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Congratulations to the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists! 

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce the nominees for its 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards). The winners will be revealed at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, happening virtually on April 22nd, 2021 at 10:00AM PT on IGN.com, featuring an all-new format. The show will be hosted by Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot, and Kahlief Adams and live streamed via our media partner IGN Entertainment. Stay tuned fo​r more information!  

A total of 57 games from 2020 received a nomination. The Last of Us Part II leads with 11 nominations followed by Ghost of Tsushima with 10 nods and Hades with 8. Tying for 5 nominations each are Half-Life: Alyx, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Finalists for 2020’s top honor, Game of the Year, are: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades and The Last of Us Part II.

“I want to sincerely thank all of our peer panelists, who continue to dedicate their time, energy and expertise in evaluating and selecting this past year’s D.I.C.E. Awards nominees,” said Meggan Scavio, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “And to all of our finalists – a well-deserved congratulations in continuing to expand the boundaries of creativity, storytelling and technical innovation. We look forward to celebrating your achievements at the 24th 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.

24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists:

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE The Last of Us Part II Marvel's Spider-Man:
Miles Morales		 Ori and the Will of the Wisps Spiritfarer
Square Enix Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Xbox Game Studios Thunder Lotus
  Naughty Dog Insomniac Games Moon Studios  
Animation Director:
Yoshiyuki Soma
Facial Director:
Akira Iwasawa
Lead Animation Programmer:
Ryo Hara

 

Lead Animators:
Jeremy Yates
and Almudena Soria Sancho
Lead Cinematic Animator:
Eric Baldwin

 

 Lead Animators:
Danny Garnett, Brian Wyser,
and Mike Yosh

 

 Animators:
Warren Goff, Jim Donovan,
and Boris Hiestand		 Lead Animator: 
Alexandre Boyer

 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Ghost of Tsushima Hades The Last of Us Part II Marvel's Spider-Man:
Miles Morales 		Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Sony Interactive Entertainment Supergiant Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Xbox Game Studios
Sucker Punch   Naughty Dog Insomniac Games  Moon Studios
Art Director:
Jason Connell

 

 Art Director: 
Jen Zee

Art Directors:
Erick Pangilinan
and John Sweeney

Art Directors:
Jason Hickey
and Gavin Goulden

 Art Director:
Jeremy Gritton
Technical Art Lead:
Daniel van Leeuwen
Concept Artist:
Mikhail Rakhmatullin

 

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hades The Last of Us Part II The Last of Us Part II Marvel's Spider-Man:
Miles Morales
Eivor Varinsdottir Zagreus Abby Ellie Miles Morales
Ubisoft Supergiant Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ubisoft Montreal   Naughty Dog Naughty Dog Insomniac Games
Narrative Director:
Darby McDevitt
Actor:
Magnus Bruun
Actress:
Cecilie Stenspil		 Writer:
Greg Kasavin
Actor:
Darren Korb

Written By:
Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross
Additional Writing:
Josh Scherr and Ryan James
Actress:
Laura Bailey

Written By:
Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross
Additional Writing:
Josh Scherr and Ryan James
Actress:
Ashley Johnson

Writer:
Ben Arfmann,
Jon Paquette,
Mary Kenney,
Max Folkman,
and Evan Narcisse
Actor:
Nadji Jeter

 

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Carrion Ghost of Tsushima Little Orpheus Ori and the Will of the Wisps The Pathless
Devolver Digital Sony Interactive Entertainment Sumo Digital Xbox Game Studios Annapurna Interactive
Phobia Game Studio Sucker Punch The Chinese Room Moon Studios Giant Squid
Composer:
Cris Velasco		 Composers:
Ilan Eshkeri
and Shigeru Umebayashi
Senior Music Producer:
Peter Scaturro

 

 Composers:
Jim Fowler
and Jessica Curry		 Composer:
Gareth Coker		 Composer:
Austin Wintory

 

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Dreams Ghost of Tsushima The Last of Us Part II Ori and the Will of the Wisps Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Xbox Game Studios Sony Interactive Entertainment
Media Molecule Sucker Punch Naughty Dog Moon Studios Sumo Digital
Sound Designer:
Ed Hargrave
Audio Lead:
Tom Colvin

Audio Director:
Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer

Lead Audio:
Rob Krekel         
Sound Designers:
Beau Jimenez,
Neil Uchitel,
Justin Mullens,
and Jesse Garcia

 Senior Sound Designer:
Kristoffer Larson
Audio Leads:
Guy Whitmore
and Alexander Leeman Johnson		 Audio Director:
Jay Waters (Sumo Digital)
Lead Audio Design:
Jey Kazi (Sumo Digital)
Music Supervisor:
James Marshall (SIE)

 

Outstanding Achievement in Story
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Ghost of Tsushima Hades Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition The Last of Us Part II
SEGA of America Sony Interactive Entertainment Supergiant Games Annapurna Interactive Sony Interactive Entertainment
Vanillaware Sucker Punch   Cardboard Computer Naughty Dog
Writer:
George Kamitani		 Lead Writer:
Ian Ryan
Senior Writer:
Patrick Downs
Creative Director:
Nate Fox 		Writer:
Greg Kasavin		 Writer:
Jake Elliott

Written By:
Neil Druckmann
and Halley Gross             
Additional Writing:
Josh Scherr
and Ryan James

 

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Dreams Ghost of Tsushima The Last of Us Part II Mario Kart Live Microsoft Flight Simulator
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Nintendo Xbox Game Studios
Media Molecule Sucker Punch Naughty Dog Velan Studios Asobo Studio
Lead Game Designer:
David Smith
UI Designer:
Liam DeValmency
AI Director:
Alex Evans

Co-Founder:
Chris Zimmerman           
Lead Engine Programmer:
Adrian Bentley
Lead Rendering Engineer:
Jasmin Patry

Lead Programmers:
Sandeep Shekar,
Vincent Marxen,
and Jason Gregory
Programming Directors:
Christian Gyrling
and Travis McIntosh

 Lead Programmer:
Jan-Erik Steel
Lead SLAM Programmer:
Ed Tumbusch
Hardware and System:
Kart & Gate Development Team,
SDK Development Team,
and Nintendo European Research
and Development		 Heads of
Microsoft Flight Simulator:
Jorg Neuman
and Seb Wloch
Lead Game Designer:
Damien Cuzacq
UI Designer:
Sebastien Ricolfi
AI Director/Technical Directors:
Alain Guyet, Lionel Fuentes,
and Sebastian Wloch

 

Action Game of the Year
DOOM Eternal Hades Half-Life: Alyx Marvel's Spider-Man:
Miles Morales 		Nioh 2
Bethesdsa Softworks Supergiant Games Valve Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment
id Software     Insomniac Games Team Ninja

Studio Director:
Amir Rao
Development Director:
Gavin Simon
Creative Director:
Greg Kasavin
Art Director:
Jen Zee
Audio Director:
Darren Korb
Technical Director:
Andrew Wang

Studio Head:
Ted Price
Creative Director:
Brian Horton
Design Director:
Cameron Christian

 Game Director:
Fumihiko Yasuda
Project Manager:
Kohei Shibata

 

Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Ghost of Tsushima Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition The Last of Us Part II Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ubisoft Sony Interactive Entertainment Annapurna Interactive Sony Interactive Entertainment Xbox Game Studios
Ubisoft Montreal Sucker Punch Cardboard Computer Naughty Dog Moon Studios
Producer:
Julien Lafferiere
Game Director:
Eric Baptizat

Co-Founders:
Brian Fleming
and Chris Zimmerman

 Developers:
Ben Babbitt, Jake Elliott,
and Tamas Kemenczy

Co-President:
Evan Wells
and Neil Druckmann
Director:
Neil Druckmann
Co-Game Directors:
Anthony Newman
and Kurt Margenau

 Creative Director:
Thomas Mahler
Technical Director: 
Gennadiy Korol

 

Family Game of the Year
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Astro's Playroom Dreams Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Nintendo Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Devolver Digital Sony Interactive Entertainment
  Team ASOBI Media Molecule Mediatonic Sumo Digital
Producer:
Hisashi Nogami
Creative Director
and Game Director:
Aya Kyogoku		 Game Director
and Creative Director:
Nicolas Doucet		 Producer:
Siobhan Reddy
Creative Director:
Mark Healey
Game Director:
Kareem Ettouney		 Producer:
Alexandru Ruse
Creative Director:
Jeff Tanton
Game Director:
Joseph Walsh		 Development Director:
Gary Moore (Sumo Digital)
Design Director:
Ned Waterhouse (Sumo Digital)
Senior Producer:
Tom O’Connor (SIE)

 

Fighting Game of the Year
EA Sports UFC 4 Granblue Fantasy Versus Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Them's Fightin' Herds
Electronic Arts XSEED Games and Marvelous USA, Inc. Warner Bros. Games Humble Games
EA Vancouver Cygames, Inc. and ARC SYSTEM WORKS NetherRealm Studios Mane6
Producer:
Nate McDonald
Creative Director:
Brian Hayes
Executive Producer:
Sean Ramjagsingh		 Producer:
Yuito Kimura (Cygames)
Creative Director
and Game Director:
Tetsuya Fukuhara (Cygames)		 Creative Director: 
Ed Boon
Studio Head: 
Shaun Himmerick
 Production Director:
Aaron Stavely
Creative Director:
Lauren Faust
Game Director:
Omari Smith

 

Racing Game of the Year
DIRT 5 F1® 2020 Mario Kart Live
Codemasters Codemasters Nintendo

  Velan Studios

Development Director:
Robert Karp
Technical Director:
David Springate
Art Director:
Amrish Wadekar
Producers:
Stuart Boyd
and Gaz Wainwright

VP, Executive Producer:
Ian Flatt
Franchise Game Director:
Lee Mather
Senior Producer:
Mike Tebbut
Franchise Director:
Paul Jeal

 Producers:
Yosuke Tamori,
Hiroshi Matsunaga,
and Nicholas Ruepp
Game Director:
Dan Doptis

 

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Cyberpunk 2077 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Persona 5 Royal Wasteland 3 Yakuza: Like a Dragon
CD PROJEKT RED SQUARE ENIX SEGA of America Deep Silver SEGA of America
    ATLUS inXile entertainment Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios
Game Director:
Adam Badowski
Second Director
and Head of Production:
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz
Gameplay Design Directors:
Grzegorz Mocarski
and Mateusz Kanik
Lead Producers:
Jedrzej Mroz, Michal Stec,
and Przemyslaw Wojcik

Producer:
Yoshinori Kitase
Director:
Tetsuya Nomura
Co-Director:
Naoki Hamaguchi

 Producer:
Kazuhisa Wada
Game Director
and Creative Director:
Daiki Itoh		 Producer:
Jeff Pellegrin
Creative Director:
Aaron Meyers
Game Director:
Tim Campbell		 Executive Director:
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Studio Head:
Daisuke Sato  
Chief Producer:
Masayoshi Yokoyama
Producer:
Hiroyuki Sakamoto
Director:
Ryosuke Horii

 

Sports Game of the Year
EA SPORTS FIFA 21 MLB The Show 20 NBA 2K21 PGA TOUR 2K21 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
EA Sports Sony Interactive Entertainment 2K 2K Activision Publishing, Inc.
EA Vancouver
EA Romania
 SIE San Diego Studio Visual Concepts HB Studios Vicarious Visions
Producers:
Tom Pan
and Tenille Dang
Creative Directors:
Mat Prior
and Adam Shaikh
Game Directors:
Aaron McHardy
and John Shepherd

Producer:
Chris Cutliff
Creative Director:
Nick Livingston
Game Director:
Jason Villa

 Executive Producers:
Erick Boenisch
and Jeffrey J. Thomas
Gameplay Director:
Mike Wang		 Creative Director:
Josh Muise
Game Director:
Shaun West		 Producer:
Barry Morales
Creative Director:
Brent Gibson
Executive Producer:
Chris Wilson

 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Crusader Kings III Desperados III Microsoft Flight Simulator Monster Train Per Aspera
Paradox Interactive THQ Nordic Xbox Game Studios Good Shepherd Entertainment Raw Fury
Paradox Development Studio Mimimi Games Asobo Studio Shiny Shoe Tlon Industries

Creative Director:
Henrik Fåhraeus

 Head of Design:
Moritz Wagner
Head of Development:
Frieder Mielke
Head of Art:
Bianca Dörr
Head of Production:
Tom Kersten
Creative Director
and Founder:
Dominik Abé		 Heads of
Microsoft Flight Simulator:
Jorg Neuman
and Seb Wloch
Producer:
Martial Bossard
Creative Director:
David Dedeine
Game Director:
Damien Cuzacq

Executive Producer:
Mark Cooke
Game Director:
Andrew Krausnick
Art Director:
Yujin Kiem

 Producer:
Damian Hernaez
Creative Director:
Roque Rey
Game Director:
Javier Otaegui

 

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Half-Life: Alyx Mario Kart Live Museum of Other Realities Paper Beast Tempest
Valve Nintendo MOR Museum Inc. Pixel Reef
and Plug In Digital		 Tender Claws Studio
  Velan Studios   Pixel Reef  
Producers:
Yosuke Tamori,
Hiroshi Matsunaga,
and Nicholas Ruepp
Game Director:
Dan Doptis		 Developers:
Colin Northway,
Robin Stethem,
Lindsay Jorgensen,
Stephen Gray,
Adam Madojemu,
and Adiba Muzaffar
 Lead Game Designer:
Eric Chahi
Physics and
Graphics Programming:
François Sahy
AI Programming:
Sebastien Cardona
and Olivier Fouques		 Lead Game Designers:
Danny Cannizzaro
and Samantha Gorman

 

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Down the Rabbit Hole Half-Life: Alyx Paper Beast The Room VR:
A Dark Matter 		The Walking Dead:
Saints & Sinners
Cortopia Studios Valve Pixel Reef
and Plug In Digital		 Fireproof Games Skydance Interactive
    Pixel Reef    
Producer:
Ricky Helgesson
Creative Director
and Game Director:
Ryan Bednar		 Lead Game Designer:
Eric Chahi		 Producer:
Tom Seed
Creative Director:
Mark Hamilton
Technical Director:
Rob Dodd		 Creative Director:
Adam Grantham
Game Director:
Todd Adamson
Principal Engineer:
Jason Bare

 

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Coffee Talk Hades If Found... Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Noita
Toge Productions
and Chorus Games Worldwide		 Supergiant Games Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Interactive Nolla Games
Toge Productions   DREAMFEEL Cardboard Computer  
Producer:
Andrew Jeremy
Creative Director:
Kris Antoni Hadiputra
Game Director:
Mohammad Fahmi		 Studio Director:
Amir Rao
Development Director:
Gavin Simon
Creative Director:
Greg Kasavin
Art Director:
Jen Zee
Audio Director:
Darren Korb
Technical Director:
Andrew Wang		 Producer:
Eve Golden-Woods
Creative Director
and Game Director:
Llaura McGee		 Developers:
Ben Babbitt, Jake Elliott,
and Tamas Kemenczy		 Developers:
Petri Purho, Olli Harjola,
and Arvi Teikari

 

Mobile Game of the Year
HoloVista Legends of Runeterra Little Orpheus Song of Bloom South of the Circle
Aconite Riot Games Sumo Digital  Kamibox Apple
    The Chinese Room   State of Play
Lead Producer:
Meredith Hall
Directors:
Star St Germain
and Nadya Lev		 Producer:
Jeff Jew		 Producer:
Alex Girling
Creative Director:
Dan Pinchbeck
Lead Designers:
Matt Duff
and Rob McLachlan		 Game Developer:
Philipp Stollenmayer

Producer:
John Lau
Creative Director:
Luke Whittaker
Director of Development:
Katherine Bidwell

 

Online Game of the Year
Animal Crossing:
New Horizons 		Call of Duty:
Black Ops - Cold War 		Fall Guys:
Ultimate Knockout 		Ghost of Tsushima Tetris Effect: Connected
Nintendo Activision Publishing, Inc. Devolver Digital Sony Interactive Entertainment Enhance
  Treyarch Mediatonic Sucker Punch Monstars Inc., Resonair
and Stage Game
Lead Online Designer:
Aya Kyogoku
Lead Online Engineer:
Kenichi Nishida		 Lead Online Designer
and Lead Online Engineer:
Joel Herber

Online Design Lead:
Darren Bridges
Online Tech Lead:
Matt Goldhaber

 Multiplayer Lead
Game Designer:
Tomohiro Tatejima
Lead Online Engineers:
Atsushi Kusunose
(Technical Lead),
Chuk Tang
(Multiplayer Technical Lead),
and Tomohiro Tatejima

 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Ghost of Tsushima Hades Half-Life: Alyx The Last of Us Part II Marvel's Spider-Man:
Miles Morales
Sony Interactive Entertainment Supergiant Games Valve Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sucker Punch     Naughty Dog Insomniac Games

Co-Founder:
Chris Zimmerman
Content Director:
Jeff McGann
Systems Director:
Parker Hamilton

 Studio Director:
Amir Rao
Development Director:
Gavin Simon
Creative Director:
Greg Kasavin
Technical Designer:
Alice Lai
Level Designer:
Eduardo Gorinstein

Lead Game Designers:
Emilia Schatz
and Richard Cambier
Lead Systems Designer:
Matthew Gallant

Design Director:
Cameron Christian

 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Ghost of Tsushima Hades Half-Life: Alyx Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition The Last of Us Part II
Sony Interactive Entertainment Supergiant Games Valve Annapurna Interactive Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sucker Punch     Cardboard Computer Naughty Dog

Creative Director:
Nate Fox
Art/Creative Director:
Jason Connell

 Studio Director:
Amir Rao
Development Director:
Gavin Simon
Creative Director:
Greg Kasavin
Art Director:
Jen Zee
Audio Director:
Darren Korb
Technical Director:
Andrew Wang
 Developers:
Ben Babbitt, Jake Elliott,
and Tamas Kemenczy

Director:
Neil Druckmann
Co-Game Directors:
Anthony Newman
and Kurt Margenau

 

Game of the Year
Animal Crossing: New Horizons FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Ghost of Tsushima Hades The Last of Us Part II
Nintendo Square Enix Sony Interactive Entertainment Supergiant Games Sony Interactive Entertainment
    Sucker Punch   Naughty Dog
Producer:
Hisashi Nogami
Creative Director
and Game Director:
Aya Kyogoku

Producer:
Yoshinori Kitase
Director:
Tetsuya Nomura
Co-Director:
Naoki Hamaguchi

Co-Founders:
Brian Fleming
and Chris Zimmerman

Studio Director:
Amir Rao
Development Director:
Gavin Simon
Creative Director:
Greg Kasavin
Art Director:
Jen Zee
Audio Director:
Darren Korb
Technical Director:
Andrew Wang

Co-President:
Evan Wells
and Neil Druckmann
Director:
Neil Druckmann
Co-Game Directors:
Anthony Newman
and Kurt Margenau