The Outer Worlds wins the Nebula Award for game writing

(Image credit: Obsidian)

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has presented The Outer Worlds with a Nebula Award for game writing, it announced over the weekend. 

While the awards show initially only covered novels and short stories, it's slowly expanded to include film and TV scripts, dramatic presentations and, as of 2018, game writing. 

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The other nominees were Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, The Magician's Workshop and Fate Accessibility Toolkit. Of the group, The Outer Worlds is easily the most conventional, both in how the narrative is presented and its content, though there are moments and characters that are undeniably well written, most notably in the depiction of asexual romance through your companion, Parvati. 

I really thought Disco Elysium had this one in the bag, to be honest. Indeed, Disco Elysium ruined The Outer Worlds for me. There's no other game like it, and the quality of its writing and complexity of its themes is a big part of that. Outer Wilds also gave us a great story inventively told that combined gameplay and narrative in a way that would be hard to replicate outside of this interactive medium. 

Last year's winner was Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the interactive film.  

Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.