Inspired by my good friend Jacob Oller’s yearly Oscars Predictions, I’ve quickly put together a list of the nominees for this year’s The Game Awards, along with who I think SHOULD win, and who I think WILL win. No thoughtful blurbs, since I did this on a whim last night, but I want to get into the habit of actually putting stuff on my website, so here goes.

Jake Note: I’ve updated the blurbs to identify the winners, and add little notes where I feel like I have something to say. I’m mostly disappointed with how ashamed of video games The Video Game Award are, the natural culmination of

Jake Jacobson’s Official “The Game Awards” Guessies 2023

Game of the Year

Should Win: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Will Win: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Did Win: Baldur’s Game 3
Jake Note: Honestly, I figured this would probably happen, and it’s well deserved! Everyone I know played this game, so much so that I just feel like I’ve played the game via osmosis like… 4 times over. I just think Tears of the Kingdom is my Game of the Year, so I was Manifesting.

Best Game Direction

Should Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Will Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Did Win: Alan Wake 2

Best Narrative

Should Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Will Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Did Win: Alan Wake 2
Jake Note: Kind of surprised at how much Alan Wake 2 wins at this show, just because my assumption was that, because it didn’t blow up the world like Remedy seemed to. Bad read!

Best Art Direction

Should Win: Hi-Fi Rush
Will Win: Hi-Fi Rush
Did Win: Alan Wake 2
Jake Note: This feels like Hi-Fi Rush got robbed, to me, but Art Direction can really be Anything, and also the following award is a much bigger snub for it.

Best Score and Music

Should Win: Hi-Fi Rush
Will Win: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Did Win: Final Fantasy 16
Jake Note: No One seems to remember the music from this game so, like, you know. Gotta give Sony awards probably.

Best Audio Design

Should Win: Hi-Fi Rush
Will Win: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Did Win: Hi-Fi Rush
Jake Note: Audio Design is another one where I thought maybe Spider-Man 2 may win because it sounds really good when you thwip; If Hi-Fi Rush was going to win one of the categories it was nominated for though, it should have been one of the audio ones!

Best Performance

Should Win: Neil Newbon (Asterion)
Will Win: Cameron Monaghan (Karl Kestus)
Did Win: Neil Newbon (Asterion)
Jake Note: Obviously well deserved, it would have been a crime to not award this to 2023’s Most Thirsted Character. I kind of thought Geoff would be giving more love to Jedi Survivor but this was another bad read on my part, the sequel just didn’t have the staying power its predecessor had.

Innovation in Accessibility

Should Win: To be perfectly transparent, I’m not super familiar with any of this year’s nominees’ big accessibility features. I think Street Fighter 6’s Modern Controls are a very cool direction to take fighting games, but I don’t honestly know if that counts as an Accessibility Feature.
Will Win: Forza Motorsport
Did Win: Forza Motorsport

Games for Impact (Indie Game Category #1)

Should Win: Venba
Will Win: Venba
Did Win: Tchia
Jake Note: Venba was the only one of these games I heard anyone talk about, so I’m surprised but didn’t know enough about the category to be shocked.

Best Ongoing

Should Win: Final Fantasy 14
Will Win: Cyberpunk 2077
Did Win: Cyberpunk 2077
Jake Note: Ignoring that Cyberpunk 2077 has been an integral part of The Game Awards of the past, I figured this game was going to get the love in this category because it favors broken games that get fixed over the course of 2-4 years.

Best Community Support

Should Win: No Man’s Sky
Will Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Did Win: Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Independent Game

Should Win: Dredge
Will Win: Dave the Diver
Did Win: Sea of Stars
Jake Note: Would have been great to have some of these Indie developers be allowed to talk about their games on stage! If only we hosted an event that celebrated games by giving them awards.

Best Debut Indie Game

Should Win: Pizza Tower
Will Win: Pizza Tower
Did Win: Cocoon
Jake Note: Obviously I agree with the white people on twitter(?) who think Pizza Tower got robbed. I think that, out of all the options for this game, Cocoon was the weakest choice, but even it looks good with a unique game mechanic. Anyway one of my favorite games is infamously the subject of an AVGN video, so you can still enjoy games that don’t win Best Awards!

Best Mobile Game

Should Win: Hello Kitty Island Adventure
Will Win: Honki: Stonk Donk
Did Win: Honki: Stonk Donk

Best VR/AR

Should Win: Resident Evil Village VR Mode
Will Win: Gran Turismo 7
Did Win: Resident Evil Village VR Mode
Jake Note: Huge Women Win Again.

Best Action Game

Should Win: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Will Win: Super Mario Brothers 2
Did Win: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Best Action/Adventure

Should Win: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Will Win: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Did Win: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Jake Note: Well Deserved!

Best RPG

Should Win: Lies of P
Will Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Did Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Jake Note: Again, Baldur’s Gate 3 deserves all it’s flowers here, but I wanted to shout out Lies of P, which is for all accounts a surprise 2023 hit. Sad it doesn’t get any recognition here, but also The Game Awards are all fake anyway, so.

Best Fighting Game

Should Win: Street Fighter 6
Will Win: Street Fighter 6
Did Win: Street Fighter 6

Best Family Game

Should Win: Disney Illusion Island
Will Win: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Did Win: Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Best Sim/Strategy (aka the “Why Are These Combined” Award)

Should Win: Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
Will Win: Fire Emblem Engage
Did Win: Pikmin 4
Jake Note: Oatchi that’s my doggie that’s my baby that’s my funny little buddy wish he’d hug me he’s a puppy he’s an angel he’s a silly little creature and I love the way he carries all my stuff and all my men and he will always be my friend.

Best Sports/Racing

Should Win: Forza Motorsport
Will Win: Forza Motorsport
Did Win: Forza Motorsport
Jake Note: My former colleague Brandon Satterwhite points out that this is Forza’s 5th win in as many appearances. There are enough racing and sports games that this can probably be separate, but this is Forza’s category until they do.

Best Multiplayer

Should Win: Street Fighter 6
Will Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Did Win: Baldur’s Gate 3
Jake Note: Baldur’s Gate 3’s multiplayer does look legitimately fun, but this category seems like it could be put to better use highlighting actual multiplayer experiences, with something like Party Animals.

The “Last of Us” Award (Sponsored by “The Last of Us”)

Should Win: Castlevania: Nocturne
Will Win: Come on dude man
Did Win: 😏

Most Anticipated Game

Should Win: Hades II
Will Win: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Did Win: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Jake Note: Hades II is gonna whip ass!! I can’t believe they’re making a Hades II!!!!

Content Creator of the Year

Should Win: twitch.tv/dtjmelons
Will Win: Ironmouse
Did Win: Ironmouse
Jake Note: Ironmouse gotta be the most well-known english vtuber at this point, and she’s worked hard to earn that status. Eric got robbed tho.

Best eSports Game

Should Win: Zelda: Ocarina of Time Randomizer
Will Win: Valorant
Did Win: Valorant

Best eSports Athlete

Should Win: Eric “DtJMelons” Rudkin (Zelda: Ocarina of Time Randomizer)
Will Win: Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends)
Did Win: Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends)
Jake Note: I want to be serious for a minute here and point out that Faker’s T1 team won this year’s League of Legends World Championship. This comes exactly a decade after his first Worlds championship win, the year he debuted for T1 in 2013. Truly insane longevity in a genre of competition that seems to favor youth. Legendary run.

There are technically a handful of additional categories around eSports but, to be honest, I just don’t know much about any of them. I think Evil Geniuses will probably win Best eSports Team but only because it’s the Only Team Whose Name I Recognize.