Overwatch came out on top at this year's GDC Awards.
The 17th annual Game Developers Conference Awards saw Activision-Blizzards frantic multiplayer shooter take the top prize, defeating Uncharted 4, Inside, Firewatch, and Dishonored 2.
Overwatch also won the best design award, beating out games like DOOM and Inside.
Only two other games would win multiple awards at the show- Inside by Playdead and Firewatch by Campo Santo. The rest of the award winners were one time achievements, which is common for the GDC Awards. Of note, Battlefield 1 won the Audience Award, Pokemon Go won the best Handheld/Mobile game, and No Man's Sky for the Innovation Award.
The talk of the show, however, was about Hello Games, as they had no members of the development team present to accept their award at the show.
Hello Games was not aware they were going to win an award for the evening and were having dinner at the time. Hello Games coder Innes McKendrick even noted on twitter that the team believed they weren't winning the award.
Hello Games accepted the award later in the evening, although McKendrick noted on twitter it was "quite embarrassing" for the team.
The full list of winners at the GDC awards are below. Winners are highlighted in bold.
BEST AUDIO Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts) Thumper (Drool) DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks) Inside (Playdead) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games), Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
BEST DEBUT Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter) Campo Santo (Firewatch) ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley) Drool (Thumper) Night School Studio (Oxenfree) Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)
BEST DESIGN Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) The Witness (Thekla) Inside (Playdead) DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks) Honorable Mentions: Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts), Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dark Souls III (From Software / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic), Hitman (IO Interactive / Square Enix)
BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD GAME Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo) Clash Royale (Supercell) Pokémon Go (Niantic) Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital) Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokémon Company) Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)
INNOVATION AWARD The Witness (Thekla) Inside (Playdead) No Man's Sky (Hello Games) Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic) Pokemon Go (Niantic) Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
BEST NARRATIVE The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Oxenfree (Night School Studio) Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Inside (Playdead) Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic) Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV (Cardboard Computer), Mafia III (Hangar 13 / 2K Games)
BEST TECHNOLOGY Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts) No Man's Sky (Hello Games) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks) Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)
BEST VISUAL ART Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic) The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Inside (Playdead) Honorable Mentions: The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Abzu (Giant Squid Studios), Thumper (Drool), DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
BEST VR/AR GAME Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games) Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team) Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs) Pokémon Go (Niantic) Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games) Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)
GAME OF THE YEAR Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) Inside (Playdead) Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks) Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic) Honorable Mentions: DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla), Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Titanfall 2 (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
What are your thoughts on the GDC awards? Did Overwatch deserve GOTY? Leave your comments below.
