Fantasy, multiplayer, strategy, and fighting games reigned at the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), the video game industry’s most prestigious annual honors. The top honor from Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), Game of the Year, went to Bioware’s action-RPG game Dragon Age: Inquisition. Monolith Productions’ open world adventure-RPG game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, continued its awards onslaught winning eight of its nine nominations including Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and Outstanding Innovation in Gaming.
The evening’s other blockbuster standouts included Bungie’s futuristic first person shooter, Destiny, which won four D.I.C.E. Awards, including Action Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay; Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft was awarded Mobile Game of the Year and Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year; and Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. franchise won Handheld Game of the Year for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Fighting Game of the Year for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The first recipient of the inaugural D.I.C.E. Sprite Award was independent game development studio Supergiant Games for its sci-fi themed action-RPG Transistor.
During the ceremony, the AIAS inducted video game industry icons Ralph H. Baer and Al Alcorn as its seventh and eighth Pioneer Award recipients for their seminal work and contributions to the interactive entertainment industry. In addition, the Apple App Store was recognized with the first ever Technical Impact Award, which celebrates unique innovations and technical achievements that are expanding and redefining the video game industry.
Hosted by comedian and podcaster Pete Holmes, the awards were revealed in front of industry professionals at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas and broadcast online via Twitch. The show was the culmination of the annual three day D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2015), drawing some of the brightest and most influential interactive entertainment industry leaders, decision makers and visionaries.
The complete list of winners as decided by an all-peer-based voting system includes:
Game of the Year
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Action Game of the Year
Destiny
Adventure Game of the Year
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Family Game of the Year
LittleBigPlanet 3
Fighting Game of the Year
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Racing Game of the Year
Mario Kart 8
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 15
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
Transistor
Handheld Game of the Year
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Mobile Game of the Year
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Destiny
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Monument Valley
Outstanding Achievement in Character
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Talion)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Destiny
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Destiny
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Click here to view the full list of nominees and winners.
Click here to read about the Pioneer recipients.
Click here to read about the Technical Impact Award.