Chris Crawford opened the doors to the very first Computer Game Developers Conference after welcoming two dozen other developers into his living room in 1988. The annual gathering has grown considerably in the years since (including being rechristened the Game Developers Conference in 1999), though Crawford bowed out of organizing the event in 1994.
UBM TechWeb, a company that specialized in trade shows and conferences, took over organizing the Game Developers Conference in the 1990s and they launched the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDC Awards) in 2001. Informa Tech, a British publishing company, took over as the organizer of the Game Developers Conference in 2020.
The GDC Awards are awarded every Spring at the Game Developers Conference, and both the nominees and the winners are selected by a group of “leading game creators from all parts of the industry.” Membership in this panel, which is known as the International Choice Awards Network, is available by invitation-only.
Before the creation of the GDC Awards, the Game Developers Conference hosted the Spotlight Awards from 1997 through 1999.
All the “Game of the Year” winners from the GDC Awards and the Spotlight Awards can be found here…
| YEAR | GAME OF THE YEAR WINNER |
|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | Baldur’s Gate 3 |
| 2022-2023 | Elden Ring |
| 2021-2022 | Inscryption |
| 2020-2021 | Hades |
| 2019-2020 | Untitled Goose Game |
| 2018-2019 | God of War |
| 2017-2018 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |
| 2016-2017 | Overwatch |
| 2015-2016 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
| 2014-2015 | Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor |
| 2013-2014 | The Last of Us |
| 2012-2013 | Journey |
| 2011-2012 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |
| 2010-2011 | Red Dead Redemption |
| 2009-2010 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves |
| 2008-2009 | Fallout 3 |
| 2007-2008 | Portal |
| 2006-2007 | Gears of War |
| 2005-2006 | Shadow of the Colossus |
| 2004-2005 | Half-Life 2 |
| 2003-2004 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic |
| 2002-2003 | Metroid Prime |
| 2001-2002 | Grand Theft Auto III |
| 2000-2001 | The Sims |
The “Game of the Year” winners from the Spotlight Awards have been collected here…
| 1998-1999 | No Award Given |
| 1997-1998 | No Award Given |
| 1996-1997 | Super Mario 64 |
More information about the Game Developers Choice Awards can be found at the ceremony’s official website.