Another year, another slew of pixelated pretenders to the throne. Ahead of the event taking place on February 18, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has locked down the list of finalists nominated for the 19th annual DICE awards ceremony.
Pinpointing the crème de la crème, the prestigious company has nominated 53 games in total, a star-studded list toplined by Rise of the Tomb Raider and CD Projekt Red’s critically-adorned masterpiece The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, with the pair topping the pack with eight nominations a piece.
There are also plans in place to posthumously commemorate the late, great Saturo Iwata with the Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious award that has only been handed out to five other talents in the industry: Bing Gordon (EA founder), Doug Lowenstein (ESA founder), Ken Kutaragi (former PlayStation president), Minoru Arakawa (former Nintendo of America president), and Howard Lincoln (former Nintendo of America chairman).
Expect the 19th annual DICE awards to take place on Thursday, Feb. 18, at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, when Hideo Kojima will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
What do you think, though? Do Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher III deserve to be leading the charge?
GAME OF THE YEAR
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Witcher 3: Wild HuntOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GAME DIRECTION
Fallout 4
Life is Strange
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
UndertaleADVENTURE GAME OF THE YEAR
Batman: Arkham Knight
Life is Strange
METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phantom Pain
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rise of the Tomb RaiderACTION GAME OF THE YEAR
Destiny: The Taken King
Helldivers
Just Cause 3
Star Wars Battlefront
SplatoonMOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR
Dominations
Fallout Shelter
Lara Croft GO
PAC-MAN 256
The Room ThreeDICE SPRITE AWARD
Her Story
Galak-Z
Kerbal Space Program
Rocket League
UndertaleOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMATION
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Batman: Arkham Knight
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Order: 1886OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Lara Croft GO
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Order: 1886
Star Wars BattlefrontOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHARACTER
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate — Evie Frye
Her Story — Hannah Smith
Life is Strange — Max
Rise of the Tomb Raider — Lara Croft
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Geralt of RiviaOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSITION
Batman: Arkham Knight
Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture
Ori and the Blind Forest
Starcraft II: Legacy Of The Void
The Witcher 3: Wild HuntOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DESIGN
Destiny: The Taken King
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Star Wars Battlefront
The Order: 1886OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN STORY
Fallout 4
Her Story
Tales from the Borderlands: A Telltale Game Series
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The Witcher 3: Wild HuntOUTSTANDING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Just Cause 3
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Star Wars Battlefront
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild HuntFAMILY GAME OF THE YEAR
Guitar Hero Live
Lego Dimensions
Rock Band 4
Super Mario Maker
Tearaway UnfoldedFIGHTING GAME OF THE YEAR
Mortal Kombat X
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
Rising ThunderRACING GAME OF THE YEAR
Forza Motorsport 6
Need for Speed
Project CARSROLE-PLAYING/MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER GAME OF THE YEAR
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Pillars of Eternity
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
UndertaleSPORTS GAME OF THE YEAR
FIFA 2016
Madden NFL 2016
MLB 15 The Show
NBA 2K16
Rocket LeagueSTRATEGY/SIMULATION GAME OF THE YEAR
Cities: Skylines
Fallout Shelter
Grey Goo
Heroes of the Storm
Kerbal Space ProgramHANDHELD GAME OF THE YEAR
Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space
Helldivers
Pokemon: Super Mystery Dungeon
Yo-Kai WatchOUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ONLINE GAMEPLAY
Destiny: The Taken King
Halo 5: Guardians
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Rocket League
Splatoon
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GAME DESIGNFallout 4
Her Story
Lara Croft GO
Massive Chalice
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
