Best Multiplayer
"For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre."
- Fortnite
- Call of Duty: World War II
- Splatoon 2
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Destiny 2
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Any objections?
Most Anticipated Game
"Awarded to an upcoming game that has shown significant ambition and promise. Title must be announced and scheduled for release after December 7, 2017."
- The Last of Us Part II
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Monster Hunter World
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- God of War
Ditto?
Best Independent Game
"For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system."
- Pyre
- Night in the Woods
- Cuphead
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Seriously, everyone needs to play What Remains of Edith Finch.
Best Esports Game
"For the game that has delivered the best overall eSports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform."
- Rocket League
- League of Legends
- DOTA 2
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Overwatch
This feels like a bit of a dumb category at first blush. Would you have a "Best Sport" award? ("And this year the winner is... golf!") But we suppose it makes some sort of sense if you're going to judge the overall spectacle and experience of engaging with an esport. On that basis, we're going to go with CS:GO. Valve has taken a light touch with content updates - although the new Inferno was a clear success - but competition at the top of the sport is incredibly intense and exciting, the big championships have been surprisingly unpredictable, and the viewing experience is fantastic thanks to superb analysis from a range of experts.
Best Esports Player
"The eSports player judged to be the most outstanding performer in 2017, irrespective of game."
- Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi - Team Liquid, DOTA 2
- Je-hong "ryujehong" Ryu - Seoul Dynasty, Overwatch
- Nikola "NiKo" Kovac - FaZe Clan, CS:GO
- Marcelo "coldzera" David - SK Gaming, CS:GO
- Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok - SK Telecom T1, League of Legends
This is a list that doesn't include anyone from the teams that won either of the CS:GO Majors or the League of Legends World Championship, but hey ho. Let's give it to KuroKy, because Team Liquid's victory at The International still feels incredible.
Best Esports Team
"The eSports team judged to be the most outstanding for performance in 2017, inclusive of multi-team organizations."
- Team Liquid
- SK Telecom T1
- Lunatic-Hai
- FaZe Clan
- Cloud9
No space for Gambit, who won the CS:GO PGL Major against all expectations? Or even Astralis, who have had a tough season but were worthy kings of the world at the ELEAGUE Major in January? And what about League of Legends' Samsung Galaxy, a ragtag team who rose out of the ashes of the disbanded Samsung teams of three years ago, lost the last Worlds final and returned to conquer the mighty SKT T1 this year? Again, might as well give it to Team Liquid for The International.