Bloodborne, The Witcher 3 Headline Nominees for SXSW 2016 Gaming Awards

Though it’s renown for being a hotbed of cinematic activity, SXSW 2016 will soon descend on Austin, Texas for its annual celebration of film and interactive media. 

Among the events slated over the March 17-19 window is the SXSW Gaming Expo, and we now have word of the nominees in the running for an award. Highlighting the best of the best, the event’s gaming advisory board has selected the likes of Bloodborne, The Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain among many others. 

All 40 nominees will be playable on the show floor, and it is the SXSW attendees that will vote for the eventual winners in time for the awards ceremony taking place on March 19. Here’s the full rundown of each category:

GAME OF THE YEAR

Bloodborne

Fallout 4

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Undertale

TABLETOP GAME OF THE YEAR

Above and Below

Blood Rage

Codenames

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival

Pandemic Legacy

MOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR

Downwell

Fallout Shelter

Her Story

Lara Croft GO

SteamWorld Heist

EXCELLENCE IN GAMEPLAY

Bloodborne

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Rocket League

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Undertale

EXCELLENCE IN ART

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Bloodborne

Ori & the Blind Forest

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Yoshi’s Woolly World

EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Batman: Arkham Knight

Ori and the Blind Forest

Rise of the Tomb Raider

The Order: 1886

EXCELLENCE IN TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Fallout 4

Just Cause 3

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Until Dawn

EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ACHIEVEMENT

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Star Wars Battlefront

The Order: 1886

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE

Her Story

Life is Strange

SOMA

Tales from the Borderlands

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN

Bloodborne

Fallout 4

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Rocket League

Super Mario Maker

EXCELLENCE IN SFX

Bloodborne

Rise of the Tomb Raider

STar Wars Battlefront

The Order 1886

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL SCORE

Crypt of the Necrodancer

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Ori and the Blind Forest

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

EXCELLENCE IN MULTIPLAYER

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

Halo 5: Guardians

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Rocket League

Splatoon

EXCELLENCE IN CONVERGENCE

Batman: Arkham Knight

Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition

Guitar Hero Life

Rock Band 4

Star Wars Battlefront

MOST ENDURING CHARACTER

Geralt (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

Hannah Smith (Her Story)

The Joker (Batman: Arkham Knight)

Lara Croft (Rise of the Tomb Raider)

Ori (Ori and the Blind Forest)

MOST VALUABLE ESPORTS TEAM

Cloud9

Counter Logic

Evil Geniuses

Team Archon

Team EnVyUs

MOST ENTERTAINING ONLINE PERSONALITY

Angry Joe

Greg Miller

Markiplier

PewDiePie

Tim Schafer

MOST FULFILLING CROWDFUNDED GAME

Broken Age

Kerbal Space Program

Kingdom Death: Monster

PIllars of Eternity

Undertale

MOST PROMISING NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Bloodborne

Life is Strange

Ori and the Blind Forest

Splatoon

Undertale

THE MATTHEW CRUMP CULTURAL INNOVATION AWARD

Emily is Away

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Her Story

Life is Strange

Undertale

What do our readers think of the nominees and, more importantly, who will emerge victorious from each category? 

[Source: SXSW]

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