The D.I.C.E. Awards are all about Horizon Zero Dawn

It pulled in the most nominations

Here we go again. When the Game Developers Choice Awards recently listed its nominees, CJ wondered if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild had another win left. Well, it might actually have two!

The finalists for the 21st annual D.I.C.E. Awards are out and Breath of the Wild is contending with the likes of Cuphead, Horizon Zero Dawn, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Super Mario Odyssey for top honors. That said, Horizon Zero Dawn leads overall with ten nominations compared to Zelda‘s six.

We’ll see how everything shakes out beginning February 22 at 8:00pm Pacific.

Nominees for the 21st annual D.I.C.E. Awards

Game of the Year
Cuphead
Horizon Zero Dawn
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Cuphead
For Honor
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Cuphead
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Little Nightmares
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Assassin’s Creed Origins – Bayek
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – Senua
Horizon Zero Dawn – Aloy
Star Wars Battlefront II – Iden Versio
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy – Chloe Fraiser

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Call of Duty: WWII
Cuphead
Horizon Zero Dawn
RiME
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Destiny 2
Injustice 2
Star Wars Battlefront II
Super Mario Odyssey
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Night in the Woods
What Remains of Edith Finch
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Horizon Zero Dawn
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Action Game of the Year
Call of Duty: WWII
Cuphead
Destiny 2
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Horizon Zero Dawn
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Family Game of the Year
DropMix
GNOG
Just Dance 2018
SingStar Celebration
Snipperclips 

Fighting Game of the Year
ARMS
Injustice 2
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Nidhogg 2
Tekken 7 

Racing Game of the Year
DiRT 4
Forza Motorsport 7
Gran Turismo Sport
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Project CARS 2 

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
NieR:Automata
Persona 5
Torment: Tides of Numenera 

Sports Game of the Year
Everybody’s Golf
FIFA 18
Golf Clash
Madden NFL 18
MLB The Show 17 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Endless Space 2
Halo Wars 2
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Total War: Warhammer II
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen 

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
Robo Recall
Star Trek Bridge Crew
The Invisible Hours
Wilson’s Heart 

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Lone Echo/Echo Arena
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
Robo Recall
Space Pirate Trainer
Wilson’s Heart 

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
Everything
Gorogoa
Night in the Woods
Pyre
Snipperclips 

Handheld Game of the Year
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Metroid: Samus Returns
Monster Hunter Stories 

Mobile Game of the Year
Cat Quest
Fire Emblem Heroes
Gorogoa
Monument Valley 2
Splitter Critters 

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Call of Duty: WWII
Destiny 2
Fortnite
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Gorogoa
Horizon Zero Dawn
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Gorogoa
Horizon Zero Dawn
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
What Remains of Edith Finch

For reference, the last D.I.C.E. game of the year was Overwatch. Before that? Fallout 4.

Horizon Zero Dawn Leads with Ten Nominations for the 21st D.I.C.E. Awards [AIAS]