Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year

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The Game Developers Choice Award for the Game of the Year, also known as GDCA Game of the Year, is the main video game award presented at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers. The conference, usually held in or around March in San Francisco, presents the award as part of the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), a series of awards honoring outstanding achievements in video game design for games released during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded since 2001.

Contents

Only four studios have won the award more than once:

The most successful video game publisher to date is Sony Interactive Entertainment with 13 nominations and 4 wins, followed by Nintendo (11 nominations, 1 win), Electronic Arts (8 nominations and 1 win) and Rockstar Games (7 nominations and 2 wins). Indie games have won the award 4 times: Journey (published by Sony Interactive Entertainment) in 2012, Untitled Goose Game in 2019, Hades in 2020, and Inscryption in 2021.

List of winners

2000s

Note: From 2005 to 2007 the award was titled Best Game. Years listed represent calendar years for which the awards were given. Ceremonies are usually held in March the following year.

YearGameDeveloper(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2000
(1st)
The Sims Maxis Electronic Arts [1]
Deus Ex Ion Storm Eidos Interactive
Jet Set Radio Smilebit Sega
No One Lives Forever Monolith Productions Fox Interactive
Shenmue Sega AM2 Sega
2001
(2nd)
Grand Theft Auto III DMA Design Rockstar Games [2]
Black & White Lionhead Studios Electronic Arts
Halo: Combat Evolved Bungie Microsoft Game Studios
Ico Team Ico Sony Computer Entertainment
Max Payne Remedy Entertainment Gathering of Developers / Rockstar Games
2002
(3rd)
Metroid Prime Retro Studios Nintendo [3]
Battlefield 1942 Digital Illusions Electronic Arts
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar North Rockstar Games
Neverwinter Nights BioWare Atari
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
2003
(4th)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic BioWare LucasArts [4]
Beyond Good & Evil Ubisoft Montpellier / Ubisoft Milan Ubisoft
Call of Duty Infinity Ward Activision
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Nintendo EAD Nintendo
2004
(5th)
Half-Life 2 Valve Valve [5]
Burnout 3: Takedown Criterion Games Electronic Arts
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rockstar North Rockstar Games
Katamari Damacy Namco Namco
World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment
2005
(6th)
Shadow of the Colossus Team Ico Sony Computer Entertainment [6]
Animal Crossing: Wild World Nintendo EAD Nintendo
God of War Santa Monica Studio Sony Computer Entertainment
Guitar Hero Harmonix RedOctane
The Movies Lionhead Studios Activision
2006
(7th)
Gears of War Epic Games Microsoft Game Studios [7]
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Nintendo EAD Nintendo
Ōkami Clover Studio Capcom
Wii Sports Nintendo EAD Nintendo
2007
(8th)
Portal Valve Valve [8]
BioShock 2K Boston / 2K Australia 2K Games
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward Activision
Rock Band Harmonix MTV Games / Electronic Arts
Super Mario Galaxy Nintendo EAD Tokyo Nintendo
2008
(9th)
Fallout 3 Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks [9]
Fable II Lionhead Studios Microsoft Game Studios
Grand Theft Auto IV Rockstar North Rockstar Games
LittleBigPlanet Media Molecule Sony Computer Entertainment
Left 4 Dead Turtle Rock Studios Valve
2009
(10th)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment [10]
Assassin's Creed II Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Batman: Arkham Asylum Rocksteady Studios Eidos Interactive / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Demon's Souls FromSoftware Sony Computer Entertainment
Dragon Age: Origins BioWare Electronic Arts

2010s

YearGameDeveloper(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2010
(11th)
Red Dead Redemption Rockstar San Diego Rockstar Games [11]
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft
Call of Duty: Black Ops Treyarch Activision
Limbo Playdead Playdead
Mass Effect 2 BioWare Electronic Arts
2011
(12th)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks [12]
Batman: Arkham City Rocksteady Studios Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Dark Souls FromSoftware Namco Bandai Games
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Eidos Montréal Square Enix
Portal 2 Valve Valve
2012
(13th)
Journey Thatgamecompany Sony Computer Entertainment [13]
Dishonored Arkane Studios Bethesda Softworks
Mass Effect 3 BioWare Electronic Arts
The Walking Dead Telltale Games Telltale Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown Firaxis Games 2K Games
2013
(14th)
The Last of Us Naughty Dog Sony Computer Entertainment [14]
Gone Home The Fullbright Company The Fullbright Company
Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar North Rockstar Games
Super Mario 3D World Nintendo EAD Tokyo Nintendo
Tomb Raider Crystal Dynamics Square Enix
2014
(15th)
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Monolith Productions Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment [15]
Alien: Isolation Creative Assembly Sega
Bayonetta 2 PlatinumGames Nintendo
Destiny Bungie Activision
Hearthstone Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment
2015
(16th)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt Red CD Projekt [16]
Bloodborne FromSoftware Sony Computer Entertainment
Fallout 4 Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Kojima Productions Konami
Rocket League Psyonix Psyonix
2016
(17th)
Overwatch Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment [17] [18]
Dishonored 2 Arkane Studios Bethesda Softworks
Firewatch Campo Santo Panic
Inside Playdead Playdead
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Naughty Dog Sony Interactive Entertainment
2017
(18th)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo EPD Nintendo [19] [20]
Horizon Zero Dawn Guerrilla Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
Nier: Automata PlatinumGames Square Enix
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PUBG CorporationPUBG Corporation
Super Mario Odyssey Nintendo EPD Nintendo
2018
(19th)
God of War Santa Monica Studio Sony Interactive Entertainment [21] [22]
Celeste Matt Makes GamesMatt Makes Games
Marvel's Spider-Man Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
Red Dead Redemption 2 Rockstar Games Rockstar Games
Return of the Obra Dinn Lucas Pope 3909 LLC
2019
(20th)
Untitled Goose Game House House Panic [23] [24]
Death Stranding Kojima Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Control Remedy Entertainment 505 Games
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice FromSoftware Activision
Outer Wilds Mobius Digital Annapurna Interactive

2020s

YearGameDeveloper(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2020
(21st)
Hades Supergiant Games Supergiant Games
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo EPD Nintendo
Ghost of Tsushima Sucker Punch Productions Sony Interactive Entertainment
Half-Life: Alyx Valve Valve
The Last of Us Part II Naughty Dog Sony Interactive Entertainment
2021
(22nd)
Inscryption Daniel Mullins Games Devolver Digital [25]
Deathloop Arkane Studios Bethesda Softworks
Forza Horizon 5 Playground Games Xbox Game Studios
It Takes Two Hazelight Studios Electronic Arts
Resident Evil Village Capcom Capcom
2022
(23rd)
Elden Ring FromSoftware Bandai Namco Entertainment [26]
God of War Ragnarök Santa Monica Studio Sony Interactive Entertainment
Immortality Sam Barlow Half Mermaid Productions
Pentiment Obsidian Entertainment Xbox Game Studios
Stray BlueTwelve Studio Annapurna Interactive
Tunic Finji Finji
2023
(24th)
Baldur's Gate 3 Larian Studios Larian Studios [27] [28]
Cocoon Geometric Interactive Annapurna Interactive
Dave the Diver Mintrocket Mintrocket
Dredge Black Salt Games Team17
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo EPD Nintendo

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