It's the early part of 2019, which means GDC is right around the corner just a few months from now. As such, that also indicates that the GDC Awards are also coming up and as of today, we know which games from the past year have now been nominated.
I'm sure to the surprise of few, Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 is leading the pack this year with the open-world sim earning 7 different category nominations. Following closely behind is a pair of Sony first-party titles in God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man each of which received 6 nominations each. All three of these aforementioned games are also nominated for the highly-coveted Game of the Year award, with Celeste and Return of the Obra Dinn rounding out the category.
Once again this year, Double Fine's Tim Schafer has also been announced host the show. Additionally, former Naughty Dog director Amy Hennig is planned to be honored with GDC's Lifetime Achievement award for her past work and contributions to the industry.
GDC 2019 will take place in San Francisco from March 18 through the 22nd. The GDC Awards specifically will happen on March 20 at 6:30 PM. If you're at the conference and have a GDC pass, you can attend the show yourself.
The full list of nominees for the 2019 GDC Awards (excluding honorable mentions) can be found below.
BEST AUDIO
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
BEST DEBUT
Polyarc (Moss)
Mountains (Florence)
Nomada Studio (Gris)
Villa Gorilla (Yoku's Island Express)
Sabotage (The Messenger)
BEST DESIGN
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
Into the Breach (Subset Games)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
BEST MOBILE GAME
Alto's Odyssey (Snowman)
Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
INNOVATION AWARD
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
BEST NARRATIVE
Florence (Mountains/Annapurna Interactive)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
BEST TECHNOLOGY
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
BEST VISUAL ART
Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
BEST VR/AR GAME
Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
Beat Saber (Beat Games)
Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Moss (Polyarc)
Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
GAME OF THE YEAR
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)