The Game Awards 2023 winners have been announced, with Valorant coach Christine ‘potter’ Chi crowned Best Esports Coach (pictured above).
Baldur’s Gate 3 star Neil Newbon also beat out English acting royalty Idris Elba OBE to win Best Performance for his portrayal of charismatic rogue Astarion.
It has been a fruitful few weeks for Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor Newbon, who also won Best Supporting Performer at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023, where the game’s developer also scooped seven awards.
Taking place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Geoff Keighley presented the award show for the tenth time with help from celebrity guests including Christopher Judge, Hideo Kojima, Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey.
The event celebrated the highest calibre of the gaming world, revealed some world-exclusive new titles and also sprinkled in some esports awards to recognise fan-favourites in the industry (see further in this article).
The fantasy RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 has now hoovered up six more awards in the eight categories it was nominated for at the Game Awards 2023, including Game of the Year.
Larian Studios founder and CEO Swen Vincke was dressed in shining armour.
“A game like Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t possible if you don’t have an incredible team working on it, and the team at Larian spent their hearts and souls for six years on this game, sometimes in very difficult circumstances,” Swen said.
“Along the way, we lost quite a few people, so we want to dedicate this award to the people we lost, especially Jim [Southworth], our lead cinematic artist who passed away last month. I want to thank everybody that supported us throughout this entire effort, our families, our friends, our partners. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 won Best Community Support among other awards, although Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2 did manage to snatch three trophies for itself: winning Best Game Direction, Best Narrative and Best Art Direction.
Other Game Awards 2023 winners included Cyberpunk 2077 for Best Ongoing Game and Final Fantasy XVI for Best Score/Music.
Esports winners at The Game Awards 2023
Six categories were dedicated to esports.
While JDG’s League of Legends side scooped Best Esports Team, Fnatic’s Valorant roster – home of British in-game leader Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett – were among the nominees.
British investigative gaming YouTube channel People Make Games were in the running to win Content Creator of the Year but were beaten out by VTuber ‘Ironmouse’.
Riot Games’ shooter Valorant had a strong showing as it won Best Esports Game, and Valorant coach Christine ‘potter’ Chi was crowned Best Esports Coach (pictured top).
Counter-Strike coach Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam was initially nominated but asked to be removed from the running as he had not coached a professional game in 2023.
League of Legends dominated the headlines of the other two awards, with Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok taking Best Esports Athlete and Riot’s annual flagship tournament Worlds 2023 winning Best Esports Event.
The Game Awards 2023 winners list in full
Esports related
- Best Esports Athlete – Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok
- Best Esports Coach – Christine ‘potter’ Chi
- Best Esports Event – 2023 League of Legends World Championship
- Best Esports Game – Valorant
- Best Esports Team – JDG (who won MSI London 2023)
- Content Creator of the Year – IronMouse
Entertainment
- Game of the Year – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best Game Direction – Alan Wake 2
- Best Narrative – Alan Wake 2
- Best Art Direction – Alan Wake 2
- Best Score/Music – Final Fantasy 16
- Best Audio Design – Hi-Fi Rush
- Best Performance – Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Best Ongoing Game – Cyberpunk 2077
- Best Indie Game – Sea of Stars
- Best Debut Indie Game – Cocoon
- Best Mobile Game – Honkai: Star Rail
- Best Community Support – Baldur’s Gate 3
Genre-specific
- Best VR/AR Game – Resident Evil Village
- Best Action Game – Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
- Best Action/Adventure Game – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Best RPG – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best Fighting Game – Street Fighter 6
- Best Family Game – Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Best SIM/Strategy Game – Pikmin 4
- Best Multiplayer Game – Baldur’s Gate 3
Social
- Games for Impact – Tchia
- Innovation in Accessibility – Forza Motorsport
- Most Anticipated Game – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Best Adaption – The Last of Us
- Players’ Voice – Baldur’s Gate 3
Reece is a sports journalist who has previously worked with the likes of BBC Radio Solent, Southern Daily Echo, Salisbury Radio, VAVEL and many more. He is currently studying a degree in Sports Journalism at Solent University.
