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Congratulations to the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists! 

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce the nominees for its 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), co-hosted for the fourth year by Jessica Chobot and Greg Miller. Academy members will begin general voting for the video game industry’s premier, peer-juried awards show on Friday, Jan. 10th at 5:00 PM PDT.

The winners will be revealed at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on Thursday, February 13th at Aria Resort Las Vegas as the culmination of the week-long industry gathering at the 2020 D.I.C.E. Summit (#DICE2020).

Sixty-five games released in 2019 received nominations. Control and Death Stranding lead the nominees with eight nominations each followed by Disco Elysium and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, each earning six nods. Tying for four nominations each include Outer Wilds and Untitled Goose Game while A Short Hike, Mortal Kombat 11, Resident Evil 2, and Sayonara Wild Hearts each received three. Finalists for 2019’s top honor, Game of the Year, are: Control, Death Stranding, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, and Untitled Goose Game. 

“On behalf of the Academy, I want to thank our peer panelists, who always dedicate their time, energy, and expertise in evaluating and selecting 2019’s best games,” said Meggan Scavio, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “To all of the finalists – a big congratulations on continuing to push the boundaries of storytelling, creativity and technical innovation. We can’t wait to celebrate your achievements at the 23rd 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.

Register now for the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and 2020 D.I.C.E. Summit

23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists:

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
         
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Days Gone Death Stranding Devil May Cry 5 Luigi's Mansion 3
Activision Publishing, Inc. Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Capcom Co., Ltd. Nintendo
Infinity Ward SIE Bend Studio Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.   Next Level Games
Animation Directors: 
Mark Grigsby
Jason Greenberg

Lead Animator: 
Jake Spence
Cinematic Animation
Supervisor:

Emmanuel Roth

Lead Animator: 
Masaaki Kawata

Lead Animator: 
Yuichiro Hiraki

Lead Animator: 
Marie Wyatt

 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
         
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Concrete Genie Control Death Stranding Resident Evil 2
Activision Publishing, Inc. Sony Interactive Entertainment 505 Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Capcom Co., Ltd.
Infinity Ward Pixelopus Remedy Entertainment Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.  
Studio Art Director: 
Joel Emslie
Art Director: 
Jeff Sangalli

Art Director: 
Janne Pulkkinen

Art Director: 
Yoji Shinkawa
Art Director: 
Satoshi Takamatsu

Environment Lead: 
Yoshitsugu Tanaka

Concept Artist: 
Tomonori Takano

 

Outstanding Achievement in Character
         
Control Death Stranding Death Stranding Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Untitled Goose Game
Jesse Faden Cliff Unger Sam Porter Bridges Greez The Goose
505 Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment Electronic Arts Panic
Remedy Entertainment Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. Respawn Entertainment House House
Writer: 
Sam Lake

Voice Actor: 
Courtney Hope

Writer: 
Hideo Kojima

Voice Actor: 
Mads Mikkelsen

Writer: 
Hideo Kojima

Voice Actor: 
Norman Reedus

Narrative Lead: 
Aaron Contreras

Voice Actor: 
Daniel Roebuck
Head of Respawn:
Vince Zampella

Developers: 
Michael McMaster 
Jake Strasser 
Nico Disseldorp 
Stuart Gillespie-Cook

 

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
         
Arise: A Simple Story Control Erica Golem Mortal Kombat 11
Techland Publishing 505 Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Highwire Games Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment
Piccolo Studio Remedy Entertainment Flavourworks   NetherRealm Studios
Composer: 
David García
Composers: 
Petri Alanko
Martin Stig Andersen

Composer: 
Austin Wintory

Audio Director/Composer: 
Martin O'Donnell
Main Theme/Story Mode
Composer: 
Wilbert Roget, II
Audio Director: 
Dan Forden
Advanced Composer: 
Nathan Grigg

 

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
         
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Death Stranding Mortal Kombat 11 Resident Evil 2 Sayonara Wild Hearts
Activision Publishing, Inc. Sony Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment
Capcom Co., Ltd. Annapurna Interactive
Infinity Ward Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. NetherRealm Studios   Simogo
Audio Director: 
Stephen Miller

Audio Lead:
Mike Niederquell
Audio Director:
Ludvig Forssell


Director of Audio: 
Rich Carle
Audio Director: 
Dan Forden
Senior Sound Designer: 
Stephen Schappler
Composer: 
Shusaku Uchiyama

Sound Designer: 
Shohei Miyata

Sound Designer: 
Daniel Olsen
Audio Lead: 
Daniel Olsen

 

Outstanding Achievement in Story
         
Control Disco Elysium Outer Wilds Telling Lies The Outer Worlds
505 Games ZA/UM Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Interactive Private Division
Remedy Entertainment   Mobius Digital Sam Barlow Obsidian Entertainment
Lead Writer: 
Sam Lake
Writer: 
Clay Murphy
Narrative Lead: 
Josh Stubbs
Lead Writer: 
Robert Kurvitz
Writers: 
Helen Hindpere
Argo Tuulik
Cash DeCuir
Olga Moskvina
Siim Sinamae
Justin Keenan
Andrus Laansalu
Writer: 
Kelsey Beachum

Writers: 
Sam Barlow
Amelia Gray

Writers: 
Carrie Patel
Megan Starks
Nitai Poddar
Daniel McPhee
Paul Kirsch
Kate Dollarhyde
Chris L'Etoile

Game Directors: 
Tim Cain
Leonard Boyarsky

 

Outstanding Technical Achievement
         
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Concrete Genie Control Death Stranding Metro Exodus
Activision Publishing, Inc. Sony Interactive Entertainment 505 Games Sony Interactive Entertainment Deep Silver
Infinity Ward Pixelopus Remedy Entertainment Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. 4A Games
Principal Engineers: 
Dan Nelson
Michal Drobot

Principal Engineer:
David Lee Swenson
Engineer:
Xun "Eric" Zhang
Lead Programmer:  
Sean Donnelly
Northlight Technology
Team Manager:
 
Mikko Orrenmaa
Lead Graphics Programmer: 
Tatu Aalto
Lead Game Designer: 
Hiroaki Yoshiike

UI Designer: 
Tsutomu Hashiguchi

Executive Producer: 
Oleksandr Shyshkovtsov, CTO
Game and Creative Director: 
Oleksandr Shyshkovtsov, CTO

 

Action Game of the Year
         
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Control Devil May Cry 5 Gears 5 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Activision Publishing, Inc. 505 Games Capcom Co., Ltd. Xbox Game Studios Activision Publishing, Inc.
Infinity Ward Remedy Entertainment   The Coalition FromSoftware, Inc.
Co-Studio Head and 
Creative Director,
Infinity Ward: 
Patrick Kelly
Head of Development,
Call of Duty 
and Co-Studio Head,
Infinity Ward: 
Dave Stohl
Lead Producer: 
Juha Vainio
Game Director: 
Mikael Kasurinen
Producer: 
Matt Walker

Senior Producer: 
Michiteru Okabe

Director: 
Hideaki Itsuno

Studio Head: 
Rod Fergusson

Technical Director: 
Mike Rayner

Campaign Design Director: 
Matt Searcy

Multiplayer Design Director: 
Ryan Cleven

Executive Producers: 
Robert Conkey
Yuzo Kojima 

Creative Director: 
Hidetaka Miyazaki

Co-Director: 
Kazuhiro Hamatani

 

Adventure Game of the Year
         
Death Stranding Luigi's Mansion 3 Resident Evil 2 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order The Legend of Zelda:
Link's Awakening
Sony Interactive Entertainment Nintendo Capcom Co., Ltd. Electronic Arts Nintendo
Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. Next Level Games   Respawn Entertainment  
Producer: 
Hideo Kojima

Creative Director: 
Hideo Kojima

Game Director: 
Hideo Kojima

Representative: 
Kensuke Tanabe

Creative Director: 
Bryce Holliday

Game Director: 
Bryce Holliday
Supervisor: 
Yoshihito Ikebata
Producers: 
Yoshiaki Hirabayashi
Tsuyoshi Kanda

Directors: 
Kazunori Kadoi
Yasuhiro Anpo

Game Director: 
Stig Asmussen

Lead Game Designer: 
Brandon Kelch

Lead Combat Designer: 
Jason de Heras

Lead Level Designer: 
Jeff Magers
Narrative Lead: 
Aaron Contreras

Producer: 
Eiji Aonuma

Creative Director: 
Mikiharu Oiwa

 

Family Game of the Year
         
A Short Hike DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 Ring Fit Adventure Super Mario Maker 2 Yoshi's Crafted World
Adam Robinson-Yu SQUARE ENIX Nintendo Nintendo Nintendo
        Good-Feel
Game Director: 
Adam Robinson-Yu

General Director:
YUJI HORII
Character Designer:
AKIRA TORIYAMA
Music Composer:
KOICHI SUGIYAMA
Producers:
Noriyoshi Fujimoto
Takuma Shiraishi
Director:
Kazuya Niinou
Producer: 
Koichi Kawamoto

Creative Director: 
Hiroshi Matsunaga

Game Director: 
Hiroshi Matsunaga

Producer: 
Takashi Tezuka

Creative Director: 
Toshiyuki Kusakihara
Genki Yokota

Game Directors: 
Shigefumi Hino
Satoko Higashi

Producers: 
Takashi Tezuka
Etsunobu Ebisu

Creative Director: 
Masahiro Yamamoto

Game Director: 
Masahiro Yamamoto

 

Fighting Game of the Year
       
Dead or Alive 6 Jump Force Mortal Kombat 11 Samurai Shodown
KOEI TECMO GAMES
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment SNK Corporation
Team NINJA Spike Chunsoft NetherRealm Studios  
Producer and Director: 
Yohei Shimbori

Art Director and
Game Scenario Lead: 
Yutaka Saito
Battle Director: 
Akihiro Nakamura
Producer: 
Hiroyuki Kaneko

Director: 
Toyokazu Sakamoto

Creative Director: 
Ed Boon

Studio Head: 
Shaun Himmerick
Director: 
Nobuyuki Kuroki
Concept and
Battle Designer: 
Hidetoshi Ishizawa
Lead Game Designers: 
Yuji Watanabe
Kaito Soranaka

 

Racing Game of the Year
         
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled DiRT Rally 2.0 F1 2019 Mario Kart Tour Trials Rising
Activision Publishing, Inc. Codemasters Codemasters Nintendo Ubisoft
Beenox
      Ubisoft RedLynx, Ubisoft Kyiv
Executive Producer: 
Stéphane Gravel
Creative Director: 
Thomas Wilson

Game Director: 
Philippe Turcotte

Development Director: 
Geoff Smith

Game Director: 
Ross Gowing

Technical Director: 
Gary Buckley

Executive Producer: 
Christopher Gray

Game Director: 
Lee Mather

Chief Games Director:
Gavin Cooper
Producer: 
Hideki Konno

Creative Director: 
Kosuke Yabuki

Game Directors: 
Yugo Hayashi
Shinya Fujiwara

Producer: 
Mikko Lindholm

Creative Director: 
Antti Ilvessuo

 

Role-Playing Game of the Year
         
Disco Elysium Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Kingdom Hearts III Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield The Outer Worlds
ZA/UM SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX Nintendo
The Pokémon Company
Private Division
      GAME FREAK Obsidian Entertainment

Creative Director/
Game Director:
Robert Kurvitz
Art Director/
Game Director:
 
Aleksander Rostov
Executive Producers:
 
Kaur Kender and Tõnis Haavel


Producer and Director: 
Naoki Yoshida

Director: 
Tetsuya Nomura

Co-Director: 
Tai Yasue

Producer: 
Junichi Masuda

Creative Director: 
Shigeru Ohmori

Game Director: 
Shigeru Ohmori

Producer: 
Eric DeMilt

Game Directors: 
Tim Cain
Leonard Boyarsky

 

Sports Game of the Year
         
FIFA 20 Madden NFL 20 MLB The Show 19 NBA 2k20 NHL 20
EA Sports EA Sports Sony Interactive Entertainment 2K EA Sports
EA Vancouver
EA Romania
EA Tiburon SIE San Diego Studio Visual Concepts EA Vancouver
Executive Producer: 
Aaron McHardy 

Creative Director: 
Matt Prior

Creative Director: 
Michael Young
Executive Producer:
Seann Graddy

Producer: 
Marcus Efting

Creative Director: 
Nick Livingston

Design Director: 
Jason Villa

Lead Engineer: 
Andrew H. Marrinson
Executive Producer: 
Jeffrey J. Thomas
Gameplay Director: 
Mike Wang
Creative Director: 
William Ho
Executive Producer:
Sean Ramjagsingh

 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
         
Anno 1800 Fire Emblem: Three Houses Oxygen Not Included Slay The Spire Total War: Three Kingdoms
Ubisoft Nintendo Klei Entertainment Inc. Humble Bundle SEGA
Ubisoft Mainz
Nintendo
Intelligent Systems CO., LTD
KOEI TECMO GAMES CO. LTD.
  Mega Crit Games Creative Assembly
Executive Producer: 
Burkhard Ratheiser
Creative Director: 
Dirk Riegert
Lead Game Designer: 
Jan Dungel
Producers: 
Hitoshi Yamagami
Masahiro Higuchi
Takashi Morinaka

Creative Directors: 
Toshiyuki Kusakihara
Genki Yokota

Game Director: 
Naoko Horie

Developers: 
Jamie Cheng
Alia McCutcheon
Johann Seidenz
Ju-Lian Kwan
Graham Jans

Producers: 
Casey Yano
Anthony Giovannetti

Creative Directors: 
Casey Yano
Anthony Giovannetti

Game Directors: 
Casey Yano
Anthony Giovannetti

Game Director: 
Janos Gaspar
Lead Designer: 
Attila Mohacsi
Total War Executive Producer: 
Mike Simpson

 

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
         
Asgard's Wrath Blood & Truth Pistol Whip Stormland Westworld Awakening
Oculus VR Sony Interactive Entertainment Cloudhead Games Oculus VR HBO
Sanzaru Games London Studio   Insomniac Games Survios
Senior Technology Director:
Evan Arnold
Senior Development Director:
Jenny Huang
Technical Art Director:
Jean-Francois Lepine
Lead Engineers:
Carlos Hurtado
Dan Halpern
Technical Directors: 
Will Burdon
Mark Lintott
 
Lead Engineer:
Paul White
Design Lead:
Cameron Oltmann
Art Lead:
Jonathan Hackett
Senior Engineers:
Christopher Roe
3D Artist:
Matt Lyon
Lead Designer: 
Mike Daly
Game Director: 
Mike Daly
Creative Director: 
Duncan Moore
Executive Producer: 
Lisa Ohanian
Game Director: 
James Iliff
Chief Games Director
Daniel Zeligman

 

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
         
Asgard's Wrath Blood & Truth Pistol Whip The Curious Tale
of the Stolen Pets
Trover Saves the Universe
Oculus VR Sony Interactive Entertainment Cloudhead Games Fast Travel Games Squanch Games, Inc.
Sanzaru Games London Studio      
Game Director:
Bill Spence
Executive Producer:
Glen Egan
Senior Creative Director:
Mat Kraemer
Creative Director:
Grace Morales Lingad
Director of VR
Product Development

Stuart Whyte
Creative Director:
Denny Unger
Design Lead:
Cameron Oltmann
Audio Director:
Joel Green
Level Designers:
Antony Stevens
Dan Taylor
Creative Director: 
James Hunt
Executive Producer:
Tanya Watson
Creative Director:
Justin Roiland
Design Director:
Erich Meyr
Art Director:
Mikey Spano

 

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
         
A Short Hike Disco Elysium Sayonara Wild Hearts Untitled Goose Game WHAT THE GOLF?
Adam Robinson-Yu ZA/UM Annapurna Interactive Panic Triband, The Label
    Simogo House House Triband
Game Director: 
Adam Robinson-Yu

Creative Director/
Game Director:
Robert Kurvitz
Art Director/Game Director:
 
Aleksander Rostov
Executive Producers:
 
Kaur Kender
Tõnis Haavel
Producers: 
Simon Flesser
Magnus Gardebäck

Creative Director: 
Simon Flesser

Game Directors: 
Simon Flesser
Magnus Gardebäck

Developers: 
Michael McMaster
Jake Strasser
Nico Disseldorp
Stuart Gillespie-Cook

Creative Directors: 
Tim Garbos
Peter Bruun
Lead Game Design:
 
Tim Garbos

Gameplay Design:
Lasse Astrup
Felix Nordanåker
Óscar Losada
Morten Skouboe
Puns:
Rune K. Drewsen

 

Portable Game of the Year
         
Call of Duty: Mobile GRINDSTONE Sayonara Wild Hearts Sky: Children of the Light WHAT THE GOLF?
Activision Publishing, Inc. Capybara Games Annapurna Interactive thatgamecompany Triband, The Label
TiMi Studios   Simogo   Triband
Game Director: 
Matt Lewis

Producer:
Fei Ao
Creative Director: 
Jeremiah Maza

Producers: 
Nathan Vella
Matt Repetski

Game Director: 
Dan Vader
Design:
Kris Piotrowski
Kenneth Yeung
Ben Thomas

Producers: 
Simon Flesser
Magnus Gardebäck

Creative Director: 
Simon Flesser

Game Directors: 
Simon Flesser
Magnus Gardebäck

Creative Director: 
Jenova Chen

Creative Directors: 
Tim Garbos
Peter Bruun
Lead Game Design:
 
Tim Garbos
Gameplay Design:
Lasse Astrup
Felix Nordanåker
Óscar Losada
Morten Skouboe
Puns:
Rune K. Drewsen

 

Online Game of the Year
         
Apex Legends Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Destiny 2: Shadowkeep TETRIS🄬 99
Wargroove
Electronic Arts Activision Publishing, Inc. Bungie Nintendo Chucklefish
Respawn Entertainment Infinity Ward
  Arika  
Creative Director: 
Todd Alderman

Executive Producer: 
Drew McCoy
Game Director:
Chad Grenier
Head of Respawn:
Vince Zampella

Co-Studio Head and 
Creative Director,
Infinity Ward: 
Patrick Kelly
Head of Development, 
Call of Duty 
and Co-Studio Head, 
Infinity Ward: 
Dave Stohl
General Manager, Destiny 2: 
Mark Noseworthy

Game Director, Destiny 2: 
Luke Smith

Lead Online Designer: 
Akira Kinashi

Lead Online Engineer: 
Ryuhei Hirota

Producer: 
Lili Ibrahim

Creative Director: 
Lili Ibrahim

Game Director: 
Finn Brice

 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
         
Baba is You Disco Elysium Outer Wilds Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Slay the Spire
Hempuli Oy ZA/UM Annapurna Interactive Activision Publishing, Inc. Humble Bundle
    Mobius Digital FromSoftware, Inc. Mega Crit Games
Designer: 
Arvi Teikari
Creative Director/
Game Director:
Robert Kurvitz
Art Director/
Game Director:
 
Aleksander Rostov
Executive Producers:
 
Kaur Kender and Tõnis Haavel
Lead Designer: 
Loan Verneau

Design Director: 
Hidetaka Miyazaki

Lead Designers: 
Casey Yano
Anthony Giovannetti

Design Directors: 
Casey Yano
Anthony Giovannetti

 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
         
A Short Hike Control Disco Elysium Outer Wilds Untitled Goose Game
Adam Robinson-Yu 505 Games ZA/UM Annapurna Interactive Panic
  Remedy Entertainment   Mobius Digital House House
Game Director: 
Adam Robinson-Yu

Game Director: 
Mikael Kasurinen
Creative Director/
Game Director:
Robert Kurvitz
Art Director/
Game Director:
 
Aleksander Rostov
Creative Director: 
Alex Beachum

Game Director: 
Alex Beachum

Developers: 
Michael McMaster
Jake Strasser
Nico Disseldorp
Stuart Gillespie-Cook

 

Game of the Year
         
Control Death Stranding Disco Elysium Outer Wilds Untitled Goose Game
505 Games Sony Interactive Entertainment ZA/UM Annapurna Interactive Panic
Remedy Entertainment Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.   Mobius Digital House House
Lead Producer: 
Juha Vainio

Game Director: 
Mikael Kasurinen

Producer: 
Hideo Kojima

Creative Director: 
Hideo Kojima

Game Director: 
Hideo Kojima

Creative Director/
Game Director:
Robert Kurvitz
Art Director/
Game Director:
 
Aleksander Rostov
Executive Producers:
 
Kaur Kender
Tõnis Haavel
Producer: 
Loan Verneau

Creative Director: 
Alex Beachum

Game Director: 
Alex Beachum

Developers: 
Michael McMaster
Jake Strasser
Nico Disseldorp
Stuart Gillespie-Cook

 

Register now for the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and 2020 D.I.C.E. Summit.