Baldur’s Gate 3 Cruises to its Third “Game of the Year” Award of the Season at the 2023-2024 GDC Awards

The voters at the Game Developer’s Choice Awards have thrown their lot in with the biggest RPG of the year for the second straight year, bestowing “Game of the Year” honors on Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3 earlier this week at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco.

This is the third major “Game of the Year” trophy that Larian has collected this season (including the DICE Awards in February and The Game Awards in December). We’ll know if they can complete the sweep after the conclusion of the BAFTA Games Awards in a few weeks.

That said, Larian wasn’t quite done with the 2023-2024 GDC Awards. Members of the development team took the stage an additional three times to collect “Best Design”, “Best Narrative”, and the “Audience Award”. But Baldur’s Gate 3 couldn’t win them all, and there were six other awards up for grabs during this year’s ceremony.

Two of those prizes went to Nintendo for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which took home the “Best Technology” trophy and the “Innovation Award”. Venba, from Visai Games, also bested the competition in a pair of categories. The game’s story of an immigrant family and the food they cook to preserve their culture won “Best Debut” and the “Social Impact Award”.

That leaves just two awards, and they were split between a pair of impressive titles. “Best Audio” went to Tango Gameworks’s Hi-Fi Rush, while “Best Visual Art” belonged to Remedy’s Alan Wake II.

The 2023-2024 GDC Awards were hosted by Alanah Pearce, and you can view the ceremony, along with a complete list of all winners, nominees, and honorable mentions, after the break.

Game of the Year

• WINNER: Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cocoon
• Dave the Diver
• Dredge
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Spider-Man 2

Honorable Mentions
Alan Wake II, Diablo IV, Final Fantasy XVI, Sea of Stars, Starfield, Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Best Design

• WINNER: Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cocoon
• Dredge
• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Honorable Mentions
Dave the Diver, Sea of Stars, Spider-Man 2, Street Fighter 6, Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Best Visual Art

• WINNER: Alan Wake II
• Cocoon
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Honorable Mentions
Diablo IV, Dredge, Lies of P, Sea of Stars, Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Best Narrative

• WINNER: Baldur’s Gate 3
• Alan Wake II
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Spider-Man 2
• Venba

Honorable Mentions
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Dredge, Goodbye Volcano High, Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores, Starfield

Best Audio

• WINNER: Hi-Fi Rush
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Spider-Man 2
• Venba

Honorable Mentions
Cocoon, Diablo IV, Final Fantasy XVI, Hogwarts Legacy, Humanity

Best Technology

• WINNER: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Alan Wake II
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Spider-Man 2
• Starfield

Honorable Mentions
Cocoon, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Diablo IV, Final Fantasy XVI, Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores

Innovation Award

• WINNER: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cocoon
• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Making of Karateka

Honorable Mentions
Dave the Diver, Dredge, Spider-Man 2, Starfield, Viewfinder

Social Impact Award

• WINNER: Venba
• Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• A Space for the Unbound
• Terra Nil

Honorable Mentions
Goodbye Volcano High, Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores, Spider-Man 2, Tchia, Thirsty Suitors

Best Debut

• WINNER: Venba
• Cocoon
• Dave the Diver
• Dredge
• Viewfinder

Honorable Mentions
BattleBit Remastered, Party Animals, Pizza Tower, Planet of Lana, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

Audience Award

• WINNER: Baldur’s Gate 3

Ambassador Award

• WINNER: Fawzi Mesmar

Lifetime Achievement Award

• WINNER: Yoko Shimomura