Nominees for the 21st D.I.C.E. Awards Announced by AIAS

HORIZON ZERO DAWN LEADS WITH TEN NOMINATIONS FOR THE 21ST D.I.C.E. AWARDS

Annual Video Game Awards Show Live Streamed by IGN Entertainment

LOS ANGELES – January 12, 2018 - The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce the nominees for its 21^st D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), co-hosted by Greg Miller, co-founder of internet video show and podcast Kinda Funny, and Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News. Academy members will begin general voting for the video game industry’s premier peer-based awards show on Friday, Jan. 12^th at 5:00 PM PST.

The winners will be revealed at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 22^nd in Las Vegas as the culmination of the week-long industry gathering at the 2018 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE18). The ceremony will once again be live streamed in its entirety beginning at 8:00 pm PT/11:00 pm ET via media partner IGN Entertainment.

“Congratulations to all the 2017 nominees – an amazing list of diverse experiences that really embody the creative ambitions and achievements that define our industry,” said Meggan Scavio, President, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “I want to thank our passionate jury panelists that dedicate their time and expertise to drive our peer process and distinguish the best of the best in interactive entertainment.”

Sixty-eight of the most exciting games from 2017 received a nomination.  Horizon Zero Dawn leads the group with 10 total nominations.  Several games received multiple nods, including: The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild with 6 nominations; Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and Cuphead with 5 nominations; and Gorogoa, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, Super Mario Odyssey which received 4 nominations each. Nominees for the evening’s top prize, Game of the Year, are: Cuphead; Horizon Zero Dawn; PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS; Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The following is the full list of nominees: http://www.interactive.org/images/awards/21st-Annual-DICE-Awards-Finalists.pdf

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Cuphead
For Honor
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Cuphead
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Little Nightmares
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Assassin's Creed Origins - Bayek
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Senua
Horizon Zero Dawn - Aloy
Star Wars Battlefront II - Iden Versio
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - Chloe Fraiser

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Call of Duty: WWII
Cuphead
Horizon Zero Dawn
RiME
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Destiny 2
Injustice 2
Star Wars Battlefront II
Super Mario Odyssey
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Night in the Woods
What Remains of Edith Finch
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Assassin's Creed Origins
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Action Game of the Year
Call of Duty: WWII
Cuphead
Destiny 2
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin's Creed Origins
Horizon Zero Dawn
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Family Game of the Year
DropMix
GNOG
Just Dance 2018
SingStar Celebration
Snipperclips

Fighting Game of the Year
ARMS
Injustice 2
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Nidhogg 2
Tekken 7

Racing Game of the Year
DiRT 4
Forza Motorsport 7
Gran Turismo Sport
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Project CARS 2

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
NieR:Automata
Persona 5
Torment: Tides of Numenera

Sports Game of the Year
Everybody's Golf
FIFA 18
Golf Clash
Madden NFL 18
MLB The Show 17

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Endless Space 2
Halo Wars 2
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Total War: Warhammer II
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
Robo Recall
Star Trek Bridge Crew
The Invisible Hours
Wilson's Heart

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
Robo Recall
Space Pirate Trainer
Wilson's Heart

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
Everything
Gorogoa
Night in the Woods
Pyre
Snipperclips

Handheld Game of the Year
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Metroid: Samus Returns
Monster Hunter Stories

Mobile Game of the Year
Cat Quest
Fire Emblem Heroes
Gorogoa
Monument Valley 2
Splitter Critters

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Call of Duty: WWII
Destiny 2
Fortnite
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Gorogoa
Horizon Zero Dawn
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Gorogoa
Horizon Zero Dawn
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
What Remains of Edith Finch

Game of the Year
Cuphead
Horizon Zero Dawn
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Academy’s 30K+ members, comprised of the interactive publishing and development communities, recognize excellence in 24 different interactive game categories in one of the highest forms of recognition in the industry. Titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy’s peer panels to determine final nominees. These panels, one for each award category, are comprised of the game industry’s most experienced and talented men and women who are experts in their chosen fields. Winners are determined as part of a confidential voting process and will be revealed on the evening of the show. A list of all the peer panelists can be found here.