Gamescom 2018 gets underway next week, and a “jury consisting of German and international games journalists” as well as a handful of YouTubers have nominated a series of games for awards across a variety of disciplines. There are some oddities here, like the mysterious inclusion of a title called Project Mephisto in the Best PlayStation 4 Console Game category – we’ve never heard of it before, and Google isn’t returning anything.

Also of interest is that Life Is Strange 2 is included among the Best Casual Game and Best Family Game categories. While this could be down to awkward categorising, it’s perhaps worth noting that we haven’t seen a single second of gameplay from the long-awaited sequel yet, so maybe it’s a hint at what we can expect when the release is fully revealed next week.

Elsewhere, the nominations include the usual mixture of games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. We’ve included the full list below, but congratulations to PlayStation VR platformer Astro Bot Rescue Mission for securing a nod in the Best Puzzle Game category.

Gamescom 2018 Awards Nominations

Best Action Game

Marvel's Spider-Man (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Metro Exodus (Deep Silver)

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Activision Blizzard)



Best Add-on/DLC

Destiny 2: Forsaken (Activision Blizzard)

State of Decay 2 Daybreak (Microsoft)



Best Casual Game

Life is Strange 2 (Square Enix)

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (Koch Media)

Team Sonic Racing (Koch Media)



Best Family Game

LEGO DC Super-Villains (Warner Bros. Entertainment)

Life is Strange 2 (Square Enix)

Super Mario Party (Nintendo)



Best Puzzle/Skill Game

Astro Bot Rescue Mission (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Microsoft)

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (Koch Media)



Best Racing Game

F1 2018 (Koch Media/Codemasters)

Forza Horizon 4 (Microsoft)

Team Sonic Racing (Koch Media)



Best Role Playing Game

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft)

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition (Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)



Best Simulation Game

Anno 1800 (Ubisoft)

F1 2018 (Koch Media/Codemasters)

Farming Simulator 19 (astragon Entertainment)



Best Social/Online Game

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Activision Blizzard)

Dying Light Bad Blood (Techland)

Rend (Frostkeep Studios)



Best Sports Game

F1 2018 (Koch Media/Codemasters)

FIFA 19 (Electronic Arts)

PES 2019 (Konami)



Best Strategy Game

Anno 1800 (Ubisoft)

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition (Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Total War: Three Kingdoms (Koch Media)



Best Console Game Sony PlayStation 4

Marvel's Spider-Man (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft)

Project Mephisto (working title)



Best Console Game Microsoft Xbox One

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Microsoft)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

Forza Horizon 4 (Microsoft)



Best Console Game Nintendo Switch

LEGO DC Super-Villains (Warner Bros. Entertainment)

Starlink - Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo)



Best PC Game

Anno 1800 (Ubisoft)

Life is Strange 2 (Square Enix)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Square Enix)



Best Mobile Game

Hyperdrome (Travian Games)

Shadowgun War Games (MADFINGER Games)