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The 25th annual DICE awards have officially wrapped up and after months of speculating which games would come out on top, we now have our list of winners.
Taking home the ceremony's prestigious Game of the Year award was none other than Hazelight Studio's It Takes Two, a quirky, cooperative adventure game all about a divorce gone terribly wrong. It Takes Two also won Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards, a pretty impressive accomplishment for the small studio.
Other big winners include Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which took home awards for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Technical Achievement, and Family Game of the Year, Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy (Adventure Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story), and Returnal (Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design and Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition).
In addition to announcing the various award recipients, the show also honored multiple industry leaders. Those recognized include NetherRealm Studios Ed Boon, the 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, as well as Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
You can see all the categories, and their nominees, below. The winners are printed in bold.
2021 DICE Awards Nominees
Winners in bold
Game of the Year
It Takes Two
Deathloop
Returnal
Inscryption
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Deathloop
It Takes Two
Inscryption
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
The Artful Escape
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
It Takes Two
Deathloop
Loop Hero
Inscryption
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Deathloop
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Resident Evil Village
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Deathloop
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Resident Evil Village
Outstanding Achievement in Character
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
Deathloop - Colt Vahn
Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Kena
Life is Strange: True Colors - Alex Chen
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Rivet
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Returnal
Deathloop
It Takes Two
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Psychonauts 2
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Returnal
Forza Horizon 5
Halo Infinite
It Takes Two
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Before Your Eyes
Inscryption
Psychonauts 2
The Forgotten City
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Battlefield 2042
Forza Horizon 5
Moncage
Returnal
Action Game of the Year
Halo Infinite
Deathloop
Metroid Dread
Returnal
The Ascent
Adventure Game of the Year
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Death's Door
It Takes Two
Psychonauts 2
Resident Evil Village
Family Game of the Year
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise
So here we are. Now that the storm has settled (a bit), it's worth discussing the big news. Of course, Microsoft’s announced acquisition of Activision Blizzard has sent shockwaves through the industry, an acquisition that somehow dwarfs the company’s previous mega-acquisition of Bethesda.
Call of Duty: Vanguard has only been out a few months, but Infinity Ward is wasting no time teasing its own game expected to arrive this year--in very vague terms. The Modern Warfare studio posted a very short message that is sure to get the community in a collective investigation to uncover its secrets.
With just two lines, the official Infinity Ward Twitter account confirmed a "new generation" of Call of Duty would be coming soon, telling fans to "stay frosty." This isn't a Wendy's reference, but a sign to keep alert for any more news.
A new generation of Call of Duty is coming soon. Stay frosty.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare released back in 2019 to positive reviews, reuniting us with past characters--albeit in a rebooted canon--and introducing a few new ones. It was heavily teased that a sequel was coming, and reports said it would be focused on Colombian drug cartels. This would be a big departure from 2009's Modern Warfare 2, which was almost entirely focused on a conflict between Russian ultranationalists and the joint task force from the original game. That being said, the conflict in the 2019 game takes some huge deviations from the original Modern Warfare, so it's entirely possible the cartel rumor is true.
The new game is expected to launch in 2022, following Activision Blizzard's annual release cycle. Whenever it does release, it will still be available on PlayStation consoles. It sounds from Infinity Ward's tweet that the game may not release on Xbox One or PS4, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed he wants to keep the series available on non-Xbox systems, and Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard is still pending regulatory approval. The next three games in the series will reportedly still be on PlayStation, with the future after that being unclear.
The video game industry reacts to the news that Sony is acquiring Bungie, the creators of Destiny and Halo, with takes ranging from optimistic to cautious.
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