SXSW Gaming Awards announces 2022 final nominees

• Public Voting Now Live Online
• “Kena: Bridge of Spirits” Scores Four Nominations
• March 12th Virtual Show to be Produced by Georgia-Based Peach Maria Productions

The South by Southwest® Gaming Awards (SXSW®), celebrating the wide reach of gaming across areas such as art, design, narrative, gameplay, cultural innovation, and more, has today announced the Final Nominees across 12 categories in the ninth annual celebration of the industry. The SXSW Gaming Awards will be produced by Georgia-based Peach Maria Productions (pronounced muh-RY-uh), executive produced by Laurie Lockliear (upcoming esports reality series GameMaster,), and offered digitally as part of SXSW Online on March 12, 2022 at 7 p.m. CT, during the overall March 11-20, 2022 festivities.

Leading nominees include: “Kena: Bridge of Spirits,” from developer and publisher Ember Lab, scored four nominations. Five titles – “Deathloop,” “Inscryption,” “Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker,” “Forza Horizon 5” and “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” – each took three nominations.

Additionally, 12 titles received two nominations each, including “Before Your Eyes,” “Chicory: A Colorful Tale,” “Hell Let Loose,” “It Takes Two,” “Loop Hero,” “Lost Words: Beyond the Page,” “Resident Evil Village,” “Returnal,” “The Medium,” “The Wild At Heart,” “Unpacking” and “Valheim.”

Each year the SXSW Gaming Awards honor excellence throughout the industry, celebrating the talent that influences the medium and culture of gaming. The annual Gaming Awards celebrate the technical, artistic and design achievements of each year’s best titles and their creators.

Following a rigorous process of nominee selections, this year’s Awards will feature 40 unique games contending for honors in 12 categories. As with each year, the SXSW community will vote to help determine the final winners. Browse the list of nominees below, and vote here for favorite titles — the polls are open now through 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 8.

Once the voting closes, the winners will be determined through a weighted total of public voting, advisory board and SXSW staff input. The most innovative, culturally-influential and technically-perfect games of the year will be presented at the SXSW Gaming Awards ceremony on March 12. More information about the entry and judging process is available here.

“In a year where the convergence of the gaming and entertainment industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, SXSW is proud to showcase the most creative and innovative titles,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer for SXSW. “For a second year, SXSW is excited to bring the awards digitally to a global audience with our new partners Peach Maria Productions.

“Having attended and participated in SXSW programming for many years, we are excited and honored to produce this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards show, which emphasizes the ever-increasing convergence between gaming and the rest of the entertainment industry,” said Peach Maria Productions Executive Producer Laurie Lockliear. “Our goal is to make this year’s Awards fun, accessible and memorable for casual fans, hard-core gamers, industry insiders, game makers, producers and more.”

2022 FINAL NOMINEES

SXSW GAME OF THE YEAR

INDIE GAME OF THE YEAR

TABLETOP GAME OF THE YEAR

VR GAME OF THE YEAR

MATTHEW CRUMP CULTURAL INNOVATION AWARD

Awarded to the game that best challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay.

EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION, ART, & VISUAL ACHIEVEMENT

EXCELLENCE IN GAME DESIGN

EXCELLENCE IN ORIGINAL SCORE

EXCELLENCE IN MULTIPLAYER

EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE

EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO DESIGN

EXCELLENCE IN TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

All nominees will receive two SXSW Platinum Registrations to attend SXSW 2022.

SXSW will offer a hybrid event (in-person with online viewing and participation options). Recognizing that the Covid-19 landscape is changing rapidly, SXSW has updated its Covid-19 guidelines and will continue to coordinate with both the City of Austin and Austin Public Health on further guidance. More details on SXSW’s Covid protocols are available at sxsw.com/covid19-guidelines