20th D.I.C.E. AWARDS HONORS BEST IN INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Overwatch Wins Game of the Year

Celebrating its 20th year of honoring the industry’s top games, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts representing its 33,000+ membership base, is pleased to announce the recipients of the D.I.C.E. Awards for the best games from 2016. Earning Game of the Year was Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment, which challenges players to join the ranks of a legendary force of soldiers, scientists, adventurers and oddities, and clash on the battlefields of a near-future Earth. The awards were unveiled at the annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, held at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas earlier this evening.

The AIAS membership honored games in 24 award categories, including Overwatch and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which received four awards each. INSIDE won three awards, including the D.I.C.E. Sprite Award, which recognizes a game with limited resources for development and exposure (as compared to AAA titles). Other top honorees were Pokémon GO for Mobile Game of the Year, Steep for Sports Game of the Year, Street Fighter V for Fighting Game of the Year and Dark Souls III for RPG/MMO Game of the Year. Winners for newly added awards that recognized achievement and innovation in virtual reality and augmented reality games, included SUPERHOT VR for Immersive Reality Game of the Year and Eagle Flight for Immersive Reality Technical Achievement.

In addition to the awards for the industry’s best games and creators from the previous year, the D.I.C.E. Awards also honored Todd Howard, Executive Producer and Game Director at Bethesda Game Studios, as the 22nd inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame, which honors individuals who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games. Howard was recognized for having created some of the industry’s most successful games by pioneering open-world gameplay, and played a key role in the creative direction and growth of highly-regarded franchises, including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Both are known for their experiential approach to world-building and storytelling, and have earning multiple D.I.C.E. Awards throughout the years.

The 20th annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, which was co-hosted by Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News and Kinda Funny co-founder Greg Miller, was the culmination of the annual three-day D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2017), which is known for drawing many of the interactive entertainment industry’s most respected and influential leaders, decision makers and visionaries.

Click here to view the nominees and winners.

Click here to watch the full broadcast.

Game of the Year

Overwatch

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

INSIDE

Publisher: Playdead

Developer: Playdead

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

Overwatch

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

Eagle Flight

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: FunHouse

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

SUPERHOT VR

Publisher: SUPERHOT Sp. z o.o.

Developer: SUPERHOT Sp. z o.o.

Mobile Game of the Year

Pokémon GO

Publisher: Niantic Labs

Developer: Niantic Labs

Handheld Game of the Year

Pokémon Sun and Moon

Publisher: The Pokémon Company

Developer: Game Freak

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

INSIDE

Publisher: Playdead

Developer: Playdead

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

Overwatch

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Publisher: 2K Games

Developer: Firaxis Games

Sports Game of the Year

Steep

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Ubisoft Annecy

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

Dark Souls III

Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.

Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.

Racing Game of the Year

Forza Horizon 3

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Developer: Playground Games, Turn 10 Studios

Fighting Game of the Year

Street Fighter V

Publisher: Capcom U.S.A., Inc.

Developer: Capcom

Family Game of the Year

Ratchet & Clank

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Adventure Game of the Year

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Developer: Naughty Dog

Action Game of the Year

Overwatch

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Outstanding Technical Achievement

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Developer: Naughty Dog

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Developer: Naughty Dog

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

Battlefield 1

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Dice

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

DOOM

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: id Software

Outstanding Achievement in Character

The Last Guardian - Trico

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Developer: JAPAN Studio

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

INSIDE

Publisher: Playdead

Developer: Playdead

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Developer: Naughty Dog

Click here for the full press release.