2017 was one hell of a year
The South by Southwest festivals and conferences have been going down this past week, once again in Austin, Texas, which includes this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards, co-hosted by IGN’s Alanah Pearce and Blizzard’s Richard Campbell.
The highlight of the night — and to be expected at this point — was definitely the Game of the Year award going to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and, of course, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds going home with a few awards as well. But, my personal highlights include the musical performance going on for five minutes too long and watching the incredible pre-recorded videos from Yoko Taro and friends.
As for the awards themselves, it was broken down into 24 categories this year and down below you’ll find the full list of winners:
Video Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Nintendo
Excellence in SFX
Super Mario Odyssey
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Nintendo
Excellence in Musical Score
NieR: Automata
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Developer: PlatinumGames
Excellence in Technical Achievement
NieR: Automata
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Developer: PlatinumGames
Excellence in Visual Achievement
Horizon Zero Dawn
- Publisher: Sony Computer Interactive
- Developer: Guerrilla Games
Excellence in Animation
Cuphead
- Publisher: StudioMDHR
- Developer: StudioMDHR
Excellence in Art
Cuphead
- Publisher: StudioMDHR
- Developer: StudioMDHR
Excellence in Convergence
Star Wars Battlefront II
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Developer: EA DICE
Excellence in Multiplayer
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Publisher: PUBG Corporation
- Developer: PUBG Corporation
Most Promising New Intellectual Property
Horizon Zero Dawn
- Publisher: Sony Computer Interactive
- Developer: Guerrilla Games
Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game
Night in the Woods
- Publisher: Finji
- Developer: Infinite Fall
Excellence in Gameplay
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Nintendo
Excellence in Design
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Nintendo
Excellence in Narrative
What Remains of Edith Finch
- Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
- Developer: Giant Sparrow
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award
Doki Doki Literature Club!
- Publisher: Team Salvato
- Developer: Team Salvato
Gamer’s Voice Award Video Game
Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars
- Publisher: Rooster Teeth Games
- Developer: Invisible Collective
Gamer’s Voice Award Mobile Game
Tiny Bubbles
- Publisher: Pine Street Codeworks LLC
- Developer: Pine Street Codeworks LLC
Gamer’s Voice Award Tabletop Game
Sol: Last Days of a Star
- Designer: Elephant Laboratories
Gamer’s Voice Award Virtual Reality Game
SUPERHOT VR
- Publisher: SUPERHOT Team
- Developer: SUPERHOT Team
Trending Game of the Year
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Publisher: PUBG Corporation
- Developer: PUBG Corporation
Esports Game of the Year
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Publisher: PUBG Corporation
- Developer: PUBG Corporation
Tabletop Game of the Year
Gloomhaven
- Designer: Issac Childres
Virtual Reality Game of the Year
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Publisher: Capcom
- Developer: Capcom
Mobile Game of the Year
Fire Emblem Heroes
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: DeNA, Intelligent Systems
For those of you curious what the “Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award” is for, it’s named after and dedicated to Matthew Crump; a SXSW Gaming Expo coordinator and game developer who passed away in 2014. The category is awarded for games that challenge the “norm” of gaming and can deliver a culturally innovative view of the game world, characters, or gameplay.
