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CONTACT: THOMAS J. ALLEN
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THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT WINS 14 NAVGTR AWARDS
San Francisco, CA (March 21, 2016) / NAVGTR CORP. – The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization, has announced winners for its 15th annual awards program honoring video game art, technology, and production.
The biggest winner is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with 14 wins, falling just short of The Last of Us’ record 15 wins from two years ago. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Tales from the Borderlands were the second biggest winners with 4 wins each.
Three games won three awards each: Star Wars Battlefront, Splatoon, and Life is Strange. Four games won two awards each: Super Mario Maker, Rocket League, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and Bloodborne.
By developer, CD Projekt Red led with 14 awards. Nintendo won six. Telltale, Gearbox, and Crystal Dynamics won four awards each. Other top developers were Electronic Arts, Dontnod Entertainment, Psyonix, From Software, and Brace Yourself Games.
By publisher, CD Projekt led with 14 awards. Square Enix and Nintendo won seven each. Other top publishers were 2K, Telltale, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros, Sony Computer Entertainment, Psyonix, and Brace Yourself Games.
Fifty-six creative, technical, and genre award categories recognize achievement in animation, art direction, character design, controls, game design, game engineering, musical score, sound effects, writing, and more as seen at https://navgtr.org
This year’s Honorary Award recipients are Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man, and Mark DeLoura, for developing programs for children to explore coding.
NAVGTR strongly supports the IGDA Developer Credit special interest group (SIG) at http://igda.org/devcredit to improve crediting practices.
All titles, characters, likenesses, and indictia are copyrights or trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
ABOUT NAVGTR CORP.
NAVGTR Corp.(TM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation devoted to promoting and recognizing game developers, including the Developer of the Day on twitter.com/navgtr
The general voting body of reviewers, journalists, analysts, and writers includes contributors for such varied outlets as Austin American-Statesman, Break, Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, Futurenet, Gamespot, GamesRadar, Gaming Illustrated, Geek, IGN, Los Angeles Times, Machinima, MMO PRG, Moody’s, NBC, New Gamer Nation, New York Times, Nintendo World Report, The Ottawa Citizen, PC Gamer, Polygon, Salon, San Jose Mercury-News, Terminal Gamer, USA Today, The Vancouver Sun, Wired News, and hundreds more.
http://www.facebook.com/navgtrawards
http://charts.navgtr.org
GAME OF THE YEAR
Batman: Arkham Knight
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Splatoon
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
ANIMATION, ARTISTIC
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Fallout 4
King’s Quest Chapter I: A Knight To Remember
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Rise of the Tomb Raider – WINNER
ANIMATION, TECHNICAL
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Dying Light
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
ART DIRECTION, PERIOD INFLUENCE
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Fallout 4
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
ART DIRECTION, FANTASY
Bloodborne
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rocket League
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
Yoshi’s Woolly World
ART DIRECTION, CONTEMPORARY
Batman: Arkham Knight
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Fallout 4
Life is Strange
Rise of the Tomb Raider – WINNER
CAMERA DIRECTION IN A GAME ENGINE
Batman: Arkham Knight
Fallout 4
Mortal Kombat X
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
CHARACTER DESIGN
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Batman: Arkham Knight
Evolve
Fallout 4
Life is Strange – WINNER
CONTROL DESIGN, 2D OR LIMITED 3D
Axiom Verge
Super Mario Maker – WINNER
CONTROL DESIGN, 3D
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Splatoon – WINNER
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CONTROL PRECISION
Batman: Arkham Knight
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Halo 5: Guardians
Ori and the Blind Forest
Rocket League – WINNER
COSTUME DESIGN
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Fallout 4
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
DIRECTION IN A GAME CINEMA
Fallout 4
Life is Strange
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
GAME DESIGN, NEW IP
Bloodborne
Life is Strange
Pillars of Eternity
Splatoon – WINNER
Undertale
GAME DESIGN, FRANCHISE
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Fallout 4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
GAME ENGINEERING
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Super Mario Maker
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
GRAPHICS, TECHNICAL
Fallout 4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Star Wars Battlefront – WINNER
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
INNOVATION IN GAME TECHNOLOGY
ANT VR
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Grow Home
Guitar Hero Live
Valve Steam Controller – WINNER
LIGHTING/TEXTURING
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Batman: Arkham Knight
Dying Light
Rise of the Tomb Raider – WINNER
Star Wars Battlefront
ORIGINAL LIGHT MIX SCORE, NEW IP
Axiom Verge
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Galak-Z: The Dimensional
Life is Strange – WINNER
Undertale
ORIGINAL LIGHT MIX SCORE, FRANCHISE
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
King’s Quest Chapter I: A Knight To Remember
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Tales from the Borderlands – WINNER
Tales of Zestiria
ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE, NEW IP
Bloodborne – WINNER
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Grey Goo
The Order: 1886
Pillars of Eternity
ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE, FRANCHISE
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Halo 5: Guardians
Killer Instinct Season 2
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY, LEAD
Minecraft: Story Mode – Catherine Taber as “Jesse”
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! – Lorne Lanning as “Abe”
Tales from the Borderlands – Troy Baker as “Rhys” – WINNER
PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY, SUPPORTING
Minecraft: Story Mode – Martha Plimpton as “Olivia”
Tales from the Borderlands – Erin Yvette as “Sasha” – WINNER
Xenoblade Chronicles X – Chris Cason as “Tatsu”
PERFORMANCE IN A DRAMA, LEAD
Fallout 4 – Brian T. Delaney as “Male Player Character”
Her Story – Viva Seifert as “Wife”
The Order: 1886 – Steve West as “Grayson / Sir Galahad”
Rise Of The Tomb Raider – Camilla Luddington as “Lara Croft”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Doug Cockle as “Geralt” – WINNER
PERFORMANCE IN A DRAMA, SUPPORTING
Batman: Arkham Knight – John Noble as “Scarecrow”
Batman: Arkham Knight – Mark Hamill as “Joker” – WINNER
Fallout 4 – Stephen Russell as “Codsworth/Nick Valentine”
Until Dawn – Brett Dalton as “Mike”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – William Roberts as “Uncle Vesemir”
SONG, ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED
Devil’s Third – “Bleed Out”
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – “The Mourning Tree”
Fallout 4 – “Good Neighbor”
Life is Strange – “To All of You” – WINNER
Rare Replay – “Opening Number”
SONG COLLECTION
Fallout 4
Life is Strange
Rock Band 4 – WINNER
SOUND EDITING IN A GAME CINEMA
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Bloodborne
Fallout 4
The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
SOUND EFFECTS
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Fallout 4
The Order: 1886
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Star Wars Battlefront – WINNER
USE OF SOUND, NEW IP
Crypt of the Necrodancer – WINNER
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Evolve
The Order: 1886
Until Dawn
USE OF SOUND, FRANCHISE
Fallout 4
King’s Quest Chapter I: A Knight To Remember
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Star Wars Battlefront – WINNER
Super Mario Maker
WRITING IN A COMEDY
Minecraft: Story Mode
Tales from the Borderlands – WINNER
WRITING IN A DRAMA
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Fallout 4
Her Story
Life is Strange
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
GAME, CLASSIC REVIVAL
Grim Fandango Remastered
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask – WINNER
Rare Replay
GAME, MUSIC OR PERFORMANCE-BASED
Crypt of the Necrodancer – WINNER
Guitar Hero Live
Rock Band 4
GAME, ORIGINAL ACTION
Bloodborne – WINNER
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
GAME, ORIGINAL ADVENTURE
Life is Strange
Ori and the Blind Forest – WINNER
GAME, ORIGINAL FAMILY
Donut County
Splatoon – WINNER
GAME, ORIGINAL FIGHTING
no nominations
GAME, ORIGINAL RACING
Fast Racing Neo
Project CARS – WINNER
GAME, ORIGINAL ROLE PLAYING
Pillars of Eternity
Undertale – WINNER
GAME, ORIGINAL SPORTS
iDARB
Rocket League – WINNER
GAME, FRANCHISE ACTION
Batman: Arkham Knight
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Just Cause 3
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – WINNER
Transformers: Devastation
GAME, FRANCHISE ADVENTURE
Rise of the Tomb Raider – WINNER
Tales from the Borderlands
GAME, FRANCHISE FAMILY
Lego Dimensions
Super Mario Maker – WINNER
Yoshi’s Woolly World
GAME, FRANCHISE FIGHTING
Killer Instinct Season 2
Mortal Kombat X – WINNER
GAME, FRANCHISE RACING
F1 2015
Forza Motorsport 6 – WINNER
Need for Speed
GAME, FRANCHISE ROLE PLAYING
Fallout 4
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – WINNER
Xenoblade Chronicles X
GAME, FRANCHISE SPORTS
MLB 15: The Show
NBA 2K16 – WINNER
PES 2016
GAME, ESPORTS
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Heroes of the Storm
Killer Instinct Season 2
Mortal Kombat X
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – WINNER
GAME, PUZZLE
Her Story – WINNER
Lines the Game
GAME, SIMULATION
Fallout Shelter
Kerbal Space Program – WINNER
Prison Architect
GAME, SPECIAL CLASS
The Talos Principle: Road to Gehenna – WINNER
You Must Build a Boat
GAME, STRATEGY
Invisible, Inc.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – WINNER
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
HONORARY AWARD
Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man
Mark DeLoura, for developing programs for children to explore coding
Leading Winners by Title
14 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
04 Tales from the Borderlands
04 Rise of the Tomb Raider
03 Star Wars Battlefront
03 Splatoon
03 Life is Strange
02 Super Mario Maker
02 Rocket League
02 Crypt Of The Necrodancer
02 Bloodborne
01 Valve Steam Controller
01 Undertale
01 The Talos Principle: Road To Gehenna
01 The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
01 Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
01 Rock Band 4
01 Project CARS
01 Ori And The Blind Forest
01 NBA 2K16
01 Mortal Kombat X
01 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
01 Kerbal Space Program
01 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
01 Her Story
01 Batman: Arkham Knight – Mark Hamill as “Joker”
Leading Winners by Developer
14 CD Projekt Red
06 Nintendo
04 Telltale, Gearbox
04 Crystal Dynamics
03 Electronic Arts
03 Dontnod Entertainment
02 Psyonix
02 From Software
02 Brace Yourself Games
01 Visual Concepts
01 Valve
01 Toby Fox
01 Steel Crate Games
01 Squad
01 Slightly Mad Studios
01 Sam Barlow
01 Rocksteady Studios
01 NetherRealm Studios
01 Moon Studios
01 Kojima Productions
01 Harmonix
01 Grezzo
01 Croteam
01 Bandai Namco Entertainment, Sora Ltd.
Leading Winners by Publisher
14 CD Projekt
07 Square Enix
07 Nintendo
05 2K (including 2K Sports)
04 Telltale
03 Electronic Arts
02 Warner Bros.
02 Sony Computer Entertainment
02 Psyonix
02 Brace Yourself Games
01 Valve
01 Toby Fox
01 Steel Crate Games
01 Squad
01 Sam Barlow
01 Microsoft Game Studios
01 Mad Catz/Harmonix
01 Konami Digital Entertainment
01 Devolver Digital
01 Bandai Namco
Individual Recipients Presumed Eligible
Aleksandra Motyka,
Allen Pestaluky,
Andy Tudor,
Arkadiusz Borowik,
Arne Schober,
Balázs Török,
Bartosz Von Ochman,
Ben Kane,
Brandon Fernández,
Brandon Russell,
Brenoch Adams,
Brian Fetter,
Christopher Birger,
Cris Velasco,
David Jegutidse,
David Jegutidse,
Doug Cockle,
Ed Boon,
Erin Yvette,
Grzegorz Mocarski,
Gustav Rathsman,
Gustav Rathsman,
Hideo Kojima,
Hidetaka Miyazaki
Jakub Szamałek,
Jamie Bury,
Jared Emerson-Johnson,
Jonathan Morali (Syd matters),
Jonathan Morali (Syd matters),
Karolina Stachyra,
Kenichirō Imaizumi,
Kenny Laurent,
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz,
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz,
Krzysztof Krzyścin,
Kuba Pietrzak (Juice),
Marcin Przybyłowicz,
Marian Chomiak,
Mark Hamill,
Martin Wöhrer,
Martin Wöhrer,
Masahiro Sakurai,
Michael Wandmacher,
Mikolai Stroinski,
Noah Hughes,
Nobuyoshi Suzuki,
Paweł Mielniczuk,
Paweł Świerczyński,
Paweł Świerczyński,
Philip Eriksson,
Philip Eriksson,
Piotr Krzywonosiuk,
Piotr Krzywonosiuk,
Ryan Amon,
Ryan Clark,
Sam Barlow,
Sarah Hebbler,
Satoko Okada,
Shigeru Miyamoto,
Stephen Viljoen,
Takashi Tezuka,
Thomas Mahler,
Toby Fox,
Troy Baker,
Tsubasa Sakaguchi,
Tsukasa Saitō,
Yosuke Oshino,
Yuka Kitamura,
Yusuke Amano,