25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists Revealed

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce the nominees for its 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), the video game industry’s premier, peer-juried awards show co-hosted for the sixth year by Jessica Chobot and Greg Miller. The winners will be revealed at a special 25th Anniversary edition of the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, and livestreamed by the official media partner, IGN, on Feb. 24 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas as the culmination of the week-long industry gathering at the 2022 D.I.C.E. Summit (#DICE2022).

Fifty-nine games released in 2021 received nominations. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart leads the pack with nine nominations, followed by Deathloop earning eight. Tying for six nominations each are Inscryption and It Takes Two, with Returnal earning five nods, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Resident Evil Village each taking four. Finalists for 2021’s top honor, Game of the Year, are: Deathloop, Inscryption, It Takes Two, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Returnal.

"From all of us at the Academy, we want to thank our peer panelists who continue to dedicate their energy, expertise, and time in evaluating and selecting 2021's best games," said Meggan Scavio, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "And to all our finalists, congratulations! You continue to amaze us with how you push the boundaries of creativity, technical innovation, and storytelling. We're excited to celebrate your achievements at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards."

The Academy and its Board of Directors thank all of the people who serve as Peer Panelists and generously volunteer their time to determine finalists. View a full list of Peer Panelists here.

25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists:

**Outstanding Achievement in Animation**

Call of Duty: Vanguard	Deathloop	Kena: Bridge of Spirits	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Resident Evil Village
Activision Publishing Inc.	Bethesda Softworks	Ember Lab	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Capcom Co., Ltd.
Sledgehammer Games	Arkane Lyon		Insomniac Games
Associate Animation Director: Conant Fong Multiplayer Lead Animator: Colin O'Connor Single Player Lead Animation: Ryan Hood-Guaraldi	Animation Director: Damien Pougheon	Animation Director: Hunter Schmidt	Lead Animators: Kevin Grow Elliot Grossman Principal Animator: Steve Ryder	Presentation Director: Masato Miyazaki Lead Cinematic Animation Artist: Tetsuhei Asano Lead Facial Animation Artist: Hiroko Ihara Lead Animation Artist: Yuya Takasaki

**Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction**

Call of Duty: Vanguard	Deathloop	Kena: Bridge of Spirits	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Resident Evil Village
Activision Publishing Inc.	Bethesda Softworks	Ember Lab	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Capcom Co., Ltd.
Sledgehammer Games	Arkane Lyon		Insomniac Games
Art Direction: Joe Salud Associate Art Director: Yi-chao Sandy Lin-Chiang Associate Art Director: Matt Abbott	Art Director: Sebastien Mitton	Art Director: Mike Grier Lead Concept Artist: Wanchana "Vic" Intrasombat Lead Environmental Artist: Julian Vermeulen	Art Director: Grant Hollis Principal Artist: Dave Guertin Lead Lighting Artist: Brian Mullen	Art Director: Tomonori Takano

**Outstanding Achievement in Character**

Deathloop	Kena: Bridge of Spirits	Life is Strange: True Colors	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Resident Evil Village
Colt Vahn	Kena	Alex Chen	Rivet	Lady Dimitrescu
Bethesda Softworks	Ember Lab	Square Enix	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Capcom Co., Ltd.
Arkane Lyon		Deck Nine Games	Insomniac Games
Voice Actor: Jason E Kelley	Writer: Josh Grier Voice Actor: Dewa Ayu Dewi Larrasanti	Senior Staff Writer: Felice Kuan Voice Actor: Erika Mori Game Director: Zak Garriss Performance Director: Webb Pickersgillo Casting Director: Sylvia Gregory, CSA Narrative Director: Jonathan Zimmerman	Senior Writer: Lauren Mee Advanced Writer: Nick Folkman Voice Actor: Jennifer Hale	Scriptwriter: Antony Johnston Voice Actor: Maggie Robertson

**Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition**

Deathloop	It Takes Two	Kena: Bridge of Spirits	Psychonauts 2	Returnal
Bethesda Softworks	Electronic Arts	Ember Lab	Xbox Game Studios	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Arkane Lyon	Hazelight Studios		Double Fine Productions	Housemarque
Composers: Tom Salta Erich Talaba Ross Tregenza	Composers: Gustaf Grefberg Kristofer Eng	Composers: Jason Gallaty I Dewa Putu Berata	Composer: Peter McConnell	Composer: Bobby Krlic Principal Music Producer: Joe Thwaites Game Director: Harry Krueger

**Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design**

Forza Horizon 5	Halo Infinite	It Takes Two	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Returnal
Xbox Game Studios	Xbox Game Studios	Electronic Arts	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Playground Games	343 Industries	Hazelight Studios	Insomniac Games	Housemarque
Lead Audio Designer: Fraser Strachan	Audio Director: Sotaro “Tajeen” Tojima Lead Audio Technical Designer: Chase Thompson Lead Sound Designer: Kyle Fraser Lead Campaign Sound Designer: Jomo Kangethe Lead Multiplayer Sound Designer: Robbie Elias	Audio Lead: Philip Eriksson	Audio Lead: Daniel Birczynski Mix Supervisor: Jeremie Voillot Audio Director: Paul Mudra	Audio Lead: Loic Couthier Principal Technical Sound Designer: Simon Gumbleton Game Director: Harry Krueger

**Outstanding Achievement in Story**

Before Your Eyes	Inscryption	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy	Psychonauts 2	The Forgotten City
Skybound Entertainment	Devolver Digital	Square Enix	Xbox Game Studios	Dear Villagers
GoodbyeWorld Games	Daniel Mullins Games	Eidos-Montréal	Double Fine Productions	Modern Storyteller
Writer, Creative Director: Graham Parkes Game Director, Composer: Oliver Lewin Creator, Studio Director: Will Hellwarth	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Senior Narrative Director: Mary DeMarle Senior Creative Director: Jean-François Dugas	Studio Head, Writer, Project Lead: Tim Schafer	Managing Director & Founder: Nick Pearce Programmer: Alex Goss Artist: John Eyre

**Outstanding Technical Achievement**

Battlefield™ 2042	Forza Horizon 5	Moncage	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Returnal
Electronic Arts	Xbox Game Studios	XD	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Sony Interactive Entertainment
DICE Criterion Games EA Gothenburg Ripple Effect Studios	Playground Games	Optillusion	Insomniac Games	Housemarque
Senior Game Design Director: Daniel Berlin Technical Director, Battlefield: Mikael Uddholm	Technical Directors: Alan Roberts Matt Craven	Lead Game Designer: Dong Zhou	Director, Core Technology: Mike Fitzgerald Head of Architecture: Al Hastings Lead Gameplay Programmer: Peter Kao	Technical Director: Ethan Watson Lead VFX Artist: Risto Jankkila Programming Lead: Markku Velinen

**Action Game of the Year**

Deathloop	Halo Infinite	Metroid Dread	Returnal	The Ascent
Bethesdsa Softworks	Xbox Game Studios	Nintendo	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Curve Games
Arkane Lyon	343 Industries	Mercury Steam	Housemarque	Neon Giant
Game Director: Dinga Bakaba	Head of 343 Industries: Bonnie Ross Head of Creative: Joseph Staten Head of Engineering: David Berger Head of Production: Pierre Hintze Campaign Associate Creative Director: Paul Crocker Multiplayer Associate Creative Director: Tom French	Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto Creative Director: Jose Luis Márquez Game Director: Fumi Hayashi	Narrative Director: Gregory Louden Creative Director: Harri Tikannen Game Director: Harry Krueger	Creative Directors: Arcade Berg Tor Frick Studio Producer: Si Donbavand

**Adventure Game of the Year**

Death's Door	It Takes Two	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy	Psychonauts 2	Resident Evil Village
Devolver Digital	Electronic Arts	Square Enix	Xbox Game Studios	Capcom Co., Ltd.
Acid Nerve	Hazelight Studios	Eidos-Montréal	Double Fine Productions
Game Designer & Programmer: Mark Foster Game Designer & Composer: David Fenn	Producer: Aimar Bergan Game Director: Josef Fares	Senior Producer: Olivier Proulx Senior Creative Director: Jean-François Dugas	Studio Head, Writer, Project Lead: Tim Schafer Art Director: Lisette-Titre Montgomery Lead Designer: Seth Marinello	Executive Producer: Jun Takeuchi Producers: Tsuyoshi Kanda Masachika Kawata Director: Morimasa Sato

**Family Game of the Year**

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise	Cozy Grove	Mario Party Superstars	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Warioware: Get it Together
Nintendo	Spry Fox QAG	Nintendo	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Nintendo
	Spry Fox	NDcube	Insomniac Games	Intelligent Systems
Producer: Hisashi Nogami Creative Director & Game Director: Yoshifumi Masaki	Producer: David Edery Creative Director: Daniel Cook	Producer: Toshiaki Suzuki Creative Director: Shuichiro Nishiya Game Director: Takeru Sugimoto	Creative Director: Marcus Smith Game Director: Mike Daly Senior Project Manager: Peter Chan	Producers: Kensuke Tanabe Toshio Sengoku Atsushi Ikuno Naoki Nakano Creative Director: Goro Abe Game Director: Yu Yamanaka

**Fighting Game of the Year**

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-	MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA	Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
Arc System Works	DELiGHTWORKS	GameMill Entertainment
	French Bread	Ludosity Fair Play Labs
General Director: Daisuke Ishiwatari	Producer: Nobuhisa Hiroshige Creative Director: Kinoko Nasu Game Director: Kamone Serizawa	Lead Gameplay Design & Lead Gameplay Programmer: Elias Forslind Game Director: Diego Rodriguez Game Designer: Matías R. Singer

**Racing Game of the Year**

F1 2021	Forza Horizon 5	Hot Wheels Unleashed
Electronic Arts	Xbox Game Studios	Milestone
Codemasters	Playground Games
Producer: Christopher Gray Creative Director: Gavin Cooper Senior Creative Director: Lee Mather	Production Director: Adam Askew Creative Director: Mike Brown Art Director: Don Arceta	Executive Producer: Michele Caletti Producer: Domenico Celenza Lead Game Designer: Federico Cardini

**Role-Playing Game of the Year**

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	Shin Megami Tensei V	Tales of Arise	Wildermyth
Square Enix	META Publishing Owlcat Games	SEGA of America	Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.	Worldwalker Games LLC WhisperGames
	Owlcat Games	ATLUS	Bandai Namco Studios	Worldwalker Games LLC
Director & Producer: Naoki Yoshida	Creative Director: Alexander Mishulin	Game Director: Shigeo Komori	Producer: Yusuke Tomizawa Game Director: Hirokazu Kagawa	Programmer: Nate Austin Artist: Anne Austin Lead Writer: Douglas Austin

**Sports Game of the Year**

EA SPORTS FIFA 22	Mario Golf: Super Rush	NBA 2k22	Riders Republic	The Climb 2
Electronic Arts	Nintendo	2K	Ubisoft	Crytek
EA Vancouver EA Romania	Camelot	Visual Concepts	Ubisoft Annecy
GM, FIFA: Nicholas Wlodyka	Producers: Hiroyuki Takahashi Shinya Saito Creative Director: Hiroyuki Takahashi Game Directors: Shugo Takahashi Tomohiro Yamamura	Producer: Erick Boenisch Game Director: Mike Wang	Producer: Sebastien Arnoult Creative Director: Igor Manceau Game Director: Arnaud Ragot	Senior Producer: Fatih Özbayram Principal Game Designer: Andreas Liebeskind Technical Director: Sebastien Laurent Principal Level & Gameplay Designer: Matthias Otto

**Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year**

Age of Empires IV	Gloomhaven	Griftlands	Inscryption	Loop Hero
Xbox Game Studios	Asmodee Digital	Klei Entertainment Inc.	Devolver Digital	Devolver Digital
Relic Entertainment World's Edge	Flaming Fowl Studios		Daniel Mullins Games	Four Quarters
General Manager: Shannon Loftis Creative Director: Adam Isgreen Game Director: Quinn Duffy Executive Producers: Greg Wilson Michael Mann Tech Directors: Wilfried Schmidt Lawrence Ward Joel Pritchett Art Directors: Zach Schlappi Han Randhawa	Creator: Isaac Childres Creative Director: Mike West	Developers: Kevin Forbes Chris Costa	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Game Designer, Composer, Sound, Writing: Aleksandr Goreslavets Principal Game Designer, Principal Artist, Story: Dmitry Karimov Programmer, Artist: Aleksandr Vartazarian Main Programmer: Dmitry Lagutov

**Immersive Reality Technical Achievement**

Lone Echo II	Puzzling Places	Resident Evil 4 VR	Song in the Smoke	YUKI
Oculus Studios	realities.io Inc	Oculus Studios	17-BIT	ARVORE Immersive Experiences
Ready At Dawn		Armature
Game Director: Nathan Phail-Liff Assistant Game Director: Robert Duncan Lead Producer: Alex Salcedo Head of Studio: Ru Weerasuriya Studio Design Director: Dana Jan Head of Studio Technology: Garret Foster	Lead Game Designer: Shahriar Shahrabi Technical Director: Marcel Poppe Photogrammetry Director: Azad Balabanian 3D Lead: Daniel Kraft Producer: Daniel Sproll Audio Director: Pierre-Marie Blind	Lead Engineer: Steve McCrea	Game / Art Director: Jake Kazdal Studio Director: Raj Joshi Engineering Lead / Team: Alex Miyamoto Akintunde Omitowoju Joshua Rowan Dan Nagase Rhodri Broadbent Technical Art Director / Team: Colin Williamson Paul Leonard	Game Director: Kako Lead Game Designer: Pedro Câmara Lead Gameplay Developer: Rômulo Santos Senior Visual Artist: Marcus Penna UI Designer: Thello Caetano Production Manager: Rebeca Traldi Technical Director: Carlo “Zed” Caputo

**Immersive Reality Game of the Year**

Demeo	I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar	Lone Echo II	Resident Evil 4 VR	Song in the Smoke
Resolution Games	Schell Games	Oculus Studios	Oculus Studios	17-BIT
		Ready At Dawn	Armature
Producer: Johan Donwill Creative Director: Mike Booth Game Director: Tommy Palm	Executive in Charge of Production: Matthew Mahon Lead Producers: John Joy Tera Nguyen Project Director: Charlie Amis Design Director: Francisco Souki Art Director: Adam Whalen Engineering Director: John Kolencheryl Audio Director: Frank Lubsey	Game Director: Nathan Phail-Liff Assistant Game Director: Robert Duncan Lead Producer: Alex Salcedo Head of Studio: Ru Weerasuriya Studio Design Director: Dana Jan Head of Studio Technology: Garret Foster	Senior Producer: Tom Ivey Game Director: Mark Pacini	Game / Art Director: Jake Kazdal Studio Director / Production: Raj Joshi Rich McCormick Engineering Lead: Alex Miyamoto Art Team: Andrew Palmer Koichi Yamagishi Callen Wagner Audio / Music: Ally Mobbs Sam Bird

**Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game**

Death's Door	Inscryption	Loop Hero	Sable	Unpacking
Devolver Digital	Devolver Digital	Devolver Digital	Raw Fury AB	Humble Games
Acid Nerve	Daniel Mullins Games	Four Quarters	Shedworks	Witch Beam
Game Designer & Programmer: Mark Foster Game Designer & Composer: David Fenn	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Game Designer, Composer, Sound, Writing: Aleksandr Goreslavets Principal Game Designer, Principal Artist, Story: Dmitry Karimov Programmer, Artist: Aleksandr Vartazarian Main Programmer: Dmitry Lagutov	Creative Director: Gregorios Kythreotis Technical Director: Daniel Fineberg	Technical Director: Tim Dawson Creative Director: Wren Brier Audio Director: Jeff van Dyck

**Mobile Game of the Year**

Behind the Frame	Fantasian	League of Legends: Wild Rift	Moncage	Pokémon UNITE
Akupara Games Akatsuki Taiwan	Apple	Riot Games	XD	The Pokémon Company
Silver Lining Studio	Mistwalker		Optillusion	TiMi Studios
Creative Director & Game Director: Weichen Lin	Creative Director & Producer: Hironobu Sakaguchi Game Director: Takuto Nakamura	Executive Producer: Michael Chow Game Director: Alan Moore	Producer: Dong Zhou Creative Directors & Game Directors: Dong Zhou Yijia Chen	Producer: Masaaki Hoshino

**Online Game of the Year**

Back 4 Blood	Call of Duty: Vanguard	Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker	Halo Infinite	Knockout City
Warner Bros. Games	Activision Publishing, Inc.	Square Enix	Xbox Game Studios	Electronic Arts
Turtle Rock Studios	Sledgehammer Games		343 Industries	Velan Studios
Gameplay Director: Brandon Yanez President & General Manager: Steve Goldstein Tech Director: Wes Macdonald	Multiplayer Creative Director: Greg Reisdorf Senior Development Director: Adam Iscove Lead Designer: Zach Hodson	Director & Producer: Naoki Yoshida	Multiplayer Associate Creative Director: Tom French Multiplayer Lead Modes & Systems Designer: Andrew Witts Senior Multiplayer Designers: Fernando Reyes Medina Patrick Wren Multiplayer Designers: Alex Bean Zach Boyce Mickey Cushing Multiplayer Lead Level Designer: Cayle George Multiplayer Level Designers: Adrian Bedoya Tyler Ensrude Cliff Schuldt	Lead Online Designer: Jeremy Russo Lead Online Engineers: Douglas Applewhite Joe Morton

**Outstanding Achievement in Game Design**

Deathloop	Inscryption	It Takes Two	Loop Hero	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Bethesda Softworks	Devolver Digital	Electronic Arts	Devolver Digital	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Arkane Lyon	Daniel Mullins Games	Hazelight Studios	Four Quarters	Insomniac Games
Lead Game Systems Designer: Gauthier Roussel	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Lead Level Designer: Filip Coulianos Additional Design: Hazelight Design Team	Game Designer, Composer, Sound, Writing: Aleksandr Goreslavets Principal Game Designer, Principal Artist, Story: Dmitry Karimov Programmer, Artist: Aleksandr Vartazarian Main Programmer: Dmitry Lagutov	Lead Designers: Mark Stuart Joel Goodsell Principal Designer: Duncan Moore

**Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction**

Deathloop	Inscryption	It Takes Two	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	The Artful Escape
Bethesda Softworks	Devolver Digital	Electronic Arts	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Annapurna Interactive
Arkane Lyon	Daniel Mullins Games	Hazelight Studios	Insomniac Games	Beethoven & Dinosaur
Game Director: Dinga Bakaba	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Game Director: Josef Fares	Creative Director: Marcus Smith Game Director: Mike Daly Senior Project Manager: Peter Chan	Creative Director: Johnny Galvatron Producers: Justin Blackwell Dean Woodward

**Game of the Year**

Deathloop	Inscryption	It Takes Two	Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	Returnal
Bethesda Softworks	Devolver Digital	Electronic Arts	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Arkane Lyon	Daniel Mullins Games	Hazelight Studios	Insomniac Games	Housemarque
Game Director: Dinga Bakaba	Game Designer: Daniel Mullins	Game Director: Josef Fares Producer: Aimar Bergan	Creative Director: Marcus Smith Game Director: Mike Daly Senior Project Manager: Peter Chan	Narrative Director: Gregory Louden Creative Director: Harri Tikannen Game Director: Harry Krueger

Navigation

Congratulations to the 25th Annual #DICEAwards Finalists