December the 3rd 2015 saw thousands of gaming fans from around the world tune into the second edition of The Game Awards.
Hosted and produced by Geoff Keighley at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, the ‘ultimate video games celebration’ welcomed the industry’s most talented individuals and developers to recognise their achievements over the past year.
Broadcast to millions across several platforms, gaming fans tuned in to see new gameplay from Uncharted 4: A Theif’s End, Rocket League on the Xbox One and Quantum Break. The nominees were selected by a panel of 30 different international media agencies, while 6 categories were decided through public voting.
Amongst the list, eSports was well represented with categories for eSports Game of the Year, eSports Player of the Year and eSports Team of the Year.
Here at Gfinity, we are delighted to congratulate OpTic Gaming and Kenny ‘KennyS’ Schrub for receiving the expertly crafted WETA statuettes in their respective categories. Their constant professionalism has given eSports a new level of recognition from all over the world.
OpTic Gaming has been a household name in Call of Duty eSports for a number of years and has become one of the most recognisable brands in eSports. In recent years, they have gained an incredibly loyal fan base through YouTube and social media. Their recent success on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has exposed CoD eSports to casual viewers and has considerably aided the growth of one of the fastest growing eSports on the planet.
KennyS has been widely regarded as the best Counter Strike: Global Offensive player in the world. Known for his skill with the AWP and ability to clutch rounds when the odds are stacked against him, he currently plays for Team EnVyUs, one of the best teams in the game. Kenny recently won his first major title in CS:GO, defeating Na’Vi in the finals of DreamHack Cluj-Napoca, winning $250,000.
The Game Awards emphasises the rapid expansion of the gaming industry. Awards for the eSports community give it the much needed exposure for it to continue its ascendance into the mainstream. With 2015 coming to an end, we are very excited to sees what the next year in gaming has in store for us.
A full list of nominees and award winners for each category will be listed below:
Game of the Year - Winner: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Bloodborne
- Fallout 4
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Super Mario Maker
Developer of the Year - Winner: CD Projekt Red
- From Software
- Kojima Productions
- Nintendo
- Bethesda Game Studios
Best Independent Game - Winner: Rocket League
- Axiom Verge
- Her Story
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- Undertale
Best Mobile/Handheld Game - Winner: Lara Croft Go
- Downwell
- Fallout Shelter
- Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
- Pac-Man 256
Best Narrative - Winner: Her Story
- Life Is Strange
- Tales From The Borderlands
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Until Dawn
Best Art Direction - Winner: Ori and the Blind Forest
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Bloodborne
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Best Score/Soundtrack - Winner: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Fallout 4
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Best Performance - Winner: Viva Seifert (Her Story)
- Ashly Burch as Chloe Price (Life is Strange)
- Camilla Luddington as Lara Croft (Rise of the Tomb Raider)
- Doug Cockle as Geralt (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)
- Mark Hamill as The Joker (Batman: Arkham Knight)
Games for Change Award - Winner: Life Is Strange (DONTNOD Entertainment / Square Enix)
- Cibele (Nina Freeman)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Sunset (Tale of Tales)
- Undertale (tobyfox)
Best Shooter - Winner: Splatoon
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- Destiny: The Taken King
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Star Wars Battlefront
Best Action/Adventure Game - Winner: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
Best Role Playing Game - Winner: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Bloodborne
- Fallout 4
- Pillars of Eternity
- Undertale
Best Fighting Game - Winner: Mortal Kombat X
- Guilty Gear Xrd
- Rise of Incarnates
- Rising Thunder
Best Family Game - Winner: Super Mario Maker
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- Lego Dimensions
- Skylanders: SuperChargers
- Splatoon
Best Sports/Racing Game - Winner: Rocket League
- FIFA 16
- Forza Motorsport 6
- NBA 2K16
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2016
Best Multiplayer - Winner: Splatoon
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- Destiny: The Taken King
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Rocket League
Most Anticipated Game - Winner: No Man's Sky
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Quantum Break
- The Last Guardian
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
eSports Player of the Year - Winner: Kenny "KennyS" Schrub
- Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok
- Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer
- Peter "ppd" Dager
- Syed Sumail "Suma1L" Hassan
eSports Team of the Year - Winner: OpTic Gaming
- Evil Geniuses
- Fnatic
- SK Telecom T1
- Team SoloMid
eSports Game of the Year - Winner: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Dota 2
- Hearthstone
- League of Legends
Trending Gamer - Winner: Greg Miller
- Total Biscuit
- Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles
- Markiplier
- PewDiePie
Best Fan Creation - Winner: Portal Stories: Mel (Prism Studios)
- GTA V – Targets (Hoodoo Operator)
- Real GTA (Corridor Digital)
- Super Mario Maker e-Reader Levels (Baddboy78 / theycallmeshaky)
- Twitch Plays Dark Souls (Twitch Community)
What do you think of the winners? Are there any games they missed out? Let us know in the comments below.
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