In a ceremony held at the 2023 Game Developers Conference (GDC), Elden Ring, the fantasy action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware, won the coveted Game of the Year award. The award ceremony, which took place in San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, was a peer-based event where game developers voted for their peers’ creations.
Elden Ring received two additional awards for Best Visual Art and Best Design. Sony Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarok was another big winner of the evening, taking home Best Audio, Best Technology, and the Audience Award.
The 23rd annual Game Developer Choice Awards also honored the legendary John Romero, the co-founder of ID Software and the creator of iconic games like Doom, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mabel Addis, the first female game designer, was posthumously awarded the Pioneer Award for her work on The Sumerian Game in 1964, which is recognized as the first video game narrative ever.
Full List of 23rd Game Developer Choice Awards Winners
- Best Debut: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive)
- Best Visual Art: Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc./Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Best Audio: God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Best Narrative: Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Social Impact Award: Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller)
- Innovation Award: Immortality (Half Mermaid Productions)
- Best Technology: God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Best Design: Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc./Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Audience Award: God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Game of the Year: Elden Ring (FromSoftware Inc./Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Pioneer Award: Mabel Addis
- Lifetime Achievement Award: John Romero
Elden Ring has been sweeping up major Game of the Year awards since its release. It won Game of the Year at the 26th annual DICE Awards, the 2023 New York Game Awards, and The Game Awards 2022. With the announcement of an upcoming expansion, now is the perfect time to join the more than 20 million gamers who have already played this game.
