SXSW Gaming Awards: Winners and Finalists Review

The third-annual South by Southwest Gaming Awards were held Saturday night at the Hilton Austin Downtown.

This year’s event was hosted by esports icon Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico and YouTube personality Sean “JackSepticEye” William McLoughlin. Notable award winners included Kinda Funny co-founder Greg Miller for Most Entertaining Online Personality, Rocket League for Excellence in Multiplayer and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Game of the Year.

Watch the full show HERE.

2016 SXSW GAMING AWARDS WINNERS AND FINALISTS

Game of the Year

Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres.

· Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / From Software

· Fallout 4 – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

· Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Konami Digital Entertainment

· WINNER – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

· Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Tabletop Game of the Year

Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and ingenuity of any tabletop game in any genre.

· Above and Below – Red Raven Games

· Blood Rage – CoolMiniOrNot

· Codenames – Czech Games

· Lanterns: The Harvest Festival – Renegade Game Studios

· WINNER – Pandemic Legacy – Z-Man Games

Mobile Game of the Year

Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a unique gaming experience on any handheld device.

· Downwell – Devolver Digital / Moppin

· Fallout Shelter – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

· WINNER – Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

· Lara Croft GO – Square Enix / Square Enix Montreal

· SteamWorld Heist – Image and Form International AB / Image and Form International AB

Excellence in Gameplay

Awarded to the game with the best gameplay mechanics.

· Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

· WINNER – Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Konami Digital Entertainment

· Rocket League – Psyonix / Psyonix

· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

· Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Excellence in Art

Awarded to the game with the most expressive and creative artistic style.

· Assassin's Creed Syndicate – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Quebec

· WINNER – Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

· Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

· Yoshi's Woolly World – Nintendo / Good-Feel

Excellence in Animation

Awarded to the game with the most outstanding animation effects and graphics.

· Assassin's Creed Syndicate – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Quebec

· Batman: Arkham Knight – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios

· Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

· WINNER – Rise of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

· The Order: 1886 – Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

Excellence in Technical Achievement

Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming.

· Fallout 4 – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

· Just Cause 3 – Square Enix / Avalanche Studios

· Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Konami Digital Entertainment

· WINNER – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

· Until Dawn – Sony Computer Entertainment / Supermassive Games

Excellence in Visual Achievement

Awarded to the game with the most well-designed and stunning visuals.

· Everybody's Gone to the Rapture – Sony Computer Entertainment / The Chinese Room

· Rise of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

· Star Wars Battlefront – Electronic Arts / EA DICE

· WINNER – The Order: 1886 – Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

Excellence in Narrative

Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.

· Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

· Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

· SOMA – Frictional Games / Frictional Games

· Tales from the Borderlands – Telltale Games / Telltale Games

· WINNER – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

Excellence in Design

Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept and best execution.

· WINNER – Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

· Fallout 4 – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

· Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Konami Digital Entertainment

· Rocket League – Psyonix / Psyonix

· Super Mario Maker – Nintendo / Nintendo

Excellence in SFX

Awarded to the game with the most outstanding and impactful sound effects.

· Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

· Rise of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

· WINNER – Star Wars Battlefront – Electronic Arts / EA DICE

· The Order: 1886 – Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

· Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal

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.

· Crypt of the NecroDancer – Klei Entertainment / Brace Yourself Games

· Everybody's Gone to the Rapture – Sony Computer Entertainment / The Chinese Room

· Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Konami Digital Entertainment

· WINNER – Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

Excellence in Multiplayer

Awarded to the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience.

· Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Activision / Treyarch

· Halo 5: Guardians – Microsoft Studios / 343 Industries

· Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime – Asteroid Base / Asteroid Base

· WINNER – Rocket League – Psyonix / Psyonix

· Splatoon – Nintendo / Nintendo

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 Knight – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios

· Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition – Disney Interactive Studios / Avalanche Software

· Guitar Hero Live – Activision - FreeStyle Games

· Rock Band 4 – Mad Catz / Harmonix

· Star Wars Battlefront – Electronic Arts / EA DICE

Most Enduring Character

Awarded to the best game character that left an overwhelming impression.

· Geralt – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

· Hannah Smith – Her Story

· Joker – Batman: Arkham Knight

· WINNER – Lara Croft – Rise of the Tomb Raider

· Ori – Ori & the Blind Forest

Most Valuable ESports Team

Awarded to the professional team that excels in performance and provides the most valuable impact in its competitive scene.

· Cloud9

· Counter Logic Gaming

· WINNER – Evil Geniuses

· Team Archon

· Team EnVyUs

Most Entertaining Online Personality

Awarded to the online gaming-related personality that consistently entertains and keeps us watching with its humor, stories, special effects, and more.

· Angry Joe – The Angry Joe Show

· WINNER – Greg Miller – Kinda Funny

· Markiplier

· PewDiePie

· Tim Schafer – Double Fine Adventure Documentary Series

Most Fulfilling Crowdfunded Game

Awarded to the game that was primarily produced via crowdfunding platforms and had excelled beyond the expectations set before it.

· Broken Age – Double Fine Productions / Double Fine Productions

· Kerbal Space Program – Squad / Squad

· Kingdom Death: Monster – Kingdom Death

· Pillars of Eternity – Paradox Interactive / Obsidian Entertainment

· WINNER – Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

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.

· Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

· Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

· Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

· WINNER – Splatoon – Nintendo / Nintendo

· Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

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.

· Emily is Away – Kyle Seeley / Kyle Seeley

· Everybody's Gone to the Rapture – The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment

· Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

· Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

· WINNER – Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

GAMER’S VOICE AWARD

Awarded to the best game created by indie developers, selected by SXSW Gaming Expo attendees.

Gamer’s Voice Multiplayer

· ARENA GODS – Supertype

· Breaker Blocks – Spriteborne

· Death Stair – RnD Labs

· WINNER – Gang Beasts – Bone Loaf