The usual suspects were out in force in the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024 nominees, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3 leading the way with seven nominees apiece. But there were also some big surprises in the Game of the Year category, with Alan Wake 2 missing out in favor of Dave the Diver and Dredge.
Instead, Alan Wake 2 got the nod as an honorable mention in the list of finalists, which are voted on by game developers throughout the industry. Remedy’s sequel wasn’t entirely shut out though, earning nods in categories including Best Narrative and Best Visual Art. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Tears of the Kingdom, COCOON, and Baldur’s Gate 3 rounded out the rest of the Game of the Year nominees.
As for Dave the Diver, it’s won praise for its unique mix of deep sea exploration and shopkeeping. In our review we called it “wholesome, wonderfully complex, and delightfully hard to put down.”
The Game Developers Choice Awards are held every year during the Game Developer’s Conference, which takes place in San Francisco in March. Last year’s awards saw Elden Ring take home the big prize, with God of War Ragnarok also receiving plenty of recognition.
Check out the full list of nominees below. For more, check out the full list of IGN Awards in which we picked our own winners, and stay tuned as awards season continues.
BEST AUDIO
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Venba (Visai Games)
Honorable Mentions: COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive), Diablo IV (Blizzard
Entertainment), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix), Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software / Portkey
Games), Humanity (tha ltd. and Enhance / Enhance)
BEST DEBUT
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Dave the Diver (Mintrocket)
Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
Venba (Visai Games)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Publishing)
Honorable Mentions: BattleBit Remastered (SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis, and TheLiquidHorse / SgtOkiDoki),
Party Animals (Recreate Games / Source Technology), Pizza Tower (Tour De Pizza), Planet of Lana
(Wishfully Studios / Thunderful), Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studios / Humble
Games)
BEST DESIGN
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Dave the Diver (Mintrocket), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio), Street Fighter 6 (Capcom), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
INNOVATION AWARD
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
The Making of Karateka (Digital Eclipse)
Honorable Mentions: Dave the Diver (Mintrocket), Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17), Marvel’s
Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios /
Bethesda Softworks), Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Publishing)
BEST NARRATIVE
Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Venba (Visai Games)
Honorable Mentions: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt), Dredge (Black Salt Games /
Team17), Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores (Guerrilla Games /
Sony Interactive Entertainment), Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD
A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio / Toge Productions)
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Ubisoft Bordeaux / Ubisoft)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Terra Nil (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
Venba (Visai Games)
Honorable Mentions: Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
(Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony
Interactive Entertainment), Tchia (Awaceb / Kepler Interactive), Thirsty Suitors (Outerloop Games /
Annapurna Interactive)
BEST TECHNOLOGY
Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive), Cyberpunk 2077:
Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt), Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix),
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST VISUAL ART
Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment), Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17),
Lies of P (Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio / Neowiz Games), Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio), Super
Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
GAME OF THE YEAR
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Dave the Diver (Mintrocket)
Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games), Diablo IV (Blizzard
Entertainment), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix), Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio), Starfield (Bethesda
Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.