After that, there’s a multiple-way tie, with Resident Evil Village, It Takes Two, and Psychonauts 2 all receiving 5 noms apiece. As for which publisher can claim most bragging rights, Xbox Game Studios has snared 20 noms this year, Sony has 11, and Square Enix and EA have 10 apiece. As usual, not all 2021 games were eligible for the awards, with a November 19 cutoff effectively keeping games like Battlefield 2042 out of the running.
Here are your full list of The Game Awards 2021 nominees (minus the esports and influencer awards nobody cares about):
Game of the Year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Game Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
Best Indie
- 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)
Best Debut Indie
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
- Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)
Best Narrative
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Art Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
Best Score and Music
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
- Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
- The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Performance
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, Deathloop
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Chicory (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
- No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Mobile Game, Presented by Verizon
- Fantasian (Mistwalker)
- Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
- League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
- MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
- Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokemon Company)
Best VR/AR
- Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
- I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)
- Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Best Action
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Action/Adventure
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best Role Playing
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
- Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Best Fighting
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
- Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Best Family
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)
- New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
- WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing
- F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
- Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)
Best Sim/Strategy
- Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
- Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Multiplayer
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- New World (Amazon Games)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)
Most Anticipated, Presented by Prime Gaming
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
So, who do you think will win Game of the Year? Any particularly egregious snubs? Personally, I think Htiman 3 has been done dirty.
