17th Game Developers Choice Awards

17th Game Developers Choice Awards
Date	March 1, 2017
Venue	Moscone Center San Francisco, California
Hosted by	Tim Schafer
Highlights
Most awards	Firewatch , Inside , Overwatch (2)
Most nominations	Inside (6)
Lifetime Achievement Award	Tim Sweeney
Ambassador Award	Mark DeLoura
Pioneer Award	Jordan Mechner
Game of the Year	Overwatch
Game Developers Choice Awards ·  2017  →

The 17th Game Developers Choice Awards was an award ceremony honoring outstanding achievements by game developers and video games released in 2016. The event took place on March 1, 2017, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California during the 2017 Game Developers Conference ^[1] and was hosted by Tim Schafer. ^[2] It was held alongside the Independent Games Festival awards. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Winners and nominees

Mark DeLoura received the Ambassador Award.

John Carmack (left) and Tim Sweeny (right) who won an award for his lifetime achievements.

Campo Santo received two awards for their game Firewatch .

Game of the Year

• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Audio

• Inside (Playdead)
  • Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronics Arts)
  • Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Thumper (Drool)

Best Debut

• Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
  • Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
  • Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
  • Thumper (Drool)

Best Design

• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • The Witness (Thekla)

Innovation Award

• No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • The Witness (Thekla)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

• Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • Clash Royale (Supercell)
  • Pokémon Sun and Moon (Game Freak/The Pokémon Company)
  • Reigns (Nerial/Devolver Digital)
  • Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Narrative

• Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • Inside (Playdead)
  • The Last Guardian (Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Technology

• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronics Arts)
  • Doom (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)

Best Visual Art

• Inside (Playdead)
  • Firewatch (Campo Santo/Panic)
  • The Last Guardian (Japan Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best VR/AR Game

• Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)
  • Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games/Northway Games)
  • Pokémon Go (Niantic)
  • Rez Infinite (Monstars/Enhance Games)
  • Superhot VR (Superhot Team)

Audience Award

• Battlefield 1 (EA DICE/Electronics Arts)

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Tim Sweeny, founder and CEO of Epic Games

Ambassador Award

• Mark DeLoura

Pioneer Award

• Jordan Mechner, video game designer best known for his contributions to the Prince of Persia series

References

1. "Jordan Mechner and Mark DeLoura to receive top honors at the GDC Awards!". gamedeveloper.com. 2017-01-30. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
2. Hall, Charlie (2017-01-04). "Inside, Overwatch and Firewatch lead the nominations for the Game Developers Choice Awards". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
3. Gartenberg, Chaim (2017-03-01). "The 2017 Game Developers Choice Awards: how to watch gaming's big award show online". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
4. Donnelly, Joe (2017-03-02). "Overwatch storms GDC Awards, No Man's Sky picks up 'Innovation' prize". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
5. Dornbush, Jonathon (2017-03-02). "GDC 2017: Overwatch Wins Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards". IGN. Retrieved 2025-11-24.