SXSW Reveals Gaming Award Nominees

Some interesting choices for voters.
South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals has announced the nominees for the eighth annual SXSW Gaming Awards, recognizing the most creative and influential titles, teams and individuals in the industry, and the opening of public voting to determine this year’s winners.

For 2021, SXSW has partnered with IGN to produce the SXSW Gaming Awards show, presented by Discord, on Saturday, March 20 at 7:00pm CT. The show will be broadcast live on SXSW Online, ign.com, and on twitch.tv/sxswgaming and twitch.tv/ign.

“Gaming is a key part of the creative ecosystem that makes up SXSW, and provides our community an opportunity to honor the achievements with the brightest minds in the field,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer for SXSW. “We’re excited to partner with IGN to bring this celebration to a global audience for 2021.”

“We’ve learned so much from our communities on Discord over the last year. The power that games can have in bringing people together no matter where you are in the world inspires us.”said Tesa Aragones, Chief Marketing Officer at Discord. “Creating space for people to come together to share the things they love – music, games, and anything else that interests them – is core to our beliefs and we are proud to support the SXSW Gaming Awards as the presenting sponsor.”

This year the nominations for the 2021 SXSW Gaming Awards include 43 nominees across 12 different categories with public voting open now through Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at sxsw.com/gaming-awards/voting. Winners of the awards will be determined by a weighted total between staff and advisory board input and public voting.

2021 SXSW Gaming Awards Nominees

Video Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.

DOOM Eternal — id Software / Bethesda Softworks
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Indie Game of the Year
Awarded to the indie game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.

Bugsnax — Young Horses
Cloudpunk — Ion Lands
Crown Trick — NExT Studios / Team17
Deep Rock Galactic — Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
Huntdown — Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
Ikenfell — Happy Ray Games / Humble Games
Monster Sanctuary — Moi Rai Games / Team17
Raji: An Ancient Epic — Nodding Heads Games / Super.com
Risk of Rain 2 — Hopoo Games / Gearbox Publishing
The Last Campfire — Hello Games

Tabletop Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and ingenuity of any tabletop game in any genre.

Calico — Flatout Games
Fort — Leder Games
Oceans — North Star Games
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine — KOSMOS
The Search for Planet X — Renegade Game Studios / Foxtrot Games

VR Game of the Year
Awarded to the VR game that exemplifies overall excellence in gameplay and design across any VR platform.

Down the Rabbit Hole — Cortopia Studios / Beyond Frames Entertainment
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts
Star Wars: Squadrons — Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners — Skydance Interactive

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award
Awarded to the game that best challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay.

Astro’s Playroom — Team ASOBI! / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Dreams — Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment
If Found… — Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive
Tell Me Why — DONTNOD Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Animation, Art, & Visual Achievement
Awarded to the game with the most well-designed and stunning visuals, including animation effects and graphics.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft
Cloudpunk — Ion Lands
Final Fantasy VII Remake — SQUARE ENIX
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios

Excellence in Game Design
Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept, gameplay mechanics, and best execution.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time — Toys for Bob / Activision
Desperados III — Mimimi Games / THQ Nordic
Hades — Supergiant Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Watch Dogs: Legion — Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft

Excellence in Score
Awarded to the game that best exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score and how it progresses the narrative of the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt
DOOM Eternal — id Software / Bethesda Softworks
Final Fantasy VII Remake — SQUARE ENIX
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios
Trials of Mana — Xeen / SQUARE ENIX

Excellence in Multiplayer
Awarded to the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.

Deep Rock Galactic — Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
Huntdown — Easy Trigger Games / Coffee Stain Publishing
Risk of Rain 2 — Hopoo Games, Gearbox Publishing
Star Wars: Squadrons — Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
VALORANT — Riot Games

Excellence in Narrative
Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.

Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Immortals Fenyx Rising — Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Audio Design
Awarded to the game with the most outstanding and impactful sound effects.

Bugsnax — Young Horses
DOOM Eternal — id Software / Bethesda Softworks
Observer: System Redux — Bloober Team
Star Wars: Squadrons — Motive Studios / Electronic Arts
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 — Vicarious Visions / Activision

Excellence in Technical Achievement
Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming furthest or most effectively.