Baldur's Gate 3 Dominates 24th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards at GDC 2024

On Wednesday evening, Baldur's Gate 3 made a clean sweep at the Game Developers Choice Awards, securing the coveted Game of the Year title as well as awards for Best Narrative, Best Design, and the Audience Award. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received two awards, including Best Technology and the Innovation Award, both courtesy of Nintendo. Visai Games' Venba won the Best Debut and Social Impact awards, while Remedy Entertainment took home the Best Visual Art award for Alan Wake 2, and Hi-Fi Rush secured the award for Best Audio. As previously announced, the awards also paid tribute to Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her notable work on titles such as Kingdom Hearts, Super Mario RPG, Street Fighter 2, and Final Fantasy 15. Ubisoft's vice president of global creative, Fawzi Mesmar, was honored with the Ambassador Award for his career spanning over two decades in the industry. The 26th Annual Independent Games Festival also took place, with Venba claiming the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game. The title was nominated in the categories of audio, narrative, and visual art. Anthology of a Killer received the Nuovo Award, given to games that challenge jurors' perspectives on the medium. Once Upon a Jester, developed by Bonte Avond, won the Best Student Game award, while Chú Mó received the Alt.ctrl.gdc award, highlighting games that utilize unconventional, accessible, or alternative physical controls. The IGF winners were awarded $2,000, with the Grand Prize winner receiving a total of $10,000. The full list of winners for both ceremonies includes: Game of the Year: Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios), Best Debut: Venba (Visai Games), Best Visual Art: Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment), Best Audio: Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks), Best Narrative: Baldur's Gate 3, Best Technology: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo), Best Design: Baldur's Gate 3, Social Impact Award: Venba, Innovation Award: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Audience Award: Baldur's Gate 3, Ambassador Award: Fawzi Mesmar, Lifetime Achievement Award: Yoko Shimomura, Seumas McNally Grand Prize: Venba, Excellence in Visual Art: Phonopolis (Amanita Design), Excellence in Audio: Rhythm Doctor (7th Beat Games), Excellence in Design: Cryptmaster (Paul Hart & Lee Williams), Excellence in Narrative: Mediterranea Inferno (Eyeguys), Nuovo Award: Anthology of the Killer (Thecatamites, Tommy Tone, A. Degen), Best Student Game: Once Upon a Jester (Bonte Avond), Audience Award: RAM: Random Access Mayhem (Xylem Studios), Alt.ctrl.gdc Award: Chú Mó (The Chú Mó Team @ ArtCenter)