The Game Awards 2021 Winners, Nominees, and Event Reactions

The 2021 Game Awards are over, and the winners list left plenty for players to debate. Some results were expected, some were argued over immediately, and the show itself had its usual mix of awards, trailers, and very patient viewers waiting for the next category.

Below is the full list of nominees, with each winner marked in bold.

Winners and Nominees

Game of the Year

Recognizing the best overall experience across creative and technical fields.

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Metroid Dread
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village

Best Game Direction

Awarded for creative vision and innovation in design and direction.

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Returnal
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development.

• Deathloop
• It Takes Two
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Psychonauts 2

Best Art Direction

For creative or technical achievement in art design and animation.

• The Artful Escape
• Deathloop
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Best Score and Music

For outstanding score, songs, or licensed soundtrack use.

• The Artful Escape
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Deathloop
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139

Best Audio Design

Recognizing strong sound design and in-game audio.

• Deathloop
• Forza Horizon 5
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village
• Returnal

Best Performance

Awarded for voice-over, motion, or performance capture.

• Life is Strange: True Colors, Erika Mori as Alex Chen
• Far Cry 6, Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo
• Deathloop, Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn
• Resident Evil Village, Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu
• Deathloop, Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake

Games for Impact

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social message.

• Before Your Eyes
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• No Longer Home

Best Ongoing Game

For outstanding live development and evolving player experience.

• Apex Legends
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact
• Call of Duty: Warzone

Best Indie Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement outside the traditional publisher system.

• 12 Minutes
• Death's Door
• Inscryption
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Loop Hero

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on mobile devices.

• Fantasian
• Genshin Impact
• League of Legends: Wild Rift
• Marvel Future Revolution
• Pokémon Unite

Best Community Support

For community support, transparency, responsiveness, and updates.

• Apex Legends
• Destiny 2
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Fortnite
• No Man's Sky

Innovation in Accessibility

For features, technology, or content that helps more people play.

• Far Cry 6
• Forza Horizon 5
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

Best VR / AR Game

For the best virtual or augmented reality experience.

• Hitman 3
• I Expect You to Die 2
• Lone Echo II
• Resident Evil 4
• Sniper Elite VR

Best Action Game

For action games focused primarily on combat.

• Back 4 Blood
• Chivalry II
• Deathloop
• Far Cry 6
• Returnal

Best Action / Adventure Game

For action and adventure games combining combat, traversal, and puzzles.

• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Metroid Dread
• Psychonauts 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village

Best Role Playing Game

For games with rich character customization and progression, including MMO experiences.

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Monster Hunter Rise
• Scarlet Nexus
• Shin Megami Tensei V
• Tales of Arise

Best Fighting Game

For games built primarily around head-to-head combat.

• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
• Guilty Gear -Strive-
• Melty Blood: Type Lumina
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
• Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Best Family Game

For the best game suited to family play, regardless of genre or platform.

• It Takes Two
• Mario Party Superstars
• New Pokémon Snap
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
• WarioWare: Get It Together!

Best Sim / Strategy Game

For real-time or turn-based simulation and strategy gameplay.

• Age of Empires IV
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination
• Humankind
• Inscryption
• Microsoft Flight Simulator

Best Sports / Racing Game

For traditional and non-traditional sports and racing games.

• F1 2021
• FIFA 22
• Forza Horizon 5
• Hot Wheels Unleashed
• Riders Republic

Best Multiplayer Game

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design.

• Back 4 Blood
• Knockout City
• It Takes Two
• Monster Hunter Rise
• New World
• Valheim

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or creator with a positive impact in 2021.

• Dream
• Fuslie
• Gaules
• Ibai
• Grefg

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best first game from a new independent studio.

• The Artful Escape
• The Forgotten City
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Sable
• Valheim

Most Anticipated Game

For an announced game showing strong potential.

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarök
• Horizon Forbidden West
• The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Starfield

Best Esports Game

For the best overall esports experience.

• Call of Duty
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• DOTA2
• League of Legends
• Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

For outstanding esports performance and conduct in 2021.

• Chris "Simp" Lehr
• Heo "ShowMaker" Su
• Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
• Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev
• Tyson "TenZ" Ngo

Best Esports Team

For a specific team judged outstanding in performance and conduct.

• Call of Duty, Atlanta Faze
• League of Legends, DWG KIA
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Natus Vincere
• Valorant, Sentinels
• DOTA2, Team Spirit

Best Esports Coach

For outstanding coaching performance and conduct.

• Airat "Silent" Gaziev
• Andrey "ENGH" Sholokhov
• Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi
• James "Crowder" Crowder
• Kim "Kkoma" Jeong-gyun

Best Esports Event

For an esports event delivering a top-tier participant and viewer experience.

• 2021 League of Legends World Championship
• The International 2021
• PGL Major Stockholm 2021
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
• Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters

Game Awards 2021 Reactions

The 2021 show included thirty awards alongside a heavy number of trailers and streamer-focused segments. Many of the winners made sense, though any awards show will immediately create arguments because the internet treats disagreement as a renewable resource.

A few categories, including Content Creator of the Year, drew especially heated responses. Dream later posted angry tweets after the reaction to his win.

https://twitter.com/dreamwastaken/status/1469159752550830081

Some streamers also criticized the broadcast for other reasons. CohCarnage, for example, took issue with the event advertising other streamers after inviting him to stream it.

Whether the winners felt right or not, The Game Awards 2021 gave players plenty to discuss until the next round of nominees arrived.