Astro Bot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead this year’s The Game Awards nominations

The panel has voted and this year’s Game Awards nominations have been announced – with Astro Bot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Silent Hill 2, and Balatro all looking like they could be in for a very merry Geoffmas come 12th December.

Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are the big pre-winners, having both been shortlisted across seven categories for this year’s Game Awards. Metaphor: ReFantazio, meanwhile, has secured nominations in six categories, with smash-hit poker roguelike Balatro and Bloober Team‘s sublime Silent Hill 2 remake scoring five appearances apiece.

Only four of those games feature in this year’s Game of the Year shortlist, however, with Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio all making the cut, alongside Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. As for Silent Hill 2, its nominations are primarily audio and music-related, although it’s also up for best narrative, and Luke Roberts has a well-deserved nomination for his portrayal of James Sutherland.

Away from triple-A, Animal Well, Balatro, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Neva, and UFO 50 are all up for best independent game, while Balatro (again!), Animal Well, Manor Lords, Pacific Drive, and The Plucky Squire have all been shortlisted for best debut indie game. Developer Odd Meter’s marvellous Indika also puts in an extremely well-deserved appearance, albeit squished slightly awkwardly into the Games for Impact category, but there’s absolutely no sign of Thank Goodness You’re Here anywhere, which feels like a crime of the highest order.

You’ll find the full list of Game Awards 2024 nominees below – and if you have particularly strong opinions on who should win, the public can vote across all categories via The Game Awards website (or via local platforms in China) starting today until 6pm PT on 11th December. This year’s Game Awards are being broadcast live from Los Angeles on 12th December, and Eurogamer will be on hand to bring you the highlights, Hideo Kojima or otherwise.

Game of the Year

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Game Direction

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Narrative

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
• Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Art Direction

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Best Score and Music

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
• Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)

Best Audio Design

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Performance

• Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
• Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
• Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Innovation in Accessibility

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
• Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

Games for Impact

• Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
• Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)

Best Ongoing Game

• Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
• Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Community Support

• Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)
• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

• Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
• Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
• UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

• Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
• Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
• The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

• AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
• Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
• Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
• Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
• Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best VR/AR Game

• Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
• Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
• Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)
• Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
• Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)

Best Action Game

• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
• Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Action/Adventure Game

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
• Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
• Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)

Best RPG

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Fighting Game

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
• Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Best Family Game

• ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
• Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
• Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
• The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

• Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
• Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
• Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
• Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)

Best Sports/Racing Game

• F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
• NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
• Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
• WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Best Multiplayer Game

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
• Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)
• Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
• Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Adaptation

• Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
• Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
• Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)

Most Anticipated Game

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
• Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
• Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
• Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
• DOTA 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends

Content Creator of the Year

• CaseOh
• IlloJuan
• Techno Gamerz
• TypicalGamer
• Usada Pekora