Civilization 6 wins Game Critics Award for Best PC Game at E3

The winners of the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2016 have been announced, with the nod for Best PC Game of the show going to Civilization VI.   

The Game Critic Awards are judged by representatives of “major global media outlets that cover the videogame business,” including—naturally—the handsome, erudite lads of PC Gamer, who cast their ballots based on their own Best of E3 Awards. To be eligible, a game must be on display somewhere on the E3 floor show, either publicly or privately, and “be shown in a hands-on playable format.” That means a minimum of five minutes of real-time operation on its native platform. 

We spent some pre-E3 time with Civilization 6, which you can dig into here, and we've also got a good rundown of everything you need to know about it (so far, anyway). Other Game Critics Award winners on the PC include Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Forza 3, Steep, Inside, and Skylanders: Imaginators. The full list is below.   

Best of Show
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best Original Game
Horizon Zero Dawn
(Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

Best Console Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best VR Game
Batman: Arkham VR
(Rocksteady/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent for PlayStation 4)

Best PC Game
Civilization VI
(Firaxis/2K)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
PlayStation VR
(Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Action Game
Battlefield 1
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Action/Adventure Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best Role Playing Game
Final Fantasy XV
(Square-Enix for PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Racing Game
Forza Horizon 3
(Playground Games/Turn 10/Microsoft Studios for PC, Xbox One)

Best Sports Game
Steep
(Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Family Game
Skylanders: Imaginators
(Toys for Bob/Activision for PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Wii-U)

Best Online Multiplayer
Titanfall 2
(Respawn/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Independent Game
Inside
(Playdead for PC, Xbox One)

Special Commendation for Graphics
God of War
(Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4) 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.