Geoff Keighley has announced the nominees for The Game Awards 2021, with Deathloop leading the pack with a total of nine nominations.
Deathloop featured in various categories this year, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Audio Design, Best Action Game, and Game of the Year. Deathloop also received two nominations in the Best Performance category, with Jason E. Kelley and Ozioama Akagha both being recognized.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and It Takes Two also scored big this year, having received six and five nominations apiece across several different categories, including the highly prestigious Game of the Year category, where they appeared as contenders alongside Deathloop, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, and Resident Evil Village.
The full list of categories and nominations for The Games Awards 2021 follows:
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Artful Escape
Best Score/Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deathloop
- Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Artful Escape
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Deathloop
- Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Erika Mori, Life is Strange
- Giancarlo Esposito, Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley, Deathloop
- Maggie Robertson, Resident Evil Village
- Ozioama Akagha, Deathloop
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: War Zone
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Indie Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- 12 Minutes
- Death's Door
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
Best Debut Indie Game
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Valheim
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact
- League of Legends
- MARVEL Future Revolution
- Pokemon Unite
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates/patches.
- Apex Legends: Escape
- Destiny 2: Beyond Light
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- No Man's Sky
Best VR/AR Game
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Hitman III
- I Expect You to Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing software and/or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.
- Far Cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry II
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
- Returnal
Best Action/Adventure Game
For the best action/adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- Metroid Dread
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Psychonauts 2
Best RPG
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- Tales of Arise
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokémon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
Best Sports/Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- F1 2021
- Fifa 22
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Forza Horizon 5
- Riders Republic
Best SIM/Strategy Game
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Age of Empires IV
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
Best Multiplayer Game
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Back 4 Blood
- It Takes Two
- Knockout City
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
Best Esports Athlete
The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.
- Chris "Simp" Lehr
- Heo "ShowMaker" Su
- Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
- Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
- Tyson "TenZ" Ngo
Best Esports Coach
The esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Airat "Silent" Gaziev
- Andrey "ENGH" Sholokhov
- Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi
- James "Crowder" Crowder
- Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- The International 2021
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
Best Esports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Call of Duty
- CS:GO
- DOTA2
- League of Legends
- Valorant
Best Esports Team
Recognizing a specific esports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Atlanta FaZe, Call of Duty
- DWG KIA, League of Legends
- NAVI, CS:GO
- Team Spirit, DOTA2
- Sentinels, Valorant
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- Elden Ring
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Starfield
The nominees in each category are now available for public voting, and the winners will be awarded as part of The Game Awards 2021, which is returning to the stage with a live, in-person event at the Microsoft Theater on December 9, 2021, following last year's fully virtual presentation where The Last of Us Part II received the most wins in the show's history.
The awards ceremony will be packaged together with plenty of game-related announcements and premieres, with Keighley previously anticipating that 40 to 50 games will feature in the show this year, in "some way or another," including games that are expected to release in 2022 and 2023, as well as trailers for upcoming movies and TV shows inspired by games.
Stay tuned to IGN for all coverage of the awards.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.