Nominees Press Release
God of War Ragnarök, Elden Ring, Bayonetta 3 top NAVGTR Award nominations
The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Announces Nominees for the 22nd Annual NAVGTR Awards
Baltimore (January 17, 2023) / NAVGTR CORP. – The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization of 1,207 media voters and 14,528 subscribers, has announced nominees for its 22nd annual awards program honoring video game art, technology and production.
The NAVGTR Awards honor 57 competitive categories recognizing achievement in animation, art direction, character design, controls, game design, game engineering, musical score, sound effects, writing, and more. Since its inception, the academy has recognized over 6,816 talented individuals.
Leading all games with 24 nominations is God of War Ragnarök, developed by Santa Monica Studio. The game now ties with The Last of Us Part II holding the record for most nominations. Elden Ring has 12 nominations. Bayonetta 3 received 9 nominations. Sifu and As Dusk Falls each received 7 nods. Receiving six nods each were Stray, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, New Tales from the Borderlands, and A Plague Tale: Requiem.
This year’s Game of the Year nominees are:
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Cursed to Golf
- Elden Ring
- Endling: Extinction is Forever
- God of War Ragnarök
- Stray
- Two Point Campus
The top developers this year are Santa Monica Studio, Gearbox Software, FromSoftware, Platinum Games, INTERIOR/NIGHT, Sloclap SAS, and Obsidian Entertainment. The year’s top ten developers are all new compared to last year. This year, Santa Monica Studio leads with 24 nominations.
The top publishers this year are Sony Interactive Entertainment, Nintendo, 2K Games, Bandai Namco, Xbox Game Studios, Annapurna Games, and Devolver Digital. Maintaining their top ten status from last year are Annapurna Games, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Xbox Game Studios.
This year, Sony leads with 32 nominations. Nintendo has 23 nominations, and 2K Games rounds out the top three with 20 nominations. Bandai Namco and Xbox Game Studios also received more than 10 nominations.
For a complete list of categories and nominees, please visit https://navgtr.org. Individual nomination credits and tallies for actual persons will be updated on the nomination page by the date of the winner announcement on February 14.
All titles, characters, likenesses, and indicia are copyrights or trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
MEDIA ASSETS
Press Kit: https://navgtr.org/press-kit/
About NAVGTR CORP.
NAVGTR Corp.(TM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation devoted to promoting and recognizing game developers.
The general voting body of reviewers, journalists, analysts, content creators, and writers includes contributors for Bitmob, CBS Interactive, Destructoid, EGM Now, Game Informer, Game Trailers, GamesIndustry.biz, Gamespot, Gamezone, IGN, Kotaku, Machinima, Mashable, Massively, MSNBC, Polygon, Retroware, The Koalition, Ten Ton Hammer, and Venture Beat.
Additional varied outlets include CNN, Futurenet, GamesRadar, Los Angeles Times, Moody’s, NBC, Nintendo World Report, PC Gamer, San Jose Mercury-News, Twinfinite, USA Today, Wired News, and hundreds more.
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Complete List of Nominees
Outstanding Animation, Artistic
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ll
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
God of War Ragnarök
Pentiment
Sifu
Stray
Outstanding Animation, Technical
God of War Ragnarök
Horizon Forbidden West
MLB® The Show™ 22
NBA 2K23
New Tales from the Borderlands
Stray
Outstanding Art Direction, Contemporary
Endling: Extinction is Forever
Norco
OlliOlli World
Rainbow Six Extraction
Rollerdrome
Stray
Outstanding Art Direction, Fantasy
Bayonetta 3
Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
Horizon Forbidden West
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Total War: WARHAMMER III
Outstanding Art Direction, Period Influence
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Elden Ring
New Tales from the Borderlands
Pentiment
Outstanding Camera Direction in a Game Engine
A Plague Tale: Requiem
God of War Ragnarök
Hindsight
NBA 2K23
Sifu
Outstanding Character Design
Bayonetta 3
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Elden Ring
Ghostwire: Tokyo
God of War Ragnarök
Outstanding Control Design, 2D or Limited 3D
Anno: Mutationem
Rogue Legacy 2
Serial Cleaners
Tunic
Vampire Survivors
Outstanding Control Design, 3D
Bayonetta 3
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarök
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Sifu
Outstanding Control Design, VR
Bonelab
Cities VR
Moss: Book II
Samurai Slaughter House
Tentacular
Outstanding Control Precision
Bayonetta 3
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarök
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Outstanding Costume Design
Bayonetta 3
God of War Ragnarök
Gotham Knights
Horizon Forbidden West
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Outstanding Direction in a Game Cinema
As Dusk Falls
The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me
God of War Ragnarök
Gotham Knights
New Tales from the Borderlands
Outstanding Direction in Virtual Reality
Among Us VR
Bonelab
Moss: Book II
Red Matter 2
The Twilight Zone VR
Outstanding Engineering
Dwarf Fortress
Elden Ring
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
God of War Ragnarök
Two Point Campus
Outstanding Gameplay Design, Franchise
God of War Ragnarök
Marvel Snap
Multiversus
Splatoon 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Outstanding Gameplay Design, New IP
Cult of the Lamb
Elden Ring
Grounded
Sifu
Vampire Survivors
Outstanding Game, Classic Revival
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
Live A Live
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
Sonic Origins
Outstanding Game, Franchise Action
Bayonetta 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ll
Shovel Knight Dig
Sniper Elite 5
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Outstanding Game, Franchise Adventure
A Plague Tale: Requiem
New Tales from the Borderlands
Return to Monkey Island
We Were Here Forever
Outstanding Game, Franchise Family
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Outstanding Game, Franchise Fighting
Capcom Fighting Collection
The King of Fighters XV
River City Girls
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
WWE 2K22
Outstanding Game, Franchise Racing
F1 22
Need for Speed Unbound
WRC Generations
Outstanding Game, Franchise Role Playing
Digimon Survive
Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Outstanding Game, Franchise Sports
Mario Strikers: Battle League
MLB® The Show™ 22
NBA 2K23
Out of the Park Baseball 23
Windjammers 2
Outstanding Game, Music or Performance-Based
Deemo II
Disney Twisted Wonderland
Metal: Hellsinger
Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master!
Trombone Champ
Outstanding Game, Original Action
Cult of the Lamb
Grounded
High on Life
Neon White
Rollerdrome
Vampire Survivors
Outstanding Game, Original Adventure
As Dusk Falls
Ghostwire: Tokyo
The Longest Road on Earth
Pentiment
Weird West
Outstanding Game, Original Family
Raft
Stray
Tinykin
Tunic
Outstanding Game, Original Fighting
Boomerang Fu
Dawn of the Monsters
DNF Duel
Rumbleverse
Sifu
Outstanding Game, Original Racing
Turbo Golf Racing
Outstanding Game, Original Role Playing
Elden Ring
Live A Live
Triangle Strategy
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden
The Waylanders
Outstanding Game, Original Sports
Nock
OlliOlli World
Outstanding Game, Puzzle
Dorfromantik
Far: Changing Tides
Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S
Never Alone: Arctic Edition
Serial Cleaners
Outstanding Game, Simulation
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Japanese Rail Sim: Journey to Kyoto
Not For Broadcast
PowerWash Simulator
Two Point Campus
Outstanding Game, Special Class
Endling: Extinction is Forever
Marvel Snap
Needy Streamer Overload
Norco
Vermillion
Outstanding Game, Strategy
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Master of Magic
Phobies
Total War: WARHAMMER III
Victoria 3
Outstanding Graphics, Technical
Bayonetta 3
God of War Ragnarök
Horizon Forbidden West
NBA 2K23
Need for Speed Unbound
Splatoon 3
Outstanding Lighting/Texturing
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarök
Horizon Forbidden West
Somerville
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Outstanding Original Dramatic Score, Franchise
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ll
God of War Ragnarök
Honor of Kings – Alsahraa, Karaturam
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Outstanding Original Dramatic Score, New IP
As Dusk Falls
Elden Ring
Endling: Extinction is Forever
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
Outstanding Original Light Mix Score, Franchise
Bayonetta 3
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Serial Cleaners
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Outstanding Original Light Mix Score, New IP
Infernax
Live A Live
Metal: Hellsinger
Stray
Triangle Strategy
Outstanding Performance in a Comedy, Lead
Evil Dead: The Game – Bruce Campbell as “Ash Williams”
High on Life – Justin Roiland as “Kenny”
Neon White – Steve Blum as “Neon White”
Outstanding Performance in a Comedy, Supporting
Bayonetta 3 – Dave Fennoy as “Rodin”
High on Life – J.B. Smoove as “Gus”
High on Life – David Herman as “Gene”
Return to Monkey Island – Jess Harnell as “LeChuck”
Return to Monkey Island – Adam Grimes as “Fishmonger”
Outstanding Performance in a Drama, Lead
A Plague Tale: Requiem – Charlotte McBurney and Robyn Wolf as “Amicia”
As Dusk Falls – Elias Toufexis as “Vince Walker”
God of War Ragnarök – Sunny Suljic as “Atreus”
God of War Ragnarök – Christopher Judge as “Kratos”
Metal: Hellsinger – Troy Baker as “Paz”
Outstanding Performance in a Drama, Supporting
As Dusk Falls – Simon Hubbard as “Big Sam”
Ghostwire: Tokyo – Asami Seto and Anne Yatco as “Mari”
God of War Ragnarök – Alastair Duncan as “Mimir”
God of War Ragnarök – Adam J. Harrington as “Sindri”
God of War Ragnarök – Richard Schiff as “Odin”
Outstanding Song Collection
Gran Turismo 7
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Metal: Hellsinger
Need for Speed Unbound
OlliOlli World
Outstanding Song, Original or Adapted
As Dusk Falls – God’s Gonna Cut You Down
As Dusk Falls – Hole in the Middle
God of War Ragnarök – Blood Upon The Snow
Metal: Hellsinger – Dissolution
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – It’s a Pizza Party
Outstanding Sound Editing in a Game Cinema
God of War Ragnarök
Honor of Kings – Starry Sky
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Sniper Elite 5
Tinykin
Outstanding Sound Effects
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarök
Grounded
Sifu
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Outstanding Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality
Bonelab
Moss: Book II
Red Matter 2
RUINSMAGUS
The Twilight Zone VR
Outstanding Use of Sound, Franchise
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
God of War Ragnarök
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
New Tales from the Borderlands
Total War: WARHAMMER III
Outstanding Use of Sound, New IP
As Dusk Falls
The Callisto Protocol
Elden Ring
Sifu
Somerville
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy
High on Life
New Tales from the Borderlands
Not For Broadcast
Return to Monkey Island
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Outstanding Writing in a Drama
As Dusk Falls
Ghostwire: Tokyo
God of War Ragnarök
Norco
Pentiment
Outstanding Game of the Year
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Cursed to Golf
Elden Ring
Endling: Extinction is Forever
God of War Ragnarök
Stray
Two Point Campus
Nomination Totals
By Game
24 God of War Ragnarök
12 Elden Ring
09 Bayonetta 3
07 Sifu
07 As Dusk Falls
06 Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
06 Stray
06 New Tales from the Borderlands
06 A Plague Tale: Requiem
05 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
05 Metal: Hellsinger
05 Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
05 Horizon Forbidden West
05 High on Life
05 Ghostwire: Tokyo
05 Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
04 Return to Monkey Island
04 Pentiment
04 OlliOlli World
04 Need for Speed Unbound
04 NBA 2K23
04 Endling: Extinction is Forever
04 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
03 Vampire Survivors
03 Two Point Campus
03 Total War: WARHAMMER III
03 Serial Cleaners
03 Norco
03 Moss: Book II
03 Marvel’s Midnight Suns
03 Live A Live
03 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
03 Grounded
03 Bonelab
02 Tunic
02 Triangle Strategy
02 Tinykin
02 The Twilight Zone VR
02 The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
02 Splatoon 3
02 Somerville
02 Sniper Elite 5
02 Rollerdrome
02 Red Matter 2
02 Not For Broadcast
02 Neon White
02 MLB® The Show™ 22
02 Marvel Snap
02 Honor of Kings
02 Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
02 Gran Turismo 7
02 Gotham Knights
02 Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
02 Cult of the Lamb
Franchise History
The Call of Duty series has 101 nominations to date.
God of War (2018) had 22 nominations.
The original Bayonetta had 7 nominations.
Bayonetta 2 had 2 nominations.
Since the Borderlands series began in 2009, it has earned 20 nominations.
A Plague Tale: Innocence was the most nominated game with 18 nods that year.
Cuphead won the most awards (6) in the Games of the Decade program.
The Monkey Island series has 10 nominations to date.
The Total War series has 23 nominations to date.
Warhammer games have 8 nominations to date.
By Developer
24 Santa Monica Studio
12 Gearbox Software
12 FromSoftware
09 Platinum Games
09 INTERIOR/NIGHT
07 Sloclap SAS
07 Obsidian Entertainment
06 Tribute Games Inc.
06 BlueTwelve Studio
06 Asobo Studio
05 Visual Concepts
05 Ubisoft (Milan, Paris, Montreal)
05 The Outsiders
05 Tango Gameworks
05 StudioMDHR
05 Squanch Games
05 Roll7
05 Guerrilla Games
04 Terrible Toybox
04 Square Enix
04 Infinity Ward
04 Herobeat Studios
03 Two Point Studios Ltd.
03 Stress Level Zero
03 Poncle Limited
03 Polyarc
03 Historia
03 HAL Laboratory, Inc.
03 Geography of Robots
03 Firaxis
03 Draw Distance
03 Criterion
03 Creative Assembly
By Publisher
32 Sony Interactive Entertainment
23 Nintendo
20 2K Games
16 Bandai Namco
12 Xbox Game Studios
09 Annapurna Games
08 Devolver Digital
07 Sloclap SAS
07 SEGA
07 DotEmu SAS
06 Gamera Game
06 Focus Entertainment
05 Ubisoft
05 StudioMDHR
05 Squanch Games
05 Private Division
05 Funcom Oslo
05 Bethesda Softworks LLC
04 Warner Bros.
04 tinyBuild
04 Square Enix
04 Raw Fury AB
04 Microsoft
04 HandyGames
04 Electronic Arts
04 Activision
03 Stress Level Zero
03 Poncle Limited
03 Polyarc
03 505 Games
02 WayForward
02 Vertical Robot
02 Tencent Games
02 Rebellion Developments Ltd.
02 Nuverse
02 NCSOFT
02 Jumpship
02 Fun Train Media
02 Finji
02 Crows Crows Crows
Contact:
Thomas J. Allen
tallen at navgtr dot org
301-437-7880