The 2022 DICE Awards were handed out last night, and much of it came down to a slugfest between two predictable behemoths, Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok. In the end, it was basically a draw: God of War won seven awards compared to five for Elden Ring, but Elden Ring came away with the gold for Game of the Year.
Tim Schafer of Double Fine Productions was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame at the event "for his amazing contributions to the video game industry over his illustrious 30+ year career," the AIAS said. Schafer apparently biffed his acceptance speech.
And now I spelled Klingon wrong. This just keeps getting worse. 😭February 24, 2023
Most of the award winners aren't surprising, given the way 2022 was dominated by Elden Ring and God of War, although I do have to wonder how God of War ended up classified as an adventure game—and, to a (slightly) lesser extent, take issue with Elden Ring taking the RPG of the Year title. Games aren't automatically RPGs just because they've got swords and some magic, you know?
(And yes, Elden Ring is in our list of the Best RPGs in 2022, too. I'm taking that up with management.)
Vampire Survivors claimed Action Game of the Year, a big win for a tiny indie, and Dwarf Fortress, which has been around since 2006, won Strategy/Simulation of the Year on the strength of its 1.0 release that landed in December.
The one mildly disappointing outcome was in the Fighting Game of the Year category, which went to MultiVersus. I have no beef with MultiVersus, for the record, but I was really pulling for Rumbleverse, the pro rasslin' battle royale that's being shut down on February 28, just six months after it launched. The shutdown is inevitable at this point but it would have been nice to see Iron Galaxy get some public kudos and a little gold before it happens.
But such is the way of awards shows: Everybody's going to come away a little disappointed (or a little mad) about something. That's what makes them fun! So let's get to it—the full list of winners is below.
🏆 Game of the Year: Elden Ring
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Elden Ring
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Game Design: Elden Ring
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Animation: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Character: God of War Ragnarök - Kratos
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Outstanding Achievement in Story: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Outstanding Technical Achievement: Elden Ring
🏆 Action Game of the Year: Vampire Survivors
🏆 Adventure Game of the Year: God of War Ragnarök
🏆 Family Game of the Year: Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
🏆 Fighting Game of the Year: MultiVersus
🏆 Racing Game of the Year: Gran Turismo 7
🏆 Role-Playing Game of the Year: Elden Ring
🏆 Sports Game of the Year: OlliOlli World
🏆 Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Dwarf Fortress
🏆 Online Game of the Year: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
🏆 Immersive Reality Technical Achievement: Red Matter 2
🏆 Immersive Reality Game of the Year: Red Matter 2
🏆 Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game: Tunic
🏆 Mobile Game of the Year: Marvel Snap
