Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3 Lead GDC Awards Nominees

The GDC Awards will see the gaming industry share their favorite games of 2023.

By Marc Deschamps

The 2024 Game Developers Choice Awards are coming up in March, and developers around the video game industry will have a chance to share their opinions on the best games to release in 2023. This time around, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3 have both been nominated for a plethora of awards, leading the pack with 7 nominations each. While the GDC Awards focus on the industry's input, there is an option for fans to weigh-in through the Audience Award category. Readers interested in voting can do so right here. 

Baldur's Gate 3 won Game of the Year at The Game Awards last month, while The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was selected as ComicBook.com's Game of the Year. Given the hype and discussion that has surrounded both of these games, it's no surprise that they've been nominated for so many awards. However, several other prominent titles have also been selected as finalists, including titles like Hi-Fi Rush, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Cocoon, Alan Wake II, and Dave the Diver. 

Given how strong 2023 turned out to be, it will be interesting to see what the industry has in store for 2024. It would be very tough to top this year, but Game Developers Conference 2024 should give us a better idea of what to expect throughout the coming months. The event will begin on March 18th, and will run through the 22nd. A ceremony announcing the winners of the GDC Awards will take place on March 20th, and can be streamed on the GDC Twitch channel right here. 

The nominees for each category can be found below: 

Best Audio

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(Photo: Xbox)

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)

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Best Debut

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(Photo: Mintrocket)
  • COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
  • Dave the Diver (Mintrocket)
  • Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
  • Venba (Visai Games)
  • 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)

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Best Design

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(Photo: Team17)
  • Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
  • 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)

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Innovation Award

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(Photo: 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)

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Best Narrative

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(Photo: Remedy)
  • Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games)
  • Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
  • 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)

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Social Impact Award

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(Photo: Ubisoft)
  • 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)

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)

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Best Technology

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(Photo: PlayStation)
  • 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)

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)

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Best Visual Art

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(Photo: Square Enix)

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)

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Game of the Year

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(Photo: Nintendo)
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