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Game of the Year Nominees and More Revealed for Game Developers Choice Awards

The 17th annual Game Developers Choice Awards will be held in March.

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2016 might be over, but the year's games are still being celebrated. The organizers of the Game Developers Choice Awards today announced the nominees for this year's show.

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Leading the way was Playdead's Inside, which picked up six nominations, including Best Audio, Best Design, Best Narrative, Best Visual Art, the Innovation Award, and Game of the Year.

Games that received five nominations each included Overwatch and Firewatch, while Uncharted 4: A Thief's End picked up four nominations; all of those were nominated for Game of the Year, alongside Bethesda's Dishonored 2. A complete rundown of categories, nominees, and honorable mentions can be found below.

To be considered, a game had to be released and made available publicly during the 2016 calendar year. The nominees and winners are chosen by the International Choice Awards Network, which is a group of "leading game creators from all parts of the industry."

Double Fine boss Tim Schafer returns as host for the event, which will be held on March 1, 2017, in San Francisco as part of the Game Developers Conference. This will be Schafer's sixth time hosting.

The Independent Games Festival Awards will also take place the evening of March 1, while Pioneer, Ambassador, and Lifetime Achievement awards will also be handed out at the event. Organizers will announce the winners of these special awards "in the near future."

The show starts at 6:30 PM PT on March 1 and will be livestreamed on Twitch.

17th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards Nominees:

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)

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)
  • Pokemon Go (Niantic)
  • Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
  • Pokemon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokemon 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)
  • Pokemon 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)

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