The annual SXSW Game Awards ceremony happened over the weekend. Hosted by IGN’s Alanah Pearce & Major League Gaming commentator, Rich Campbell, the interactive event showcased the best games of 2017.
20 of the category winners were chosen by gamers worldwide, who, in total, cast over 500,000 votes. The “Gamer’s Voice Award” winners were selected by those who attended this year’s SXSW Gaming Festival.
Here’s a list of award categories, nominees, & winners.
Excellence in SFX (sound effects)
– Call of Duty: WWII
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Uncharted: Lost Legacy
Winner: Super Mario Odyssey
Excellence in Musical Score
– Cuphead
– NieR: Automata
– Persona 5
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: NieR: Automata
Excellence in Technical Achievement
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– NieR: Automata
– Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
– Skyrim VR
– Uncharted: Lost Legacy
Winner: NieR: Automata
Excellence in Visual Achievement
– Assassin’s Creed Origins
– Cuphead
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– NieR: Automata
Winner: Horizon Zero Dawn
Excellence in Animation
– Assassin’s Creed Origins
– Cuphead
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: Cuphead
Excellence in Art
– Cuphead
– Gorogoa
– NieR: Automata
– Persona 5
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: Cuphead
Excellence in Convergence (Excels in crossover to other mediums)
– DropMix
– Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Telltale Series
– South Park: Fractured But Whole
– Star Trek Bridge Crew
– Star Wars Battlefront II
Winner: Star Wars Battlefront II
Excellence in Multiplayer
– Gang Beasts
– Destiny 2
– Fortnite
– PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
– Splatoon 2
Winner: PUBG
Most Promising New Intellectual Property
– Cuphead
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– Night in the Woods
– PUBG
Winner: Horizon Zero Dawn
Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game
– Darkwood
– Kona
– Night in the Woods
– Perception
– The 7th Continent
Winner: Night in the Woods
Excellence in Gameplay
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
– Fortnite
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Excellence in Design
– Cuphead
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– NieR: Automata
– PUBG
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Excellence in Narrative
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Night in the Woods
– Persona 5
– Prey
– What Remains of Edith Finch
Winner: What Remains of Edith Finch
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award (Challenges the norm)
– Doki Doki Literature Club
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Life is Strange: Before the Storm
– Night in the Woods
– What Remains of Edith Finch
Winner: Doki Doki Literature Club
Trending Game of the Year
– Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
– Night in the Woods
– PUBG
– Doki Doki Literature Club
– Dream Daddy
Winner: PUBG
eSports Game of the Year
– Call of Duty: WWII
– Tekken 7
– FIFA 18
– F1 2017
– PUBG
Winner: PUBG
VR Game of the Year
– Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
– Rick & Morty: Virtual Rickality
– Skyrim VR
– Star Trek Bridge Crew
– SUPERHOT VR
Winner: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Tabletop Game of the Year
– Clank! In Space
– Gloomhaven
– Near and Far
– Santorini
– The 7th Continent
Winner: Gloomhaven
Mobile Game of the Year
– Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
– Fire Emblem Heroes
– Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
– Gorogoa
– Monument Valley 2
Winner: Fire Emblem Heroes
Video Game of the Year
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– NieR: Automata
– PUBG
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Winner: Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Gamer’s Voice Awards: (These 4 categories include Indie games only)
Gamer’s Voice: Video Game
– A Case of Distrust
– Aegis Defenders
– AER- Memories of Old
– Antigraviator
– Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars
– Darkwood
– Death Coming
– Gunhead
– My Memory of Us
– Once Upon a Coma
– Semblance
– West of Loathing
– The Universim
– Yoku’s Island Express
Winner: Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars
Gamer’s Voice: Virtual Reality Game
– DreadEye VR
– The Invisible Hours
– Racket: Nx
– SUPERHOT VR
– TheWaveVR
– TO THE TOP
Winner: SUPERHOT VR
Gamer’s Voice: Tabletop Game
– Bargain Quest
– The Chameleon
– Drawing Dead
– Sol: Last Days of a Star
– True Messiah
– Zombie Legacy
Winner: Sol: Last Days of a Star
Gamer’s Voice: Mobile Game
– Homo Machina
– Maruta Escape
– Milkmaid of the Milky Way
– Tiny Bubbles
– Too Many Cooks
– Where Shadows Slumber
Winner: Tiny Bubbles
Sources: SXSW, IGN
Want to know more about the SXSW? Check out their official website.
