The Game Developers Choice Awards and the Independent Game Festival Awards were held this week at GDC, and unsurprisingly Hades walked away with the biggest prizes. It scooped up game of the year, best design, and best audio at the GDC portion of the event. The night also saw games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Genshin Impact, and Ghost of Tsushima win big in other categories.
Microsoft Flight Simulator walked away with an award for its technology, while Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima won both an audience favorite prize and was recognized for its visual art.
The rest of the night also saw Newgrounds creator Tom Fulp win the pioneer award, while veteran game developer Laralyn McWilliams won a lifetime achievement award. Here's the full list of winners:
GDC Awards 2021
- Best Audio: Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Best Debut: Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)
- Best Design: Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Best Mobile Game: Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
- Innovation Award: Dreams (Media Molecule/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Best Narrative: The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Best Technology: Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
- Best Visual Art: Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Production /Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Best VR/AR Game: Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
- Audience Award: Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Game of the Year: Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Pioneer Award: Tom Fulp
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Laralyn McWilliams
IGF Awards 2021
- Audience Award: Arrog (Hermanos Magia and Leap Game Studios)
- Excellence in Audio: Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
- Best Student Game: Vessels (Local Space Survey Corps, LLC)
- Excellence in Design: Teardown (Tuxedo Labs)
- Excellence in Narrative: Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital/Playism)
- Excellence in Visual Art: Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
- Nuovo Award: Blaseball (The Game Band)
- Seumas McNally Grand Prize: Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital/Playism)
Hades had a stellar year in 2020, earning critical acclaim when it was released and recognition at other events such as the Golden Joysticks, BAFTAs, Game Awards, DICE Awards, and a spot on GameSpot's best games of the year list.
For those of you who missed out on the game when it first arrived on PC and Switch, the good news is that Hades is launching on August 13 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.
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