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