Journey nets 11 D.I.C.E. Awards nominations

The nominees for the 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced, and Journey has come out on top. Thatgamecompany's downloadable game scored 11 nominations, including a nod for game of the year.

Other candidates for game of the year include Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Other games scoring multiple nominations include The Walking Dead (8), Far Cry 3 (7), Halo 4 (6), Borderlands 2 (5), and Dishonored (5).

The D.I.C.E. Awards will be held Thursday, February 7, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the annual Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (D.I.C.E.) summit. The event will be streamed in its entirety beginning at 7:30 p.m. PDT.

It was also announced today that Nerdist.com founder and comedian Chris Hardwick will host the D.I.C.E. Awards. The full list of the 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards categories and nominations is below.

Game of the Year
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox Software
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Journey - Thatgamecompany
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Firaxis Games

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow
The Walking Dead - Telltale games

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Nintendo Land - Nintendo
Sound Shapes - Queasy Games
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Action Game of the Year
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox Software
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Hitman: Absolution - I/O Interactive
Sleeping Dogs - United Front Games

Adventure Game of the Year
Assassins' Creed III - Ubisoft
Darksiders II - Vigil Games
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
New Super Mario Bros. Wii U - Nintendo
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Mobile Game of the Year
Fairway Solitaire - Big Fish
Hero Academy - Robot Entertainment
Horn - Phosphor Game Studios
Rayman Jungle Run - Pastagames, Ubisoft Montpellier

Downloadable Game of the Year
Fez - Polytron Corporation
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Mark of the Ninja - Klei Entertainment
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Handheld Game of the Year
Gravity Rush - Japan Studio
Paper Mario Sticker Star - Intelligent Systems
Resident Evil: Revelations - Capcom
Sound Shapes - Queasy Games
Uncharted: Golden Abyss - Sony Bend Studio

Web-Based Game of the Year
Bingo Bash - BitRhymes Inc.
Burrito Bison Revenge - Juicy Beast Studio
CityVille 2 - Zynga
Sim City Social - Maxis, Playfish
Song Pop - FreshPlanet Inc.

Casual Games of the Year
Fairway Solitaire - Big Fish
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Puzzle Craft - Ars Thanea
Rayman Jungle Run - Pastagames, Ubisoft Montpellier
Sound Shapes - Queasy Games

Family Game of the Year
Dance Central 3 - Harmonix Music Systems
Just Dance 4 - Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Milan
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes - TT Games
Nintendo Land - Nintendo
Skylanders Giants - Toys for Bob

Fighting Game of the Year
Persona 4 Arena - Arc System Works
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale - Superbot Entertainment
Soulcalibur V - Project Soul
Street Fighter X Tekken - Capcom
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Namco Bandai Games

Racing Game of the Year
Forza Horizon - Playground Games
LittleBigPlanet Karting - United Front Games
Motorstorm RC - Evolution Studios
Need for Speed Most Wanted - Criterion Games
Trials: Evolution - Redlynx Ltd.

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Dust: An Elysian Tale - Humble Hearts
Guild Wars II - ArenaNet
Mass Effect 3 - BioWare
Torchlight II - Runic Games

Sports Game of the Year
FIFA Soccer 13 - EA Canada
MLB The Show 2012 - San Diego Studios
NBA 2K13 - Visual Concepts

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
FTL: Faster Than Light - Subset Games
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition - Mojang/4J Studios
Orcs Must Die 2 - Robot Entertainment
Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai - The Creative Assembly
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Firaxis Games

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin's Creed III - Ubisoft
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Hitman: Absolution - I/O Interactive
Mark of the Ninja - Klei Entertainment
Uncharted: Golden Abyss - Sony Bend Studio

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox Software
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Journey - Thatgamecompany

Outstanding Character Performance
Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina - Gearbox Software
Far Cry 3: Vaas Montenegro - Ubisoft
Halo 4: Cortana - 343 Industries
Mass Effect 3: Female Commander Shepard - BioWare
The Walking Dead: Lee Everett - Telltale Games

Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity
Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Treyarch
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Nike+ Kinect Training - Sumo Digital Ltd.

Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
Gravity Rush - Japan Studio
Journey - Thatgamecompany
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Firaxis Games

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox Software
Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Treyarch
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Journey - Thatgamecompany

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Mass Effect 3 - BioWare
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria - Blizzard Entertainment

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Assassin's Creed III - Ubisoft
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Medal of Honor: Warfighter - Danger Close Games
Syndicate - Starbreeze Studios

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
Journey - Thatgamecompany
Sleeping Dogs - United Front Games
Spec Ops: The Line - Yager Development GmbH
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Treyarch
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Hitman: Absolution - I/O Interactive
Need for Speed Most Wanted - Criterion Games
Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai - The Creative Assembly