The 25th annual DICE Awards takes place next month and will honor the best and brightest titles to release in 2021. Unlike The Game Awards, which is a bit more mainstream and consists of votes from both media and the general public, the DICE Awards (which stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is helmed by The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. It’s also an industry-only event generally viewed as the most prestigious award ceremony in the business. Today, we found out this year’s event honors 59 nominated 2021 titles across 23 categories.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart leads the pack in terms of the number of nominations with nine. Deathloop doesn’t lag far behind, garnering eight nominations. Academy members, which consists of a jury of industry peers, begin voting today. IGN will livestream the ceremony, hosted by Discovery’s Jessica Chobot and Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, on February 24. The nominees are as follows:
Game of the Year
- Deathloop
- Inscryption
- It Takes Two
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Returnal
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Deathloop – Colt Vahn
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits – Kena
- Life is Strange: True Colors – Alex Chen
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Rivet
- Resident Evil Village – Lady Dimitrescu
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Returnal
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
- Forza Horizon 5
- Halo Infinite
- It Takes Two
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Returnal
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Before Your Eyes
- Inscryption
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
- The Forgotten City
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Battlefield 2042
- Forza Horizon 5
- Moncage
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Returnal
Action Game of the Year
- Deathloop
- Halo Infinite
- Metroid Dread
- Returnal
- The Ascent
Adventure Game of the Year
- Death’s Door
- It Takes Two
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
- Resident Evil Village
Family Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise
- Cozy Grove
- Mario Party Superstars
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Warioware: Get it Together
Fighting Game of the Year
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
Racing Game of the Year
- F1 2021
- Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
Role-Playing Game of the Year
- Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- Tales of Arise
- Wildermyth
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA 22
- Mario Golf: Super Rush
- NBA 2K22
- Riders Republic
- The Climb 2
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Age of Empires IV
- Gloomhaven
- Griftlands
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
- Lone Echo II
- Puzzling Places
- Resident Evil 4 VR
- Song in the Smoke
- Yuki
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Demeo
- I Expect You To Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- Resident Evil 4 VR
- Song in the Smoke
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
- Death’s Door
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
- Sable
- Unpacking
Mobile Game of the Year
- Behind the Frame
- Fantasian
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Moncage
- Pokémon Unite
Online Game of the Year
- Back 4 Blood
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
- Halo Infinite
- Knockout City
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Deathloop
- Inscryption
- It Takes Two
- Loop Hero
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Deathloop
- Inscryption
- It Takes Two
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Artful Escape
It’ll be exciting to see who walks away with what, but in the meantime you can view last year’s DICE winners here.
