Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was undoubtedly one of 2016's best games, and the accolades continued to roll in for Naughty Dog's Nathan Drake finale as the game took home the award for Game of the Year at the SXSW Award Show. The SXSW festival had been going on since March 10th and wrapped up yesterday. The nominees for Game of the Year consisted of mostly the same names as The Game Awards, with the exception being Dishonored 2.
Uncharted 4, if you remember, came up short at The Game Awards when Overwatch overtook it for 2017's best game, though many fans felt like Uncharted 4 was more deserving. Overwatch did not leave the SXSW festival empty-handed, however, as it managed to win the awards for Esports Game of the Year, Trending Game of the Year, Most Promising New Intellectual Property, and Excellence in Multiplayer.
Here's a list of the nominees and winners of each category courtesy of SXSW.
Video Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.
- Dishonored 2 – Bethesda Softworks / Arkane Studios
- DOOM – Bethesda Softworks / id Software
- Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- Titanfall 2 – Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
- (Winner) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
Mobile Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a unique gaming experience on any handheld device.
- Clash Royale – Supercell
- (Winner) Pokémon GO – Niantic
- Pokémon Sun and Moon – The Pokémon Company / Game Freak
- Reigns – Devolver Digital / Nerial
- Severed – DrinkBox Studios
Tabletop Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and ingenuity of any tabletop game in any genre.
- (Winner) Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Fantasy Flight Games
- Captain Sonar – Matagot
- Inis – Matagot
- Mechs vs Minions – Riot Games
- The Others – CMON Inc.
Esports Game of the Year
Awarded to the online game that has the best competitive scene, or potential to grow one, and most entertainment value.
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Activision / Infinity Ward
- Gears of War 4 – Microsoft Studios / The Coalition
- Killer Instinct: Season 3 – Microsoft Studios / Iron Galaxy Studios
- (Winner) Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- Street Fighter V – Capcom
Trending Game of the Year
Awarded to the game that consistently entertained and kept us watching on social platforms with its humor, stories, and more.
- Dead by Daylight – Starbreeze Studios / Behaviour Digital Inc.
- Job Simulator – Owlchemy Labs
- (Winner) Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- SUPERHOT – SUPERHOT Team
- Who’s Your Daddy – Evil Tortilla Games
Fan Creation of the Year
Awarded to the most compelling fan-made piece of work across all games and platforms. This includes, but isn’t limited to, artwork, writing, videography, special effects, and more.
- (Winner) Brutal Doom 64 – Sergeant_Mark_IV
- Enderal – The Shards of Order – SureAI Team
- Fallout 1.5: Resurrection – Resurrection Team
- Fallout: Revelation – MechanicalCakeTV
- Jack – A Stanley Parable Short Film – Vesio Productions
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award
Awarded to the game that best challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay.
- 1979 Revolution: Black Friday – INK Stories
- Fragments of Him – Sassybot
- Orwell – Surprise Attack / Osmotic Studios
- Quadrilateral Cowboy – Blendo Games
- (Winner) That Dragon, Cancer – Numinous Games
Excellence in Narrative
Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.
- Firewatch – Panic Inc. / Campo Santo
- The Last Guardian – Sony Interactive Entertainment / SIE Japan Studio
- Oxenfree – Night School Studio
- That Dragon, Cancer – Numinous Games
- (Winner) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
Excellence in Design
Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept and best execution.
- (Winner) Dishonored 2 – Bethesda Softworks / Arkane Studios
- INSIDE – Playdead
- Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
- The Witness – Thekla, Inc.
Excellence in Gameplay
Awarded to the game with the best gameplay mechanics.
- Dark Souls III – BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment / FromSoftware, Inc.
- Dishonored 2 – Bethesda Softworks / Arkane Studios
- (Winner) DOOM – Bethesda Softworks / id Software
- Firewatch – Panic Inc. / Campo Santo
- I Expect You To Die – Schell Games
Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game
Awarded to the game that was primarily produced via crowdfunding platforms and had excelled beyond the expectations set before it.
- Darkest Dungeon – Red Hook Studios
- Hyper Light Drifter – Heart Machine
- (Winner) Starbound – Chucklefish Games
- SUPERHOT – SUPERHOT Team
- That Dragon, Cancer – Numinous Games
Most Promising New Intellectual Property
Awarded to a new property that risked creating something fresh and that excelled within its genre or category for the year.
- Firewatch – Panic Inc. / Campo Santo
- (Winner) Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- Stardew Valley – Chucklefish Games / ConcernedApe
- SUPERHOT – SUPERHOT Team
- Tom Clancy’s The Division – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Massive
Most Memorable Character
Awarded to the best game character that left an overwhelming impression.
- Firewatch – Henry & Delilah
- The Last Guardian – Trico
- Overwatch – Tracer
- Titanfall 2 – BT-7274
- (Winner) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Nathan Drake
Excellence in Multiplayer
Awarded to the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.
- Battlefield 1 – Electronic Arts / EA DICE
- Gears of War 4 – Microsoft Studios / The Coalition
- (Winner) Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- SpeedRunners – tinyBuild / DoubleDutch Games
- Titanfall 2 – Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
Excellence in Convergence
Awarded to the game that excels in crossover to other entertainment mediums such as film, music, toys, animation, sports and more.
- (Winner) Batman: Arkham VR – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios
- Batman: The Telltale Series – Telltale Games
- FIFA 17 – EA Sports / EA Canada
- NBA 2K17 – 2K Sports / Visual Concepts
- Total War: WARHAMMER – SEGA / Creative Assembly
Excellence in Art
Awarded to the game with the most expressive and creative artistic style.
- ABZÛ – 505 Games / Giant Squid
- (Winner) Firewatch – Panic Inc. / Campo Santo
- INSIDE – Playdead
- Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- The Witness – Thekla, Inc.
Excellence in Animation
Awarded to the game with the most outstanding animations.
- DOOM – Bethesda Softworks / id Software
- INSIDE – Playdead
- The Last Guardian – Sony Interactive Entertainment / SIE Japan Studio
- Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- (Winner) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
Excellence in Visual Achievement
Awarded to the game with the most well-designed and stunning visuals.
- Battlefield 1 – Electronic Arts / EA DICE
- DOOM – Bethesda Softworks / id Software
- Final Fantasy XV – Square Enix
- Titanfall 2 – Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
- (Winner) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
Excellence in Technical Achievement
Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming.
- (Winner) Battlefield 1 – Electronic Arts / EA DICE
- No Man’s Sky – Sony Interactive Entertainment / Hello Games
- Overwatch – Blizzard Entertainment
- Pokémon GO – Niantic
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
Excellence in Musical Score
Awarded to the game that best exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score and how it progresses the narrative of the game.
- (Winner) DOOM – Bethesda Softworks / id Software
- Final Fantasy XV – Square Enix
- Hyper Light Drifter – Heart Machine
- The Last Guardian – Sony Interactive Entertainment / SIE Japan Studio
- Thumper – Drool
Excellence in SFX
Awarded to the game with the most outstanding and impactful sound effects.
- (Winner) Battlefield 1 – Electronic Arts / EA DICE
- Dishonored 2 – Bethesda Softworks / Arkane Studios
- INSIDE – Playdead
- Titanfall 2 – Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog
If you're interested in checking out the full list of award winners at SXSW, head over here.
