South by Southwest Gaming has announced the winners of the second-annual SXSW Gaming Awards which was co-emceed by actress and comedian Janet Varney and popular YouTube personality Markiplier. In all, 21 awards were handed out, with Dragon Age: Inquisition taking the top honor as Game of the Year. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor followed with three award wins, including Excellence in Gameplay and Excellence in Animation.
Speedrunners was chosen by gamers on the show floor to take home the Gamer’s Voice Award, beating out 29 other games showcased in the SXSW Gaming Indie Corner. To be considered for the Gamer’s Voice Award, games must have had less than $1 million in funding; a working and playable demo; and be released by the end of 2015 or shortly thereafter.
Here is a list of the winners of the second-annual SXSW Gaming Awards:
Game of the Year: Awarded to the indie or mainstream game that exemplifies gaming excellence.
- WINNER: Dragon Age: Inquisition – Electronic Arts/BioWare
Mobile Game of the Year: Awarded to the mobile game that exemplifies gaming excellence
- WINNER: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – Blizzard Entertainment
Table Top Game of the Year: Awarded to the table top game that exemplifies gaming excellence
- WINNER: Star Realms – White Wizard Games
Excellence in Gameplay: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in gameplay mechanics
- WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in Art: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in art and design
- WINNER: Child of Light – Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal
Excellence in Animation: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in animation
- WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in Technical Achievement: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in technical achievement
- WINNER: Destiny – Activision/Bungie
Excellence in Visual Achievement: Awarded to the game that best exemplifies stunning visuals
- WINNER: Far Cry 4 – Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal
Excellence in Narrative: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in game narrative
- WINNER: The Wolf Among Us – Telltale Games
Excellence in Design and Direction: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence design and direction
- WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in SFX: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence game sound effects
- WINNER: Alien: Isolation – SEGA/The Creative Assembly
Excellence in Musical Score: Awarded to the title that exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score, and how it is used to progress the narrative of a game
- WINNER: Transistor – Supergiant Games
Excellence in Multiplayer: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in multiplayer gaming
- WINNER: Super Smash Bros. Wii U – Nintendo
Excellence in Convergence: Awarded to the game that best exemplifies excellence in the crossover to other entertainment mediums such as film, music, toys, animation, sports and more
- WINNER: South Park: The Stick of Truth – Ubisoft/Obsidian Entertainment
Most Valuable Character: Awarded to the best game character that left an overwhelming impression
- WINNER: Ellie, The Last of Us: Left Behind – Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog
Most Valuable Esports Team: Awarded to the professional team that excelled in performance and provided the most valuable impact in its competitive scene(s)
- WINNER: Cloud9
Most Valuable Online Channel: Awarded to the gaming-related channel that consistently entertains and keeps us watching with its humor, stories, special effects and more
- WINNER: Rooster Teeth
Most Valuable Add-On Content: Awarded to the best additional content or DLC that added even more value to a great game making the experience that much better
- WINNER: The Last of Us: Left Behind – Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog
Most Anticipated Crowdfunded Game: Awarded to the most highly-anticipated crowdfunded game, through such platforms as Kickstarter, Early Access, Indiegogo, that lived up to expectations or has yet to grace our collections
- WINNER: Star Citizen – Cloud Imperium Games
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award: Awarded to the title that most challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming, and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character or gameplay
- WINNER: This War of Mine – 11 Bit Studios
Gamer’s Voice Award: Awarded to the favorite game in the Indie Corner as decided exclusively by gamers on the SXSW Gaming Expo floor
- WINNER: Speedrunners – tinyBuild