The Game Award Nominations: ‘Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’ Slices Its Way To Leading Seven Nominations

Nominations for the 2024 Game Awards, which honor the year’s most innovative, unique and impactful story-driven narratives in the gaming industry, were announced Monday. 

Leading the pack is the popular Japanese RPG adventure series Final Fantasy VII Rebirth with a total number of seven nominations. Following the critical success of Rebirth, released earlier this year in February, the third and final game in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy is officially in active development. First reported by 4Gamer, the Japanese website revealed that during a recent appearance at the G-CON 2024 convention in South Korea, Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that Square Enix hashed out the third game’s plot and overall concept, marking the pre-production finalization.

Other nominated titles include LocalThunk’s Balatro, Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong and Team Asobi’s wholesome platformer game Astro Bot, which tied with Rebirth for seven nominations including for Game Direction, Best Narrative and Game of the Year. Sony Interactive Entertainment is the most nominated publisher this year with 16, followed by Square Enix and Xbox with 12 nominations each. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of The Game Awards. While it’s rumored to be a more specialized event, the team has yet to confirm anything specifically related to this year’s ceremony. Still, there is much to celebrate regarding continued audience admiration and growth. In 2023, The Game Awards broke its own viewership record with over 118 million live streams, indicating a 15% increase since its 2022 ceremony, boosting its status as one of the industry’s biggest annual events.

 “Always bet on the future,” Founder and host of The Game Awards Geoff Keighley told Deadline. “10 years ago, when we were launching TGA, the concept of a streaming-only awards show without TV network or cable distribution seemed nearly impossible. As soon as someone tells you why something won’t work, it’s a good indication that you’re attempting something new, different and potentially groundbreaking. Our entire team took a huge risk building a TV-level awards show to stream on YouTube and Twitch. Everyone thought we were crazy and no platform wanted to fund it. But the game companies believed in what we were building for the future and supported us from day one. A decade later, I am so grateful we made that bet and now have a truly global showcase and celebration of video games.” 

Executive Producer Kimmie Kim also added: “From year one, we learned to create the space in our own unique way. There’s “no one size fits all,” but we take pride in what we have built for the past ten years, and it’s been an overwhelming and rewarding experience.” 
Fans can participate in voting from now through December 11 via The Game Awards’ website and Discord server. Winners will be revealed December 12 at the Peacock Theater (formerly known as Microsoft Theater) in Los Angeles and be streamed live via The Game Awards website and across more than 30 social platforms and video networks.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Game of the Year

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Game Direction

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Narrative

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)

Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Art Direction

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Best Score and Music

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)

Best Audio Design

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)

Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Performance

Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws

Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2

Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)

Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

Games for Impact

Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)

Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)

Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)

Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)

Best Ongoing Game

Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)

Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Community Support

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game

Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)

Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)

Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)

Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)

Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)

The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)

Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best VR/AR Game

Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)

Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)

Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)

Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)

Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)

Best Action Game 

Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)

Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Action/Adventure Game

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)

Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)

Best RPG

Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Capcom)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Fighting Game

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)

Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)

MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Best Family Game

Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)

Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)

The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)

Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)

Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)

Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)

Best Sports/Racing Game

F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)

EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)  

NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)

WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Best Multiplayer Game

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)

Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)

Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)

Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Adaptation

Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix) 

Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)

Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)

Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)

Most Anticipated Game

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)

Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)

Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)

Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Content Creator of the Year

CaseOh

IlloJuan 

Techno Gamerz

TypicalGamer

Usada Pekora

Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)

DOTA 2 (Valve)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

33 – Neta Shapira

Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen

Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon

Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok

ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut

ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang

Best Esports Team

Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)

Gen.G (League of Legends)

NAVI (Counter-Strike)

T1 (League of Legends)

Team Liquid (DOTA 2)