The Witcher 3 takes top honors at 2015 Game Awards

The Witcher 3 takes top honors at 2015 Game Awards

The 2015 Game Awards came and went, and with it the usual slight controversy over which video game deserves which award over its competition. In the end it doesn’t really matter — these are just little trophies and there are a thousand awards shows throughout the year. But, they do instill a little sense of pride to the teams that develop them, and having the ability to throw a sticker on a piece of box art that has “Game of the Year” on it could eke out a few more sales to those who never picked up the games.

The Game Awards aren’t the only place to win prestigious recognition, but they have morphed into a must-attend industry and fan event, almost like a very mini E3. This year’s show was more compact than in the past, coming in at just around two hours or so and filled with music, special tributes, world premieres and oh yeah, awards. Let’s get to those, shall we?

It’s important to note that the awards were selected in two groups: via Jury and via fan-voting. Winners below are in bold. CD Projekt Red’s epic Witcher 3 took two awards, including Game of the Year, and the studio themselves nabbed one. Nintendo’s quirky shooter Splatoon, Rocket League and Metal Gear Solid V each followed with two.

JURY

Witcher_3_The_Game_Awards

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Bloodborne (From Software/Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • Fallout 4 (Bethesda Softworks)
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions/Konami)
  • Super Mario Maker (Nintendo)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED/Warner Bros.)

Developer of the Year

  • Bethesda Game Studios
  • CD Projekt RED
  • From Software
  • Kojima Productions
  • Nintendo

Best Independent Game

  • Axiom Verge (Tom Happ)
  • Her Story (Sam Barlow)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)
  • Undertale (Tobyfox)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

  • Downwell (Moppin/Devolver Digital)
  • Fallout Shelter (Bethesdsa Softworks)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix)
  • Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Capcom)
  • Pac-Man 256 (Hipster Whale/Bandai Namco)

Best Narrative

  • Her Story (Sam Barlow)
  • Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment/Square Enix)
  • Tales from the Borderlands (TellTale Games)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED/Warner Bros.)
  • Until Dawn (Supermassive Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best Score/Soundtrack

  • Fallout 4 (Bethesda Softworks)
  • Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions/Konami)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios/Microsoft Studios)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED/Warner Bros.)

Best Performance

  • Ashly Burch as Chloe Price (Life is Strange)
  • Camilla Luddington as Lara Croft (Rise of the Tomb Raider)
  • Doug Cockle as Geralt (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)
  • Mark Hamill as The Joker (Batman: Arkham Knight)
  • Viva Seifert (Her Story)

Games for Change

  • Cibele (Nina Freeman)
  • Her Story (Sam Barlow)
  • Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment/Square Enix)
  • Sunset (Tale of Tales)
  • Undertale (Tobyfox)

Best Shooter

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Treyarch/Activision)
  • Destiny: The Taken King (Bungie/Activision)
  • Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
  • Splatoon (Nintendo)
  • Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)

Best Action/Adventure

  • Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft)
  • Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios/Warner Bros.)
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions/Konami)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios/Microsoft Studios)
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Microsoft Studios/Square Enix)

Best RPG

  • Bloodborne (From Software/Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • Fallout 4 (Bethesda Softworks)
  • Pillars of Eternity (Obsidian Entertainment/Paradox Interactive)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED/Warner Bros.)
  • Undertale (Tobyfox)

Best Fighting Game

  • Guilty Gear Xrd: Sign (Arc System Works/Aksys Games)
  • Mortal Kombat X (NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros.)
  • Rise of Incarnates (Bandai Namco)
  • Rising Thunder (Radiant Entertainment)

Best Family Game

  • Disney Infinity 3.0 (Avalanche Studios/Disney Interactive Studios)
  • LEGO Dimensions (Traveller’s Tales/Warner Bros.)
  • Skylanders: Superchargers (Beenox Studios/Vicarious Visions/Activision)
  • Splatoon (Nintendo)
  • Super Mario Maker (Nintendo)

Best Sports/Racing Game

  • FIFA 16 (EA)
  • Forza Motorsport 6 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios)
  • NBA 2K16 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
  • Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (Konami)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)

Best Multiplayer

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Treyarch/Activision)
  • Destiny: The Taken King (Bungie/Activision)
  • Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)
  • Splatoon (Nintendo)

Best Art Direction

  • Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios/Warner Bros.)
  • Bloodborne (From Software/Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions/Konami)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios/Microsoft Studios)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED/Warner Bros.)

FAN’S CHOICE

eSports Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
  • DOTA 2 (Valve)
  • Hearthstone (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • League of Legends (Riot Games)

Best Fan Creation

  • Grand Theft Auto V – Targets (Hoodoo Operator)
  • Portal Stories: Mel (Prism Studios)
  • Real GTA (Corridor Digital)
  • Twitch Plays Dark Souls (Twitch Community)

Trending Gamer

  • Christopher “Montecristo” Mykles
  • Greg Miller
  • Markiplier
  • Pewdiepie
  • Total Biscuit

eSports Team of the Year

  • Evil Geniuses
  • Fnatic
  • Optic Gaming
  • SK Telecom T1
  • Team Solomid

eSports Player of the Year

  • Kenney “Kenneys” Schrub (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/Team EnVyUs)
  • Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends/SK Telecom T1)
  • Olof “Olofmeister” Kajbjer (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/Fnatic)
  • Peter “PPD” Dager (DOTA 2/Evil Geniuses)
  • Syed Sumail “SUMA1L” Hassan (DOTA 2/Evil Geniuses)

Most Anticipated Game

  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
  • Quantum Break (Remedy Entertainment/Microsoft)
  • The Last Guardian (genDesign/Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment)