The nominations for the 2022 DICE Awards have been revealed by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS), with the winners set to be announced in an award ceremony held on 24 February 2022 as part of the DICE Summit. The awards are decided on by a hand-picked AIAS panel, which typically consists of game developers and publishers.
While big-budget titles have earned many of the nominations, there are a few indies that have cracked through this year – Inscryption from Daniel Mullins sits alongside Deathloop, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Returnal and It Takes Two for Game of the Year, for example.
The strength of independent development has really shone through at the DICE Awards in recent years – Australia’s Untitled Goose Game took out the DICE Game of the Year award in 2019, followed by Supergiant’s Hades in 2020.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart picks up nine nominations this year, the most of any game, followed by Deathloop with eight nominations.
Australian games represented include The Forgotten City for Outstanding Achievement in Story, The Artful Escape for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and Unpacking for Outstanding Achievement in an Independent Game.
Read: Unpacking is GamesHub’s Game of the Year 2021
Call of Duty: Vanguard, which Melbourne’s Sledgehammer Games helped develop, is also up for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Art Direction, and Online Game of the Year.
2022 DICE Award Nominations
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (Sledgehammer Games/ Activision)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (Sledgehammer Games/ Activision)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Deathloop – Colt Vahn (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits – Kena (Ember Lab)
- Life is Strange: True Colors – Alex Chen (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Rivet (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village – Lady Dimitrescu (Capcom)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos-Montréal / Square Enix)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller / Dear Villagers)
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Battlefield 2042 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Moncage (Optillusion / XD)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Action Game of the Year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam /
Nintendo ) - Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Ascent (Neon Giant / Curve Games)
Adventure Game of the Year
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos-Montréal / Square Enix)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine / Xbox Game Studios)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Family Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise (Nintendo)
- Cozy Grove (Spry Fox / The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
- Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Warioware: Get it Together (Nintendo)
Fighting Game of the Year
- Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread, Type-Moon / Delightworks)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity & Fair Play Labs / Game Mill)
Racing Game of the Year
- F1 2021 (Codemasters / EA Originals)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
Role-Playing Game of the Year
- Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (Square Enix)
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (Owlcat Games / META Publishing)
- Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus /Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
- Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games / Whisper Games)
Sports Game of the Year
- EA Sports FIFA 22 (EA Originals)
- Mario Golf: Super Rush (Nintendo)
- NBA 2k22 (2K Games)
- Riders Republic (Ubisoft)
- The Climb 2 (Crytek)
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment, World’s Edge / Xbox Game Studios)
- Gloomhaven (Flaming Fowl Studios / Asmodee Digital)
- Griftlands (Klei Entertainment)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters / Devolver Digital)
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
- Puzzling Places (Realities.io)
- Resident Evil 4 VR (Capcom)
- Song in the Smoke (17-Bit)
- YUKI (ARVORE Immersive Experiences)
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Demeo (Resolution Games)
- I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 VR (Capcom)
- Song in the Smoke (17-Bit)
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve / Devolver Digital)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters / Devolver Digital)
- Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam / Humble Bundle)
Mobile Game of the Year
- Behind the Frame (Silver Lining Studio / Akupara Games, Akatsuki Taiwan Inc.)
- Fantasian (Mistwalker)
- League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
- Moncage (Optillusion)
- Pokémon Unite (TiMi Studio Group, The Pokémon Company / The Pokémon Company)
Online Game of the Year
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (Sledgehammer Games / Activision)
- Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (Square Enix)
- Halo Infinite (343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios / EA Originals)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters, Devolver Digital)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur / Annapurna Interactive)
Game of the Year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games / Devolver Digital)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Returnal (Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
