The Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2017 nominees have been revealed, and they’re led by Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Mario + Rabbids Battle Kingdom, which all have four nominations each. Games with three nominations include Assassin’s Creed Origins, Destiny 2, and Super Mario Odyssey.
By platform, PlayStation 4 is tied with PC at 49 nominations, followed by Xbox One with 44, and Nintendo Switch with 17. Ubisoft is the top publisher with 14 nominations (up 11 from the previous year), followed by Sony Interactive Entertainment with 7 and Bethesda with 6.
The winners will be announced later this week.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Best of Show
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Original Game
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Console Game
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best PC Game
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best VR Game
- Doom VFR (id Software/Bethesda)
- Fallout 4 VR (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
- Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studio)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Transference (SpectreVision/Ubisoft)
Best Mobile/Handheld
- Durango (What Studio/Nexon)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam/Nintendo)
- Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- King’s Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon (Square Enix)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Atlus)
Best Hardware
- Astro A10 Gaming Headset (Astro)
- DisplayLink XR (DisplayLink)
- Razer Thresher Ultimate (Razer)
- Logitech PowerPlay Mat (Logitech)
- Xbox One X (Microsoft)
Best Action Game
- Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent).
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
Best RPG
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar (Airship Syndicate/THQ Nordic)
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
- Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft SF/South Park Digital Studios/Ubisoft)
- Vampyr (Dotnod Entertainment/Focus Home Interactive)
Best Fighting Game
- ARMS (Nintendo)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
- Pokken Tournament DX (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Co.)
Best Racing Game
- Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios)
- Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Ent)
- Need for Speed Payback (Ghost Games/Electronic Arts)
- Project CARS 2 (Slighty Mad Studios/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft)
Best Sports Game
- FIFA 18 (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
- Madden NFL 18 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions/Konami)
Best Strategy Game
- Battletech (Harebrained Schemes/Paradox Interactive)
- Frostpunk (11 bit Studios)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft)
- Total War: Arena (Creative Assembly/Sega/Wargaming)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Best Family/Social Game
- DropMix (Harmonix/Hasbro)
- Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (TT Games/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Ent.)
- That’s You (Wish Studios/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Best Online Multiplayer
- Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
- Ashen (Aurora 44/Annapurna Interactive)
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Inti Creates/505 Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito/Annapurna Interactive)
- Laser League (Roll7/505 Games)
- The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive)
The nominees and winners are chosen by 38 publications from around the world.
For a game to be eligible for nomination, it needed to be playable in real-time for a minimum of five minutes. Some of the titles ineligible for nomination include the following: Anthem, A Way Out, Beyond Good & Evil 2, God of War, Kingdom Hearts III, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Metro Exodus, Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Colossus, Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Evil Within 2, and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
There will also be three Special Commendations – for Graphics, Sound, and Innovation – and non-playable games are eligible.
Last year, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home Best of Show.
You can see our Best of E3 Awards over here.
Who do you think will win Best of Show this year?
[Source: Game Critics Awards via Geoff Keighley]
