Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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The 21st ANNUAL D.I.C.E. AWARDS
CELEBRATES THE BEST IN VIDEO GAMES


The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts representing its 33,000+ membership base, today held the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, its annual ceremony that brings together the interactive entertainment industry to honor the year’s biggest achievements in video games. This year’s Game of the Year was awarded to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Nintendo, which takes players on a world of adventure as they travel across vast fields, through forests and over mountain peaks as they discover what has become of the kingdom of Hyrule. 

The Academy membership honored games in 24 award categories, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild receiving four awards, making it the night’s most awarded game. Cuphead earned a total of three awards.  Games honored with two awards each included Horizon Zero Dawn, Lone Echo/Echo Arena, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS and Snipperclips. Other top honorees were Fire Emblem Heroes for Mobile Game of the Year, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Racing Game of the Year, Injustice 2 for Fighting Game of the Year, FIFA 18 for Sports Game of the Year, Snipperclips for the Sprite Award, and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS for Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay. 

In addition to the awards for the industry’s best games and creators from the previous year, the D.I.C.E. Awards also celebrated Genyo Takeda, Special Corporate Advisor at Nintendo, with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the seventh recipient to receive the honor from the Academy. Takeda was recognized for having been at the forefront of shaping the video games hardware industry in his career-long tenure at Nintendo with the development of the Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube and the Wii system. 

The 21st annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, which was co-hosted for the second time by Greg Miller, co-founder of internet video show and podcast Kinda Funny, and Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News, included industry professionals who attended the event live and game fans worldwide who tuned in for the live stream. The show was the culmination of the annual three-day D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE18), which is known for drawing many of the interactive entertainment industry’s most respected and influential leaders, decision makers and visionaries.

Click here to watch the full broadcast.

Click here to browse nominated titles, developers, and publishers.

The complete list of winners includes:

Game of the Year

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

Lone Echo/Echo Arena

  • Publisher: Oculus Studios
  • Developer: Ready At Dawn

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

Lone Echo/Echo Arena

  • Publisher: Oculus Studios
  • Developer: Ready At Dawn

Mobile Game of the Year

Fire Emblem Heroes

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS and Nintendo

Handheld Game of the Year

Metroid: Samus Returns

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: MercurySteam and Nintendo

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

Snipperclips

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: SFB Games

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

  • Publisher: Bluehole
  • Developer: PUBG Corporation

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

  • Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment
  • Developer: Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris

Sports Game of the Year

FIFA 18

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Electronic Arts

Role-Playing Game of the Year

NierR: Automata

  • Publisher: Square Enix
  • Developer: PlatinumGames

Racing Game of the Year

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Fighting Game of the Year

Injustice 2

  • Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: NetherRealm Studios

Family Game of the Year

Snipperclips

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: SFB Games

Adventure Game of the Year

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Action Game of the Year

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

  • Publisher: Bluehole
  • Developer: PUBG Corporation

Outstanding Technical Achievement

Horizon Zero Dawn

  • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: Guerrilla Games

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Horizon Zero Dawn

  • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: Guerrilla Games

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

Super Mario Odyssey

  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Cuphead

  • Publisher: StudioMDHR
  • Developer: StudioMDHR

Outstanding Achievement in Character

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice - Senua

  • Publisher: Ninja Theory
  • Developer: Ninja Theory

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Cuphead

  • Publisher: StudioMDHR
  • Developer: StudioMDHR

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Cuphead

  • Publisher: StudioMDHR
  • Developer: StudioMDHR

Click here to view the full press release.