Geoff Keighley’s VGX Awards replacement, The Game Awards, got a little more real as the show’s advisory board announced its inaugural list of nominees. Dozens of games were nominated in 16 categories, with six titles (Dark Souls II, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Destiny, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare) notching three nominations apiece. Dark Souls II, Hearthstone, and Shadow of Mordor are all competing in the Game of the Year category against Bayonetta 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
A complete list of nominees can be found after the break. The 2014 Game Awards will take place on December 5 at the AXIS Theater in Las Vegas.
Game of the Year
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Dark Souls II (From Software/Bandai Namco)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare/EA)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
- Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/Warner Bros.)
Developer of the Year
- Blizzard
- Monolith
- Nintendo
- Telltale Games
- Ubisoft Montreal
Best Action/Adventure
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Assassin’s Creed: Unity (Ubisoft)
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/Warner Bros.)
- Sunset Overdrive (Insomniac/Microsoft)
Best Family Game
- Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive)
- Fantasia: Music Evolved (Harmonix/Disney Interactive)
- Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo)
- Skylanders: Trap Team (Toys for Bob/Activision)
- Tomodachi Life (Nintendo)
Best Fighting Game
- Killer Instinct: Season Two (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft)
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Arc System Works/Atlus)
- Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (Nintendo)
- Super Smash Bros. For Wii U (Nintendo)
- Ultimate Street Fighter IV (Capcom)
Best Role Playing Game
- Bravely Default (Square Enix)
- Dark Souls II (From Software/Bandai Namco)
- Divinity: Original Sin (Larian Studios)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (Bioware/EA)
- South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian/Ubisoft)
Best Shooter
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Sledgehammer/Activision)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- TitanFall (Respawn/EA)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (MachineGames/Bethesda)
Best Sports/Racing Game
- FIFA 15 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 2 (Playground Games/Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft)
- Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo)
- NBA 2K15 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
- Trials Fusion (RedLynx/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
- Broken Age Part 1 (Double Fine)
- Monument Valley (Ustwo)
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- Transistor (Supergiant Games)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Best Mobile/Handheld
- Bravely Default (Square Enix)
- Monument Valley (Ustwo)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
- Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (Nintendo)
- Threes (Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend, Jimmy Hinson)
Best Remaster
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games)
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (343 Industries/Microsoft)
- Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (Game Freak/Nintendo)
- The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)
Best Narrative
- South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian/Ubisoft)
- The Walking Dead: Season Two (Telltale Games)
- The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games)
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Score/Soundtrack
- Alien: Isolation (Christian Henson, Joe Henson, and Alexis Smith, The Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Child of Light (Coeur de Pirate, Ubisoft Montreal)
- Destiny (Marty O’Donnell, Bungie/Activision)
- Sunset Overdrive (Boris Salchow, Insomniac Games/Microsoft)
- Transistor (Darren Korb, Supergiant Games)
Best Performance
- Adam Harrington as Bigby Wolf in The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games)
- Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Melissa Hutchison as Clementine in The Walking Dead: Season Two (Telltale Games)
- Trey Parker as Various Voices in South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian/Ubisoft)
- Troy Baker as Talion in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/Warner Bros.)
Games For Change
- Mountain (David O’Reilly/Double Fine Presents)
- Never Alone (Upper One Games)
- The Last of Us: Left Behind (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- This War of Mine (11bit Studios)
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft)
Best Online Experience
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Dark Souls II (From Software/Bandai Namco)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
- TitanFall (Respawn/EA)
eSports Player of the Year (Fan Vote)
- Martin “Rekkles” Larsson (League of Legends)
- Xu “Fy” Linsen (Dota 2)
- James “Firebat” Kostesich (Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft)
- Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Matt “NaDeSHoT” Haag (Call of Duty)
eSports Team of the Year (Fan Vote)
- Samsung White (League of Legends)
- Evil Geniuses (Dota 2)
- Edward Gaming (League of Legends)
- Newbee (Dota 2)
- Ninjas in Pajamas (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
Trending Gamer (Fan Vote)
- Evan “Vanoss” Fong
- Jeff Gerstmann
- PewDiePie
- StampyLongHead
- TotalBiscuit
Best Fan Creation (Fan Vote)
- BEST Zelda Rap EVER!! By Egoraptor)
- Luigi Death Stare by CZBwoi and Rizupicorr)
- Mine the Diamond (Minecraft Song) by Tobuscus)
- Minecraft – TITAN City by Colonial Puppet)
- Twitch Plays Pokemon by Anonymous)
Most Anticipated Game (Fan Vote)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady/Warner Bros.)
- Bloodborne (From Software/Sony)
- Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony)
