The Game Developers Choice Awards have arrived and they honored the best of the best in the world of video games from 2023 and Baldur’s Gate 3 walked away with Game of the Year.
This year’s show had 12 awards and the winners were chosen by industry professionals from around the world. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3 led the way going into the show with seven nominations each, and Baldur’s Gate 3 won the night with four wins.
Alongside Game of the Year, Baldur’s Gate 3 took home Best Narrative, Best Design, and the Audience Award. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, on the other hand, won both the Innovation Award and Best Technology.
Venba was the only other game to win multiple awards as it secured Best Debut and the Social Impact Award. Other winners included Hi-Fi Rush for Best Audio and Alan Wake 2 for Best Visual Art.
This year’s Game Developers Choice Awards also honored Fawzi Mesmar with the Ambassador Award and Yoko Shimomura with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mesmar has worked at major game companies for over 20 years and helped develop games in such franchises as Battlefield, Candy Crush, Mario Rabbids, Star Wars, and Persona.
Shimomura is a legendary composer responsible for music in such titles as Street Fighter II, Final Fight, The King of Dragons, Live A Live, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario RPG, and Legends of Mana. You can read our chat with Shimomura right here where she reflects on winning the Lifetime Achievement Award.
You can check out the full list of winners, nominees, and honorable mentions from the Game Developers Choice Awards below and then you can compare them to IGN’s picks for the best games of 2023.
BEST AUDIO
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive), Diablo IV (Blizzard
BEST DEBUT
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- Dave the Diver (Mintrocket)
- Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
- Venba (Visai Games) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: BattleBit Remastered (SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis, and TheLiquidHorse / SgtOkiDoki),
BEST DESIGN
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) – WINNER
- 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) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: Dave the Diver (Mintrocket), Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17), Marvel’s
BEST NARRATIVE
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt), Dredge (Black Salt Games /
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) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
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) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive), Cyberpunk 2077:
BEST VISUAL ART
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment), Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17),
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) – WINNER
- 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)
- Honorable Mentions: Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games), Diablo IV (Blizzard
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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.