“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