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Congratulations to the 25th Annual #DICEAwards Finalists 

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