Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok were the big winners at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2023.
FromSoftware’s acclaimed action-RPG, which pulled the studio’s brutal design sensibilities into a tormented open world, was crowned Game of the Year on Wednesday at the GDCA ceremony in San Francisco. The awards were taking place alongside GDC 2023, hosted at the Moscone Convention Center.
Elden Ring also nabbed the awards for Best Design and Best Visual Art, meaning the title walked away with three prizes on the night. It’s a haul that was matched by God of War: Ragnarok, with Santa Monica Studio’s sequel being honored with the awards for Best Technology, Best Audio, and the Audience Award.
Other winners included Citizen Sleeper, which grabbed the Social Impact award, and Pentiment, which took home the Best Narrative prize.
The work of legendary programmer and designer, John Romero, known for pioneering the first-person shooter genre with titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake was celebrated on the night with the Lifetime Achievement award.
Mabel Addis also posthumously received the Pioneer Award in recognition of her status as the first women game designer, with Addis’ work on ’60s release The Sumerian paving the way for features and mechanics that are now commonplace.
You can find the complete list of GDCA 2023 award winners below.
GDCA 2023 Winners
Game of the Year: Elden Ring / FromSoftware
Best Design: Elden Ring / FromSoftware
Best Visual Art: Elden Ring / FromSoftware
Best Technology: God of War Ragnarok / Santa Monica Studio
Best Audio: God of War Ragnarok / Santa Monica Studio
Audience Award: God of War Ragnarok / Santa Monica Studio
Innovation Award: Immortality / Half Mermaid Productions
Social Impact: Citizen Sleeper / Jump Over The Edge
Best Narrative: Pentiment / Obsidian
Best Debut: Stray / BlueTwelve Studio
Lifetime Achievement: John Romero
Pioneer Award: Mabel Addis
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