SXSW Gaming Announces Nominees For 2019 Gaming Awards
February 26, 2019

SXSW Gaming Announces Nominees For 2019 Gaming Awards

AUSTIN, TX - South by Southwest (SXSW) Gaming (www.sxswgaming.com), set to take place from March 15th through the 17th, has announced the finalists for its sixth annual SXSW Gaming Awards. The Gaming Awards recognize top titles, teams, and individuals from across the gaming industry. Finalists were curated by a panel of judges who evaluated hundreds of entries into 21 unique categories. Winners will be announced at the SXSW Gaming Awards Ceremony, taking place Saturday, March 16th at 7pm (CT) at the Hilton Austin Downtown. The event is open to all holders of SXSW Gaming wristbands or SXSW badges.

“2018 was an incredible year in the gaming industry,” says Andrew McNeill, gaming conference manager at SXSW Gaming. “Developers large and small took leaps of faith to provide players with experiences unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”

The SXSW Gaming Awards present a unique opportunity to be recognized by thousands of gaming fans and industry professionals during the SXSW Gaming Festival. Having premiered at SXSW 2014, the Gaming Awards have rapidly grown to receive hundreds of applications across all 21 of its unique award categories, which are dedicated to both AAA and indie developers alike.

2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Nominees

Excellence in SFX

Awarded to the game with the most outstanding and impactful sound effects.

Battlefield V - EA DICE / Electronic Arts

Forza Horizon 4 - Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games

Tetris Effect - Resonair / Monstars Inc. / Enhance, Inc.


Excellence in Art

Awarded to the game with the most expressive and creative artistic style.

GRIS - Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Octopath Traveler  - Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo

Return of the Obra Dinn - 3909 LLC

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. / Sora Ltd. / Nintendo


Excellence in Animation

Awarded to the game with the most outstanding animations.

Detroit: Become Human - Quantic Dream / SIE

Dragon Ball FighterZ - Arc System Works Co., Ltd. / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc.

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games


Excellence in Gameplay

Awarded to the game with the best gameplay mechanics.

Beat Saber - Beat Games

Dead Cells - Motion Twin

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. / Sora Ltd. / Nintendo


Excellence in Technical Achievement

Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission - ASOBI / SIE

Detroit: Become Human - Quantic Dream / SIE

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games


Excellence in Multiplayer

Awarded to the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.

Destiny 2: Forsaken - Bungie

Fortnite - Epic Games

Monster Hunter: World - Capcom

Overcooked 2 - Ghost Town Games / Team17

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. / Sora Ltd. / Nintendo


Excellence in Narrative

Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.

Celeste - Matt Makes Games

Detroit: Become Human - Quantic Dream / SIE

Florence - Mountains / Annapurna Interactive

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE


Excellence in Visual Achievement

Awarded to the game with the most well-designed and stunning visuals.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - Ubisoft Québec / Ubisoft

Detroit: Become Human - Quantic Dream / SIE

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

GRIS - Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games


Excellence in Convergence

Awarded to the game that excels in crossover to other entertainment mediums such as film, music, toys, animation, sports and more.

Dragon Ball FighterZ - Arc System Works Co., Ltd. / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc.

EA SPORTS FIFA 19 - Electronic Arts

Jurassic World Evolution - Frontier Developments

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Star Trek Fleet Command - Interplay Entertainment / Scopely


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.

11-11: Memories Retold - Digixart / Aardman Animations / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment

Celeste - Matt Makes Games

Monster Prom - Beautiful Glitch / Those Awesome Guys

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit - Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine - Johnnemann Nordhagen / Good Shepherd Entertainment


Excellence in Musical Score

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

Celeste - Matt Makes Games

GRIS - Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital

Octopath Traveler - Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games

Tetris Effect - Resonair / Monstars Inc. / Enhance, Inc.


Excellence in Design

Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept and best execution.

Donut County - Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Into the Breach - Subset Games

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games

Return of the Obra Dinn - 3909 LLC


Most Promising New Intellectual Property

Awarded to a new property that risked creating something fresh and that excelled within its genre or category for the year.

Ashen - A44 / Annapurna Interactive

Beat Saber - Beat Games

Dead Cells - Motion Twin

GRIS - Nomada Studio - Devolver Digital

Octopath Traveler - Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo


Most Evolved Game

Awarded to the game that was enhanced with the best additional content after its original release.

Destiny 2: Forsaken - Bungie

Fortnite - Epic Games

No Man’s Sky NEXT - Hello Games

Overwatch - Blizzard

Pokémon Go - Niantic / The Pokémon Company


Most Promising New Esports Game

Awarded to the online game that has the best competitive scene, or potential to grow one, and most entertainment value.

NBA 2K19 - NBA 2K League / 2K Games

Dragon Ball FighterZ - Arc System Works Co., Ltd. / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc

Fortnite - Epic Games

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt

SOULCALIBUR VI - BANDAI NAMCO Studios / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.


Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game

Awarded to the game that was primarily produced via crowdfunding platforms and had excelled beyond the expectations set before it.

CrossCode - Radical Fish Games / Deck13 Interactive GmbH

Monster Prom - Beautiful Glitch / Those Awesome Guys

Moonlighter - Digital Sun / 11 bit studios

Root - Leder Games

Wandersong - Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle


Trending Game of the Year

Awarded to the game that consistently entertained and kept us watching on social platforms with its humor, stories, and more.

Beat Saber - Beat Games

Celeste - Matt Makes Games

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Monster Hunter: World - Capcom

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games


VR Game of the Year

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

Astro Bot Rescue Mission - ASOBI / SIE

Beat Saber - Beat Games

Moss - Polyarc Games

Sprint Vector - Survios, Inc.

Tetris Effect - Resonair / Monstars Inc. / Enhance, Inc.


Tabletop Game of the Year

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

Brass: Birmingham - Roxley Game Laboratory

Everdell - Starling Games

Keyforge: Call of the Archons - Fantasy Flight Games

Root - Leder Games

Western Legends - Kolossal Games


Mobile Game of the Year

Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a unique gaming experience on any handheld device.

Alto’s Odyssey - Team Alto

Donut County - Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive

Florence - Mountains / Annapurna Interactive

Fortnite - Epic Games

Marvel Strike Force - FoxNext Games LA / FoxNext


Video Game of the Year

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

Celeste - Matt Makes Games

God of War - Sony Santa Monica / SIE

Marvel’s Spider-Man - Insomniac Games / SIE

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. / Sora Ltd. / Nintendo