An indie game took the Game of The Year title, along with a few others.
What are the DICE Awards?
Starting back in 1998, the DICE Awards are an award show in the video game industry, hosted in the USA, Las Vegas, Nevada. D.I.C.E. stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain. Each year the awards are arranged by a panel assembled by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences which includes programmers, publishers, developers, artists and more. This year the nominees for each category were announced in January and the winners became clear last week.
The big winners of 2020
In the game of the year category which is viewed by many as the most important one, we’d usually find a title published by one of the giants in the industry like Sony, Blizzard, EA and others. This time it was something different as Untitled Goose Game grabbed the first place. Developed by House House and published by Panic Inc. the game allows you to control a goose which makes the lives of some English villagers a bit harder.
The game’s popularity escalated as it quickly turned into an internet sensation, sparking memes, merch, and more.
Untitled Goose Game also won first place in Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game and Outstanding Achievement in Character. While the indie game surprise many, it was still surpassed to a degree by a triple-A title, namely Remedy Entertainment’s Control.
Control won in a total of four categories - Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition and Action Game of the year.
Control revolves around supernatural abilities and bending reality, themes we’ve already seen in some of Remedy’s previous titles. With it’s four first places, the game is the definite winner in the DICE Awards.
The third game with most category wins went to Death Stranding. Hideo Kojima’s latest project received praise in Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Outstanding Technical Achievement.
Below you’ll find the full list of all 23 categories, their nominees, and the winners in bold.
Game of the Year
- Untitled Goose Game
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Disco Elysium
- Outer Wilds
Action Game of the Year
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Control
- Devil May Cry 5
- Gears 5
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Adventure Game of the Year
- Death Stranding
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- Resident Evil 2
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Family Game of the Year
- A Short Hike
- Dragon Quest Builders 2
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Yoshi's Crafted World
Fighting Game of the Year
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Dead or Alive 6
- Jump Force
- Samurai Shodown
Racing Game of the Year
- DiRT Rally 2.0
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
- Mario Kart Tour
- Trials Rising
- F1 2019
Role-playing Game of the Year
- The Outer Worlds
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield
- Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
- Disco Elysium
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA 20
- Madden NFL 20
- MLB The Show 19
- NBA 2k20
- NHL 20
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Anno 1800
- Oxygen Not Included
- Slay the Spire
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
Immersive Reality technical achievement
- Stormland
- Pistol Whip
- Westworld Awakening
- Blood & Truth
- Asgard's Wrath
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Pistol Whip
- Asgard's Wrath
- Blood & Truth
- The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
- Trover Saves the Universe
Outstanding Achievement for an independent Game
- Disco Elysium
- A Short Hike
- Untitled Goose Game
- What the Golf?
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
Portable Game of the Year
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Grindstone
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Sky: Children of the Light
- What the Golf?
Online Game of the Year
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Destiny 2: Shadowkeep
- Tetris 99
- Wargroove
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Baba is You
- Disco Elysium
- Outer Wilds
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Slay the Spire
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- A Short Hike
- Control
- Disco Elysium
- Outer Wilds
- Untitled Goose Game
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Days Gone
- Death Stranding
- Devil May Cry 5
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Control
- Concrete Genie
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Control (Jesse Faden)
- Death Stranding (Cliff Unger)
- Death Stranding (Sam Porter Bridges)
- Untitled Goose Game (The Goose)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Greez)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Control
- Golem
- Erica
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Arise: A Simple Story
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Control
- Disco Elysium
- Outer Wilds
- Telling Lies
- The Outer Worlds
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Death Stranding
- Metro Exodus
- Control
- Concrete Genie
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Was your favorite game for the year left out? Let us know.
