Dave the Diver Among Game of the Year Finalists for Game Developers Choice Awards 2024
The usual suspects were out in force in the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024 nominees, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3 leading the way with seven nominees apiece. But there were also some big surprises in the Game of the Year category, with Alan Wake 2 missing out in favor of Dave the Diver and Dredge.
Instead, Alan Wake 2 got the nod as an honorable mention in the list of finalists, which are voted on by game developers throughout the industry. Remedy's sequel wasn't entirely shut out though, earning nods in categories including Best Narrative and Best Visual Art. Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Tears of the Kingdom, COCOON, and Baldur's Gate 3 rounded out the rest of the Game of the Year nominees.
As for Dave the Diver, it's won praise for its unique mix of deep sea exploration and shopkeeping. In our review we called it "wholesome, wonderfully complex, and delightfully hard to put down."
The Game Developers Choice Awards are held every year during the Game Developer's Conference, which takes place in San Francisco in March. Last year's awards saw Elden Ring take home the big prize, with God of War Ragnarok also receiving plenty of recognition.
Check out the full list of nominees below. For more, check out the full list of IGN Awards in which we picked our own winners, and stay tuned as awards season continues.
BEST AUDIO
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
Venba (Visai Games)
Honorable Mentions: COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive), Diablo IV (Blizzard
Entertainment), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix), Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software / Portkey
Games), Humanity (tha ltd. and Enhance / Enhance)
BEST DEBUT
COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
Dave the Diver (Mintrocket)
Dredge (Black Salt Games / Team17)
Venba (Visai Games)
Viewfinder (Sad Owl
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