Announcing the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners

With the cancellation of SXSW 2020, we weren't able to host the seventh annual SXSW Gaming Awards as planned. But with a lineup of exceptional achievements by amazing teams and individuals from around the world, making sure their skill, artistry and heart is recognized and celebrated is more important than ever in turbulent times — and so we are proud to announce the honorees of the 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards and share their messages with you.

Special Recognition Award — Game Industry Champion of Change

Winner: Steven Spohn

Special Recognition Award — Game Industry Journalist of the Year

Winner: Cecilia D'Anastasio

Video Game of the Year

Winner: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — FromSoftware/Activision

Nominees: Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Devil May Cry 5 — Capcom; Disco Elysium — ZA/UM; Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts

Mobile Game of the Year

Winner: Sky: Children of the Light — thatgamecompany

Nominees: Call of Duty Mobile — TiMi Studios / Activision; Sayonara Wild Hearts — Simogo / Annapurna Interactive; Where Cards Fall — The Game Band / Snowman; Whispers of a Machine — Clifftop Games / Raw Fury

Tabletop Game of the Year

Winner: Paladins of the West Kingdom — Renegade Game Studios

Nominees: Parks — Keymaster Games; Pax Pamir — Wehrlegig Games; Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon — Awaken Realms; Taverns of Tiefenthal — North Star Games

XR Game of the Year

Winner: No Man's Sky BEYOND VR — Hello Games

Nominees: Blood & Truth — Sony Interactive Entertainment; Pistol Whip — Cloudhead Games; The Under Presents — Tender Claws; tori — BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc.

Trending Game of the Year

Winner: Pokemon Sword and Shield — Game Freak / The Pokemon Company, Nintendo

Nominees: Apex Legends — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts; Borderlands 3 — Gearbox Software / 2K Games; Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment; Super Mario Maker 2 — Nintendo

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award

Winner: Disco Elysium — ZA/UM

Nominees: Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment; Knights and Bikes — Foam Sword / Double Fine Productions; Overland — Finji; Sea of Solitude — Jo-Mei Games / Electronic Arts

Most Promising New Intellectual Property

Winner: The Outer Worlds — Obsidian Entertainment / Private Division

Nominees: Astral Chain — PlatinumGames / Nintendo; Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night — ArtPlay / 505 Games; Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Katana ZERO — Askiisoft / Devolver Digital

Excellence in Animation

Winner: KINGDOM HEARTS III — Square Enix

Nominees: Apex Legends — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts; Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment; Luigi's Mansion 3 — Nintendo; Mortal Kombat 11 — NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Art

Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening — Nintendo

Nominees: Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Disco Elysium — ZA/UM; Luigi's Mansion 3 — Nintendo; Sayonara Wild Hearts — Simogo / Annapurna Interactive

Excellence in Design

Winner: Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games

Nominees:Astral Chain — PlatinumGames / Nintendo; Disco Elysium — ZA/UM; Luigi's Mansion 3 — Nintendo; Outer Wilds — Mobius Digital / Annapurna Interactive

Excellence in Gameplay

Winner: Devil May Cry 5 — Capcom

Nominees: Astral Chain — PlatinumGames / Nintendo; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Infinity Ward / Activision; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — FromSoftware / Activision; Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts

Excellence in Multiplayer

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers — Square Enix

Nominees: Apex Legends — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Infinity Ward / Activision; Monster Hunter World: Iceborne — Capcom; Mortal Kombat 11 — NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Musical Score

Winner: Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Nominees: Devil May Cry 5 — Capcom; Disco Elysium — ZA/UM; Outer Wilds — Mobius Digital / Annapurna Interactive; Sayonara Wild Hearts — Simogo / Annapurna Interactive

Excellence in Narrative

Winner: Disco Elysium — ZA/UM

Nominees: Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment; Outer Wilds — Mobius Digital / Annapurna Interactive; A Plague Tale: Innocence — Asobo Studio / Focus Home Interactive

Excellence in SFX

Winner: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts

Nominees: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Infinity Ward / Activision; Luigi's Mansion 3 — Nintendo; Mortal Kombat 11 — NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; Resident Evil 2 — Capcom

Excellence in Technical Achievement

Winner: Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Nominees: Concrete Genie — Pixelopus / Sony Interactive Entertainment; Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Devil May Cry 5 — Capcom; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — FromSoftware / Activision

Excellence in Visual Achievement

Winner: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — FromSoftware/Activision

Nominees: Control — Remedy Entertainment / 505 Games; Death Stranding — Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment; The Outer Worlds — Obsidian Entertainment / Private Division; Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston. Other images and videos courtesy of award honorees.