Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to you. The Game Awards 2019 happened last night and I’m here to tell you all about it.
The Game Awards 2019 was a blockbuster. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé dropped by to say “hello”, actors Norman Reedus, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez poked their heads round the door, game designer and Okami megafan Ikumi Nakamura made an appearance, and Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker of the Muppets graced the stage with their presence. Microsoft unveiled the Xbox Series X—previously titled Project Scarlett—and Sony showed off its first confirmed PlayStation 5 exclusive. And, The Game Awards 2019 Festival—held from December 12 to December 14—will let people trial a number of the announced games through free-to-play demos on Steam.
Blimey. Now, the awards themselves. The 2019 nominees were determined by a panel of over 80 media outlets and the audience were able to vote for their favourites in each of the categories. The public vote counted for 10 per cent of the final winners, and the remaining 90 per cent of votes derives from the panel. The fact that Death Stranding didn’t trounce the competition with its nine nominations is… interesting. Criticism had been levelled towards host Geoff Keighley because he has a close friendship with Hideo Kojima and he had been cast in the game as a random NPC. Disco Elysium was the game that went home with the most awards for Best Narrative, Best Indie Game, Best RPG, and Fresh Indie Game.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won Game of the Year, and Death Stranding snagged awards for Best Game Direction and Best Score/Music. Mads Mikkelsen was commended for his performance as Cliff in Death Stranding, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses won Best Strategy Game and Player’s Voice. Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and Fortnite jostled elbows in the Best Ongoing Game and Best Community Support categories, but all three managed to go home with a piece of the pie. I won’t spoil it all, though, so read on to get the low-down. The winners in each of the category have been bolded.
Best Esports Player
- Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf
- Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok
- Luka ‘Perkz’ Perkovic
- Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev
- Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- DOTA 2
- Fortnite
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
Best Esports Event
- 2019 League of Legends World Championship
- 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
- EVO 2019
- Fortnite World Cup
- IEM Katowice 2019
- The International 2019
Best Esports Host
- Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez
- Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson
- Duan ‘Candice’ Yu-Shuang
- Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere
- Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner
Best Esports Coach
- Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen
- Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag
- Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann
- Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun
- Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang
- Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz
Best Esports Team
- Astralis (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- G2 Esports (League of Legends)
- OG (Dota 2)
- San Francisco Shock (Overwatch League)
- Team Liquid (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
Content Creator of the Year
- Courage – Jack Dunlop
- Dr. Lupo – Benjamin Lupo
- Ewok – Soleil Wheeler
- Grefg – David Martínez
- Shroud – Michael Grzesiek
Game of the Year
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Resident Evil 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- The Outer Worlds
Best Game Direction
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Outer Wilds
Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Disco Elysium
- The Outer Worlds
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb, The Outer Worlds
- Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden, Control
- Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz, Gears 5
- Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff, Death Stranding
- Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling, Control
- Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, Death Stranding
Best Art Direction
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Gris
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Gears 5
- Resident Evil 2
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Best Score/Music
- Cadence of Hyrule
- Death Stranding
- Devil May Cry 5
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
Best Multiplayer Game
- Apex Legends
- Borderlands 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Tetris 99
- Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Best VR/AR Game
- Asgard's Wrath
- Blood & Truth
- Beat Saber
- No Man's Sky
- Trover Saves the Universe
Best Mobile Game
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Grindstone
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Sky: Children of Light
- What the Golf?
Best Action Game
- Apex Legends
- Astral Chain
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Devil May Cry 5
- Gears 5
- Metro Exodus
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Borderlands 3
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Best RPG
- Disco Elysium
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
- The Outer Worlds
Best Fighting Game
- Dead or Alive 6
- Jump Force
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Samurai Showdown
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Best Family Game
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Yoshi's Crafted World
Best Strategy Game
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Anno 1800
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Tropico 6
- Wargroove
Best Sports/Racing Game
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
- DiRT Rally 2.0
- eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020
- F1 2019
- FIFA 20
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Fresh Indie Game Presented by Subway
- ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
- Nomada Studio for Gris
- DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
- Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
- Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
- House House for Untitled Goose Game
Player's Voice
- Death Stranding
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Games for Impact
- Concrete Genie
- Gris
- Kind Words
- Life is Strange 2
- Sea of Solitude
