God of War Captures “Game of the Year” at 2018-2019 SXSW Gaming Awards

Sony Santa Monica’s God of War continued its award-winning ways this weekend with a trio of wins at the 2018-2019 SXSW Gaming Awards. The action-adventure title was awarded “Game of the Year” by SXSW’s Gaming Advisory Board, as well as “Excellence In Design” and “Excellence in Visual Achievement.”

The rest of the 2018-2019 SXSW Gaming Awards were spread out among a large number of games, and like Kratos, several managed to secure multiple victories. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 was the only other game to win in three categories, and it took home some hardware as the “Trending Game of the Year,” along with “Excellence in Technical Achievement” and “Excellence in SFX.”

Insomniac’s Spider-Man won two awards (“Excellence in Convergence” and “Excellence in Animation”), as did Epic’s Fortnite (“Most Promising New Esports Game” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”) and Beat Games’s Beat Saber (“VR Game of the Year” and “Most Promising New Intellectual Property”).

Congratulations to all the winners, and you can find a complete list of every winning game (and all the nominees) from the 2018-2019 SXSW Gaming Awards after the break.

Video Game of the Year

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

  • WINNER: God of War
  • Celeste
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Spider-Man
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Mobile Game of the Year

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

  • WINNER: Donut County
  • Alto’s Odyssey
  • Florence
  • Fortnite
  • Marvel Strike Force

VR Game of the Year

Awarded to the VR game that exemplifies overall excellence in gameplay and design across any VR platform.

  • WINNER: Beat Saber
  • Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
  • Moss
  • Sprint Vector
  • Tetris Effect

Most Evolved Game

Awarded to the game that was enhanced with the best additional content after its original release.

  • WINNER: No Man’s Sky: Next
  • Destiny 2: Forsaken
  • Fortnite
  • Overwatch
  • Pokemon Go

Most Promising New Esports Game

Awarded to the online game that has the best competitive scene, or potential to grow one, and most entertainment value.

  • WINNER: Fortnite
  • NBA 2K19
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
  • Soul Calibur VI

Tabletop Game of the Year

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

  • WINNER: Root
  • Brass: Birmingham
  • Everdell
  • Keyforge: Call of the Archons
  • Western Legends

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.

  • WINNER: Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Beat Saber
  • Celeste
  • Spider-Man
  • Monster Hunter: World

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.

  • WINNER: Celeste
  • 11-11: Memories Retold
  • Monster Prom
  • The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
  • Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

Excellence in Narrative

Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue.

  • WINNER: Detroit: Become Human
  • Celeste
  • Florence
  • God of War
  • Spider-Man

Excellence in Design

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

  • WINNER: God of War
  • Donut County
  • Into the Breach
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Excellence in Gameplay

Awarded to the game with the best gameplay mechanics.

  • WINNER: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  • Beat Saber
  • Dead Cells
  • God of War
  • Spider-Man

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.

  • WINNER: CrossCode
  • Monster Prom
  • Moonlighter
  • Root
  • Wandersong

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.

  • WINNER: Beat Saber
  • Ashen
  • Dead Cells
  • Gris
  • Octopath Traveler

Excellence in Multiplayer

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

  • WINNER: Fortnite
  • Destiny 2: Forsaken
  • Monster Hunter: World
  • Overcooked 2
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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: Spider-Man
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • FIFA 19
  • Jurassic World Evolution
  • Star Trek: Fleet Command

Excellence in Art

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

  • WINNER: Octopath Traveler
  • Gris
  • Spider-Man
  • Return of the Obra Dinn
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Excellence in Animation

Awarded to the game with the most outstanding animations.

  • WINNER: Spider-Man
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • God of War
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Excellence in Visual Achievement

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

  • WINNER: God of War
  • Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Gris
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Excellence in Technical Achievement

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

  • WINNER: Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • God of War
  • Spider-Man

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: Tetris Effect
  • Celeste
  • Gris
  • Octopath Traveler
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Excellence in SFX

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

  • WINNER: Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Battlefield V
  • Forza Horizon 4
  • God of War
  • Tetris Effect

Author: VGC | John

John Scalzo has been writing about video games since 2001, and he co-founded Warp Zoned in 2011. Growing out of his interest in game history, the launch of Video Game Canon followed in 2017.