17th annual Game Developers Choice Awards nominees revealed, Nintendo grabs multiple nominations

SAN FRANCISCO – Jan. 4, 2017 – Organizers have revealed the nominees for the 17th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, the premier accolades for peer recognition celebrating the industry’s top games, studios and developers. Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions, will return as host of the awards show for his sixth time, having previously hosted the Choice Awards in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Winners in all fourteen categories, including the new Best VR/AR Game category, will be honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, taking place on Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 at 6:30pm at the San Francisco Moscone Center during the 2017 Game Developers Conference in conjunction with the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF). The ceremonies are available to attend for all GDC 2017 pass-holders and will be livestreamed on the GDC’s official Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/gdc .

BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD GAME
Super Mario Run (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Clash Royale (Supercell)
Pokémon Go (Niantic)
Reigns (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
Pokémon Sun/Moon (Game Freak / The Pokémon Company)

Honorable Mentions: Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club), Severed (DrinkBox Studios), Deus Ex: Go (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix), Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD / Nintendo), Imbroglio (Michael Brough), Swap Sword (AP Thomson and Diego Garcia)

INNOVATION AWARD
The Witness (Thekla)
Inside (Playdead)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic)
Pokemon Go (Niantic)

Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)

BEST TECHNOLOGY
Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (Thekla)

BEST VR/AR GAME
Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games)
Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)
Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs)
Pokémon Go (Niantic)
Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games)

Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Valve)

BEST DEBUT
Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
Campo Santo (Firewatch)
ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
Drool (Thumper)
Night School Studio (Oxenfree)

Honorable Mentions: SUPERHOT Team (SUPERHOT), Numinous Games (That Dragon, Cancer), Giant Squid Studios (Abzu), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked), iNK Stories (1979 Revolution: Black Friday)