The Game Awards 2022 is coming on December 8, and you can count on it to be the same as in all the other years: lots of game reveals and trailers with some awards shoehorned in forgettably in-between. Perhaps they’ll announce some of the winners during the preshow again, with as little fanfare or respect as possible. If that somehow sounds like a highly credible awards show that you should be excited for, then you can check out the list of nominees for The Game Awards 2022 below, with God of War Ragnarok earning the most nominations with a total of 10. We’ve excluded nominations for things that aren’t actually about games, like best content creator or best esports coach, because we know our audience couldn’t care less about that.
Here are the most nominated games at #TheGameAwards this year. pic.twitter.com/th2FBi14vz
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 14, 2022
Game Awards 2022 Nominees
Game of the Year
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Game Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Stray
Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
Best Art Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Scorn
- Stray
Best Score/Music
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Olivier Deriviere)
- Elden Ring (Tsukasa Saitoh)
- God of War Ragnarok (Bear McCreary)
- Metal: Hellsinger (Two Feathers)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Yasunori Mitsuda)
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West
Best Performance
- Ashly Birch – Horizon Forbidden West
- Charlotte McBurney – A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Christopher Judge – God of War Ragnarok
- Manon Gage – Immortality
- Sunny Suljic – God of War Ragnarok
Games for Impact (“For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.”)
- A Memoir Blue
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- Endling – Extinction Is Forever
- Hindsight
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Indie Game
- Cult of the Lamb
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Stray
- Tunic
Best Debut Indie Game
- Neon White
- NORCO
- Stray
- Tunic
- Vampire Survivors
Best Mobile Game
- Apex Legends Mobile
- Diablo Immortal
- Genshin Impact
- Marvel Snap
- Tower of Fantasy
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Innovation in Accessibility
- As Dusk Falls
- God of War Ragnarok
- Returnal
- Return to Monkey Island
- The Last of Us Part I
- The Quarry
Best VR / AR Game
- After the Fall
- Among Us VR
- Bonelab
- Moss: Book II
- Red Matter 2
Best Action Game
- Bayonetta 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Action / Adventure Game
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Tunic
Best RPG
- Elden Ring
- Live a Live
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Triangle Strategy
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Fighting Game
- DNF Duel
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
- The King of Fighters 15
- MultiVersus
- Sifu (This so obviously is not a fighting game.)
Best Family Game
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Splatoon 3
Best Sports / Racing Game
- F1 22
- FIFA 23
- NBA 2K23
- Gran Turismo 7
- OlliOlli World
Best Sim / Strategy Game
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Total War: Warhammer III
- Two Point Campus
- Victoria 3
Best Multiplayer Game
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- MultiVersus
- Overwatch 2
- Splatoon 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Best Esports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Rocket League
- Valorant
Most Anticipated Game (Who cares about this?)
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best Adaptation
- Arcane: League of Legends
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
- The Cuphead Show!
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Uncharted (Are you serious?)
There aren’t many surprises in here. Seeing Stray nominated for Game of the Year might be a stretch, but otherwise, this feels pretty by the numbers. As is the nature of awards and probabilities, people are more likely to be outraged by what’s missing than pleased by what’s featured. Or if you put no weight in this show whatsoever, it’s merely something you can forget about as usual.
Let us know what you think of the Game Awards 2022 nominees.
