Overwatch Wins Game of the Year
Celebrating its 20th year of honoring the industry’s top 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, is pleased to announce the recipients of the
D.I.C.E. Awards for the best games from 2016. Earning Game of the
Year was Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment, which challenges
players to join the ranks of a legendary force of soldiers,
scientists, adventurers and oddities, and clash on the battlefields
of a near-future Earth. The awards were unveiled at the annual
D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, held at The Mandalay Bay Convention
Center in Las Vegas earlier this evening.
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View the full release here:
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Frank Pearce (right) and Jeff Kaplan
(left) from Blizzard Entertainment accept Game of the Year for
Overwatch at the 20th D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas. (Photo:
Business Wire)
The AIAS membership honored games in 24 award categories,
including Overwatch and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which received
four awards each. INSIDE won three awards, including the D.I.C.E.
Sprite Award, which recognizes a game with limited resources for
development and exposure (as compared to AAA titles). Other top
honorees were Pokémon GO for Mobile Game of the Year, Steep for
Game of the Year, Street Fighter V for Fighting Game of the Year
and Dark Souls III for RPG/MMO Game of the Year. Winners for newly
added awards that recognized achievement and innovation in virtual
reality and augmented reality games, included SUPERHOT VR for
Immersive Reality Game of the Year and Eagle Flight for Immersive
Reality Technical Achievement.
“For the past 20 years, the D.I.C.E. Awards have been bringing
together the most talented, innovative and inspiring minds in
interactive entertainment to recognize and celebrate the industry’s
most outstanding achievements,” said Mike Fischer, president,
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “We’re thrilled to
congratulate all of this year’s award winners whose incredible
games have amazed and entertained fans worldwide, and are truly an
inspiration to us all.”
In addition to the awards for the industry’s best games and
creators from the previous year, the D.I.C.E. Awards also honored
Todd Howard, Executive Producer and Game Director at Bethesda Game
Studios, as the 22nd inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame, which
honors individuals who have been instrumental in the development of
highly influential games. Howard was recognized for having created
some of the industry’s most successful games by pioneering
open-world gameplay, and played a key role in the creative
direction and growth of highly-regarded franchises, including The
Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Both are known for their experiential
approach to world-building and storytelling, and have earning
multiple D.I.C.E. Awards throughout the years.
The 20th annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, which was co-hosted by
Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News and Kinda Funny co-founder Greg
Miller, was the culmination of the annual three-day D.I.C.E.
(Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2017),
which is known for drawing many of the interactive entertainment
industry’s most respected and influential leaders, decision makers
and visionaries.
The complete list of winners includes:
Game of the
YearOverwatch
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement in Game
DirectionINSIDE
- Publisher: Playdead
- Developer: Playdead
Outstanding Achievement in Game
DesignOverwatch
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Immersive Reality Technical
AchievementEagle Flight
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Developer: FunHouse
Immersive Reality Game of the
YearSUPERHOT VR
- Publisher: SUPERHOT Sp. z o.o.
- Developer: SUPERHOT Sp. z o.o.
Mobile Game of the
YearPokémon GO
- Publisher: Niantic Labs
- Developer: Niantic Labs
Handheld Game of the
YearPokémon Sun and Moon
- Publisher: The Pokémon Company
- Developer: Game Freak
D.I.C.E. Sprite
AwardINSIDE
- Publisher: Playdead
- Developer: Playdead
Outstanding Achievement in Online
GameplayOverwatch
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Strategy/Simulation Game of the
YearSid Meier’s Civilization VI
- Publisher: 2K Games
- Developer: Firaxis Games
Sports Game of the
YearSteep
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Developer: Ubisoft Annecy
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game
of the YearDark Souls III
- Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
America Inc.
- Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.
Racing Game of the
YearForza Horizon 3
- Publisher: Microsoft Studios
- Developer: Playground Games, Turn 10
Studios
Fighting Game of the
YearStreet Fighter V
- Publisher: Capcom U.S.A., Inc.
- Developer: Capcom
Family Game of the
YearRatchet & Clank
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment
- Developer: Insomniac Games
Adventure Game of the
YearUncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment America
- Developer: Naughty Dog
Action Game of the
YearOverwatch
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Outstanding Technical
AchievementUncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment America
- Developer: Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in
StoryUncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment America
- Developer: Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Sound
DesignBattlefield 1
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Developer: EA Dice
Outstanding Achievement in Original
Music CompositionDOOM
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Developer: id Software
Outstanding Achievement in
CharacterThe Last Guardian - Trico
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment America
- Developer: JAPAN Studio
Outstanding Achievement in Art
DirectionINSIDE
- Publisher: Playdead
- Developer: Playdead
Outstanding Achievement in
AnimationUncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
Entertainment America
- Developer: Naughty Dog
Since 1996, the D.I.C.E. Awards have recognized outstanding
games, individuals and development teams that push the boundaries
of technology, creativity and artistic expression in the worldwide
interactive entertainment industry. Titles were played and
evaluated by members of the Academy’s Peer Panels. The panels are
comprised of the game industry’s most experienced and talented
professionals. Each panel is responsible for evaluating one award
category. D.I.C.E. Awards recipients are determined by a vote of
qualified AIAS members. Award voting is confidential, conducted
online and supervised and certified by VoteNet Solutions, Inc. The
integrity of the system, coupled with a broad-based voting
population of AIAS members, makes the D.I.C.E. Awards the most
credible, respected and recognized awards for interactive
entertainment software.
The 20th D.I.C.E. Awards was produced by the AIAS, and will be
available to watch in-full at
https://www.youtube.com/user/AcademyIAS.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170223006884/en/
Academy of Interactive Arts & SciencesDebby Chen,
310-484-2556DICE2017@zebrapartners.net