Uncharted 4, Inside, and Battlefield 1 lead GDC 2017 Choice Award nominees

Double Fine founder and game-design legend Tim Schafer will host the event. 

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Nominees have been announced for this year's Game Developers Choice Awards, an annual event where developers recognize the work and accomplishments of their peers (via Gamasutra).

This year's Game Developers Choice Awards marks its 17th annual occurrence. The full list of nominees can be found below.

The Choice Awards will kick off at 6:30 pm Pacific / 9:30 pm Eastern on Wednesday, March 1, at the San Francisco Moscone Center, running parallel to the Game Developers Conference and the Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards. Double Fine founder Tim Schafer will host.

Most well-known for adventure games such as Full Throttle and Broken Age, Schafer has hosted the Choice Awards five times in the past: in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015.

Playdead's Inside and Blizzard's Overwatch lead the pack of nominations with six and five apiece, respectively. Id Software's Doom reboot has three nominations, EA's Battlefield 1 picked up two, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has stiff competition in the Game of the Year category, up against Inside, Overwatch, Firewatch, and Dishonored 2.

GDC will livestream the Choice Awards from its official Twitch channel.

Best Audio

  • Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
  • Thumper (Drool)
  • DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games), Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)

Best Debut

  • Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
  • Campo Santo (Firewatch)
  • ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
  • Drool (Thumper)
  • Night School Studio (Oxenfree)
  • Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)

Best Design

  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
  • The Witness (Thekla)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
  • Honorable Mentions: Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dark Souls III (From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Hitman (IO Interactive / Square Enix)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

  • Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Clash Royale (Supercell)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
  • Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokémon Company)
  • Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)

Innovation Award

  • The Witness (Thekla)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
  • Pokemon Go (Niantic)
  • Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)

Best Narrative

  • The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
  • Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV (Cardboard Computer), Mafia III (Hangar 13 / 2K Games)

Best Technology

  • Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)

Best Visual Art

  • Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
  • The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Honorable Mentions: The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Abzu (Giant Squid Studios), Thumper (Drool), DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

Best VR/AR Game

  • Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games)
  • Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
  • Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games)
  • Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)

Game of the Year

  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
  • Honorable Mentions: DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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