This week saw the return of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) which brings the game development community together to exchange ideas, solve problems, and shape the future of the industry across five days of education, inspiration, and networking. Alongside it was the Game Development Choice Awards, a peer-based video game awards show celebrating the industry’s top games and developers. ELDEN RING took the top award, winning yet another Game of the Year. Other notable winners of the night include God of War Ragnarok, Stray, IMMORTALITY, Pentiment, and Citizen Sleeper. 

Congratulations to the winners and nominees of the 2023 Game Developers Choice Awards (#GDCA23). Here is a video highlighting all of the incredible winners. pic.twitter.com/GZgxGfpVaS

— @ GDC (March 20-24) (@Official_GDC) March 23, 2023

ELDEN RING took home three awards over the course of the night. They also took the Best Design and Best Visual Arts categories. It wasn’t the only title that won three awards. God of War Ragnarok did the same, winning the Best Audio, Best Technology, and the Audience Award.

The GDCA also spotlights influential figures in the industry who push the medium forward each year. This year, the GDCA presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to John Romero, who helped pioneer the first-person shooter genre, the widely popular multiplayer game mode “Deathmatch” and much more through his work on titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake.

The full list of winners and nominees are as follows:

Best Debut

• Neon White (Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive)
• NORCO (Geography of Robots, Raw Fury)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team, Finji)
• Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Best Audio

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Metal: Hellsinger (The Outsiders, Funcom)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Best Design

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment) 
• Marvel Snap (Second Dinner Studios, Inc., Nuverse)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team, Finji)

Best Narrative

• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games, Finji)
• IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios) 
• Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox, Devolver Digital)

Best Technology

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio, Focus Entertainment)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Beenox, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Activision Shanghai, Demonware, Toys for Bob, Activision)
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Visual Art

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment) 
• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Innovation Award

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Social Impact Award

• As Dusk Falls (INTERIOR/NIGHT, Xbox Game Studios)
• Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age, Fellow Traveller) 
• Endling – Extinction Is Forever (Herobeat Studios, HandyGames)
• I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games, Finji)
• OlliOlli World (Roll7, Private Division)
• We Are OFK (Team OFK)

Audience Award

• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment) 

Game of the Year

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid)
• Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)
• TUNIC (TUNIC Team, Finji)