The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences on Wednesday announced the nominees for the 18th annual D.I.C.E. Awards, which will be held in Las Vegas early next month.

A total of 56 games were nominated this year. Monolith's Lord of the Rings game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the pack with nine nominations, including Game of the Year. The other Game of the Year nominees this year are Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Other games receiving multiple nominations included Far Cry 4 (with 7), Destiny and Hearthstone (6 each), Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Monument Valley (5 each), and Infamous: Second Son, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and Valiant Hearts: The Great War (4 each).

A new category this year is called the D.I.C.E Sprite Award, and it will go to a game that has "disproportionate resources for development and exposure (as compared to AAA titles), represents a higher degree of risk tolerance, and advances our industry with innovative gameplay and experiences." Nominees this year for the first-ever award are The Banner Saga, Hohokum, Monument Valley, Threes!, and Transistor.

The full list of nominees is below. The show itself will take place Thursday, February 5, starting at 7 PM PDT. Industry icons Ralph Baer and Al Alcorn will also be honored during the event.

The Academy also has announced that comedian Pete Holmes of The Pete Holmes Show will serve as this year's host, replacing Jay Mohr.

Game of the Year:

Destiny

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Far Cry 4

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Lumino City

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Monument Valley

Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Adventure Game of the Year

inFAMOUS Second Son

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Wolf Among Us

Action Game of the Year

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Destiny

Far Cry 4

Titanfall

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Mobile Game of the Year

80 Days

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Kingdom Rush Origins

Monument Valley

Threes!

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

The Banner Saga

Hohokum

Monument Valley

Threes!

Transistor

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Assassin's Creed Unity

Monument Valley

Sunset Overdrive

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Outstanding Character

Jonathan Irons (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

Far Cry 4 (Pagan Min)

Infamous: First Light (Abigail "Fetch" Walker

Infamous: Second Son (Deslin Rowe)

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Talion)

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

Assassin's Creed Unity

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Destiny Far Cry 4

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Destiny

Far Cry 4

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Transistor

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Assassin's Creed Unity

infamous: Second Son

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Sunset Overdrive

Titanfall

Outstanding Technical Achievement

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Far Cry 4

Infamous: Second Son

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Sunset Overdrive

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

South Park: The Stick of Truth

This War of Mine

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Wolf Among Us

Family Game of the Year

Disney Infinity 2.0

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

LittleBigPlanet 3

Project Spark

Skylanders: Trap Team

Fighting Game of the Year

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-

Nidhogg

Super Smash Bros. Wii U

Ultra Street Fighter IV

Racing Game of the Year

Forza Horizon 2

Mario Kart 8

The Crew

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

Boom Beach

Dungeon of the Endless

Endless Legend

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

The Banner Saga

Bravely Default

Divinity: Original Sin

Dragon Age: Inquisition

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

Sports Game of the Year

FIFA 15Madden NFL 15

MLB 14: The Show

NBA 2K15

Handheld Game of the Year

Bravely Default

Child of Light

Shovel Knight

Super Smash Bros. 3DS

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Destiny

Elite Dangerous

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

Destiny

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Monument Valley

Project Spark

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design