The Game Awards 2022 GOTY nominations led by God of War Ragnarök, Elden Ring

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 cops a surprise GOTY nomination alongside Stray and Horizon Forbidden West

God of War Ragnarök which launched just last week, leads The Game Awards 2022 with 10 nominations announced on Monday, and FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is up for seven at the Dec. 8 show, where fans will celebrate the year’s best games — and, of course, keep an eye on all the trailers for things to come in 2023.

The game-of-the-year nominees include PlayStation exclusives God of War Ragnarök, Horizon Forbidden West, and Stray, alongside the Nintendo Switch-only Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and multiplatform launches Elden Ring and A Plague Tale: Requiem. All of the GOTY contenders are multiple nominees in other categories, too.

Who knows what will close out the evening on Dec. 8 with the GOTY announcement. The critical and commercial reception for Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök would seem to put either in the driver’s seat. And even if The Game Awards’ biggest draw is all of the “World Premiere” trailers for games that haven’t yet launched, this is still an event for fans, so there’s plenty of fan service and affirmation in seeing your favorite title get a thumbs-up.

So, with that said, here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2022, airing Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. EST on Twitch and YouTube.

Game of The Year

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Direction

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Immortality (Half Mermaid)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Narrative

Best Art Direction

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Score and Music

• Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring
• Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök
• Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger
• Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Audio

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Best Ongoing Game

• Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Mobile Game

• Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)
• Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)
• Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
• Marvel Snap (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)
• Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

Best Virtual Reality Game

• After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
• Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)
• Bonelab (Stress Level Zero)
• Moss: Book 2 (Polyarc)
• Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

Best Action Game

• Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
• Sifu (Sloclap)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Best Adventure Game

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• Tunic (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Role Playing Game

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)
• Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Fighting Game

• DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco)
• The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Sifu (Sloclap)

Best Sports/Racing Game

• F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)
• NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
• Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
• OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

Best Multiplayer Game

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
• Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
• Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Most Anticipated Game of 2023

• Final Fantasy 16 (Square Enix)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)