21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards

The 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards was the 21st edition of the D.I.C.E. Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2017. The awards were arranged by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), and were held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Paradise, Nevada on February 22, 2018 (2018-02-22). It was also held as part of the Academy's 2018 D.I.C.E. Summit, and was co-hosted by Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News, and Kinda Funny co-founder Greg Miller.

"Role-Playing Game of the Year" dropped the "Massively Multiplayer" part of the category's title.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won the most awards, including "Game of the Year", while Horizon Zero Dawn received the most nominations. Nintendo and Sony Computer Entertainment tied for being the most nominated publisher. Nintendo was the most award-winning developer and publisher, and had the most nominated and award-winning games. The Mario franchise became the first franchise to have three award-winning titles in a single year: Super Mario Odyssey won "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design", Mario Kart 8 Deluxe won "Racing Game of the Year", and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle won "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year".

Genyo Takeda, former CEO and long-time Special Corporate Advisor of Nintendo, received the "Lifetime Achievement Award".

Winners and Nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

Game of the Year Awards

Game of the Year The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD‡ Cuphead — Studio MDHR Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds — PUBG Corporation, Bluehole Super Mario Odyssey — Nintendo EPD
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds — PUBG Corporation, Bluehole‡ Call of Duty: WWII — Sledgehammer Games, Activision Destiny 2 — Bungie, Activision Fortnite — Epic Games Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands — Ubisoft Paris	D.I.C.E. Sprite Award Snipperclips — SFB Games, Nintendo‡ Everything — David OReilly, Double Fine Productions Gorogoa — Jason Roberts, Buried Signal, Annapurna Interactive Night in the Woods — Secret Lab, Infinite Fall, Finji Pyre — Supergiant Games
Handheld Game of the Year Metroid: Samus Returns — MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD‡ Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King — Square Enix, Nintendo Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth — Atlus Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia — Intelligent Systems, Nintendo Monster Hunter Stories — Capcom, Marvelous Inc., Nintendo	Mobile Game of the Year Fire Emblem Heroes — Intelligent Systems, Nintendo‡ Cat Quest — The Gentlebros, PQube Gorogoa — Jason Roberts, Buried Signal, Annapurna Interactive Monument Valley 2 — ustwo Splitter Critters — RAC7 Games

Immersive Reality Awards

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

Lone Echo — Ready at Dawn, Oculus Studios‡
- Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin — Double Fine Productions
- Robo Recall — Epic Games
- Space Pirate Trainer — I-Illusions
- Wilson's Heart — Twisted Pixel Games, Oculus Studios

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

Lone Echo — Ready at Dawn, Oculus Studios‡
- Robo Recall — Epic Games
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew — Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft
- The Invisible Hours — Tequila Works, GameTrust Games
- Wilson's Heart — Twisted Pixel Games, Oculus Studios

Craft Awards

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD‡ Gorogoa — Jason Roberts, Buried Signal, Annapurna Interactive Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Uncharted: The Lost Legacy — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment What Remains of Edith Finch — Giant Sparrow, Annapurna Interactive	Outstanding Achievement in Game Design The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD‡ Gorogoa — Jason Roberts, Buried Signal, Annapurna Interactive Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds — PUBG Corporation, Bluehole Super Mario Odyssey — Nintendo EPD
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Cuphead — Studio MDHR‡ For Honor — Ubisoft Montreal Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice — Ninja Theory Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Uncharted: The Lost Legacy — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Cuphead — Studio MDHR‡ Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice — Ninja Theory Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Little Nightmares — Tarsier Studios, Bandai Namco Entertainment The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD
Outstanding Achievement in Character Senua *(Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)* — Ninja Theory‡ Bayek (Assassin's Creed Origins) — Ubisoft Montreal Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn) — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Iden Versio (Star Wars Battlefront II) — DICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Games, Electronic Arts Chloe Frazer (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy) — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Cuphead — Studio MDHR‡ Call of Duty: WWII — Sledgehammer Games, Activision Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment RiME — Tequila Works, Grey Box Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — MachineGames, Bethesda Softworks
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Super Mario Odyssey — Nintendo EPD‡ Destiny 2 — Bungie, Activision Injustice 2 — NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Star Wars Battlefront II — DICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Games, Electronic Arts Uncharted: The Lost Legacy — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Story Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice — Ninja Theory Night in the Woods — Secret Lab, Infinite Fall, Finji What Remains of Edith Finch — Giant Sparrow, Annapurna Interactive Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — MachineGames, Bethesda Softworks
Outstanding Technical Achievement Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment‡ Assassin's Creed Origins — Ubisoft Montreal Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice — Ninja Theory Lone Echo — Ready at Dawn, Oculus Studios The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD

Genre Awards

Action Game of the Year PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds — PUBG Corporation, Bluehole‡ Call of Duty: WWII — Sledgehammer Games, Activision Cuphead — Studio MDHR Destiny 2 — Bungie, Activision Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — MachineGames, Bethesda Softworks	Adventure Game of the Year The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo EPD‡ Assassin's Creed Origins — Ubisoft Montreal Horizon Zero Dawn — Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment Super Mario Odyssey — Nintendo EPD Uncharted: The Lost Legacy — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Family Game of the Year Snipperclips — SFB Games, Nintendo‡ DropMix — Harmonix, Hasbro Gnog — KO_OP, Double Fine Productions Just Dance 2018 — Ubisoft Paris SingStar Celebration — SIE London Studio	Fighting Game of the Year Injustice 2 — NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ ARMS — Nintendo EPD Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite — Capcom Nidhogg 2 — Messhof Tekken 7 — Bandai Namco Entertainment
Racing Game of the Year Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — Nintendo EPD‡ Dirt 4 — Codemasters Forza Motorsport 7 — Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios Gran Turismo Sport — Polyphony Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment Project CARS 2 — Slightly Mad Studios, Bandai Namco Entertainment	Role-Playing Game of the Year Nier: Automata — PlatinumGames, Square Enix‡ Divinity: Original Sin II — Larian Studios Middle-earth: Shadow of War — Monolith Productions, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Persona 5 — Atlus Torment: Tides of Numenera — inXile Entertainment, Techland Publishing
Sports Game of the Year FIFA 18 — EA Vancouver, EA Romania‡ Everybody's Golf — SIE Japan Studio, Clap Hanz Golf Clash — Playdemic Madden NFL 18 — EA Tiburon MLB The Show 17 — SIE San Diego	Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle — Ubisoft Milan, Ubisoft Paris‡ Endless Space 2 — Amplitude Studios, Sega Halo Wars 2 — Creative Assembly, Microsoft Studios Total War: Warhammer II — Creative Assembly, Sega XCOM 2: War of the Chosen — Firaxis Games, 2K Games

Special Awards

Lifetime Achievement

Genyo Takeda

Multiple nominations and awards

Multiple Nominations

Games that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Game
10	Horizon Zero Dawn
6	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
5	Cuphead
	Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
	Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
4	Gorogoa
	PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
	Super Mario Odyssey
3	Assassin's Creed Origins
	Call of Duty: WWII
	Destiny 2
	Lone Echo
	Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
2	Injustice 2
	Night in the Woods
	Robo Recall
	Snipperclips
	Star Wars Battlefront II
	What Remains of Edith Finch
	Wilson's Heart

Nominations by company
Nominations	Games	Company
19	10	Nintendo
19	6	Sony Interactive Entertainment
10	1	Guerrilla Games
8	6	Ubisoft
6	2	Activision
6	2	Annapurna Interactive
5	2	Oculus Studios
	1	Naughty Dog
		Ninja Theory
		Studio MDHR
4	3	Electronic Arts
	1	Bluehole
		Buried Signal
		Jason Roberts
		PUBG Corporation
3	3	Bandai Namco Entertainment
	3	Double Fine Productions
	2	Epic Games
	2	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
	1	Bethesda Softworks
		Bungie
		Sledgehammer Games
		MachineGames
		Ready at Dawn
2	2	Atlus
		Capcom
		Creative Assembly
		Intelligent Systems
		Microsoft Studios
		Sega
		Square Enix
		Tequila Works
	1	Criterion Games
		DICE
		Finji
		Giant Sparrow
		Infinite Fall
		Motive Studios
		NetherRealm Studios
		Secret Lab
		SFB Games
		Twisted Pixel Games

Multiple awards

Games that received multiple awards
Awards	Game
4	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3	Cuphead
2	Horizon Zero Dawn
	Lone Echo
	PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
	Snipperclips

Awards by company
Awards	Games	Company
10	6	Nintendo
3	1	Studio MDHR
2		Bluehole
		Guerrilla Games
		Oculus Studios
		PUBG Corporation
		Ready at Dawn
		SFB Games
		Sony Interactive Entertainment

Notes

Nintendo 3DS version.

References

"21st Annual D.I.C.E. Award Winners". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
"21st DICE Awards Winners Release FINAL 2-22-18" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
"21st Annual DICE Awards Rules and Procedures" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
"Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Special Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
"21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists Announced". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
"21st Annual D.I.C.E. Award Winners Announced". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved December 21, 2023.

External links

Official website

v t e D.I.C.E. Awards
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Game of the Year Mobile Online Independent Game Immersive Reality (Technical Achievement)
Craft Awards	Game Direction Game Design Animation Art Direction Character Original Music Composition Audio Design Story Technical
Genre Awards	Action Adventure Family Fighting Racing Role-Playing Sports Strategy/Simulation
Ceremonies	1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Related	Cybermania '94

v t e D.I.C.E. Awards' Game of the Year
GoldenEye 007 (1997/1998) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998/1999) The Sims (1999/2000) Diablo II (2000) Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) Battlefield 1942 (2002) Call of Duty (2003) Half-Life 2 (2004) God of War (2005) Gears of War (2006) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) LittleBigPlanet (2008) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) Mass Effect 2 (2010) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) Journey (2012) The Last of Us (2013) Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) Fallout 4 (2015) Overwatch (2016) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) God of War (2018) Untitled Goose Game (2019) Hades (2020) It Takes Two (2021) Elden Ring (2022) Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

D.I.C.E. Awards' Game of the Year

GoldenEye 007 (1997/1998)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998/1999)
The Sims (1999/2000)
Diablo II (2000)
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
Battlefield 1942 (2002)
Call of Duty (2003)
Half-Life 2 (2004)
God of War (2005)
Gears of War (2006)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
LittleBigPlanet (2008)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
Mass Effect 2 (2010)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
Journey (2012)
The Last of Us (2013)
Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)
Fallout 4 (2015)
Overwatch (2016)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
God of War (2018)
Untitled Goose Game (2019)
Hades (2020)
It Takes Two (2021)
Elden Ring (2022)
Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

Portal:

Video games

Categories: