# 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

The 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards was the 15th edition of the Interactive Achievement Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2011. The awards were arranged by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and were held at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 9, 2012 (2012-02-09). It was also held as part of the Academy's 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit, and was hosted by stand-up comedian Jay Mohr. It would be the final year that it would be called the Interactive Achievement Awards.
Separate awards for "Handheld Game of the Year" and "Mobile Game of the Year" were offered instead of "Portable Game of the Year". The award for "Downloadable Game of the Year" was reintroduced as a "Game of the Year" award. The award for "Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity" was introduced. The award for "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack" was no longer offered.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim won the most awards, including "Game of the Year". Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception received the most nominations. Electronic Arts received the most nominations, published the most nominees, and had the most award-winning games. Bethesda Softworks won the most awards.
Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games and creator of the Unreal Engine, was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. Ed Logg, game designer behind Atari classics such as Asteroids, Super Breakout, and Centipede, received of the "Pioneer Award".

## Winners and Nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

### Game of the Year Awards

Game of the Year
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡
Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Portal 2 — Valve
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment :
| Downloadable Game of the Year Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ Drawn: Trail of Shadows — Big Fish Studios Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet — Shadow Planet Productions, Microsoft Studios Ms. Splosion Man — Twisted Pixel Games, Microsoft Studios Orcs Must Die! — Robot Entertainment, Microsoft Studios | Handheld Game of the Year Super Mario 3D Land — Nintendo EAD‡ Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective — Capcom Kirby Mass Attack — HAL Laboratory, Nintendo Mario Kart 7 — Nintendo EAD Professor Layton and the Last Specter — Level-5, Nintendo |
| Mobile Game of the Year Infinity Blade II — Chair Entertainment, Epic Games‡ Contre Jour — Mokus, Chillingo Dead Space — IronMonkey Studios, Electronic Arts Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin — Press Play, Microsoft Studios The Dark Meadow — Phosphor Studios | Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision‡ Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios |

### Craft Awards

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡
Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games
Portal 2 — Valve
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment :
| Outstanding Achievement in Animation Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Assassin's Creed: Revelations — Ubisoft Montreal Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Rayman Origins — Ubisoft Montpellier | Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Portal 2 — Valve Rayman Origins — Ubisoft Montpellier |
| Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance Wheatley (Portal 2) — Valve‡ Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) — Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Europe Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire) — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Nathan Drake (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment Victor Sullivan (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment | Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity Portal 2 — Valve‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision Dragon Age II — BioWare, Electronic Arts Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Portal 2 — Valve Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD | Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Star Wars: The Old Republic — BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision Gears of War 3 — Epic Games, Microsoft Studios LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Portal 2 — Valve‡ Infamous 2 — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Computer Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts‡ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Need for Speed: The Run — EA Black Box Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Outstanding Achievement in Story The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment | Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Crysis 2 — Crytek, Electronic Arts L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Rage — id Software, Bethesda Softworks |

### Genre Awards

| Action Game of the Year Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Dead Space 2 — Visceral Games, Electronic Arts Gears of War 3 — Epic Games, Microsoft Studios Saints Row: The Third — Volition, THQ | Adventure Game of the Year Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Casual Game of the Year Fruit Ninja Kinect — Halfbrick Studios, Microsoft Studios‡ Jetpack Joyride — Halfbrick Studios Monsters Ate My Condo — Adult Swim Games, PikPok Tiny Wings — Andreas Illiger Where's My Water? — Disney Interactive | Social Networking Game of the Year The Sims Social — Playfish, Electronic Arts‡ Army Attack — Digital Chocolate CastleVille — Zynga Dallas Gardens of Time — Playdom, Disney Interactive Triple Town — Spry Fox, Playdom |
| Family Game of the Year LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Dance Central 2 — Harmonix, Microsoft Studios Just Dance 3 — Ubisoft Paris Kinect: Disneyland Adventures — Frontier Developments, Microsoft Studios Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision | Fighting Game of the Year Mortal Kombat — NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ Fight Night Champion — EA Canada Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition — Capcom The King of Fighters XIII — SNK Playmore, Atlus Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 — Capcom |
| Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Dark Souls — FromSoftware, Namco Bandai Games Deus Ex: Human Revolution — Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Europe Star Wars: The Old Republic — BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings — CD Projekt Red | Racing Game of the Year Forza Motorsport 4 — Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios‡ Mario Kart 7 — Nintendo EAD Real Racing 2 HD — Firemint, Electronic Arts |
| Sports Game of the Year FIFA 12 — EA Canada‡ Madden NFL 12 — EA Tiburon MLB 11: The Show — SCE San Diego NBA 2K12 — Visual Concepts, 2K Games NBA Jam: On Fire Edition — EA Tiburon | Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year Orcs Must Die! — Robot Entertainment, Microsoft Studios‡ Iron Brigade — Double Fine Productions, Microsoft Studios Total War: Shogun 2 — Creative Assembly, Sega Toy Soldiers: Cold War — Signal Studios, Microsoft Studios Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution — Relic Entertainment, THQ |

### Special Awards
#### Hall of Fame

* Tim Sweeney

#### Pioneer

* Ed Logg

### Multiple nominations and awards
#### Multiple Nominations

Games that received multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Game |
| 12 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception |
| 10 | Portal 2 |
| 9 | L.A. Noire |
| 6 | Batman: Arkham City |
| 6 | Battlefield 3 |
| 6 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |
| 4 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 |
| 3 | Bastion |
| 3 | LittleBigPlanet 2 |
| 3 | Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure |
| 3 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword |
| 2 | Deus Ex: Human Revolution |
| 2 | Gears of War 3 |
| 2 | Mario Kart 7 |
| 2 | Orcs Must Die! |
| 2 | Rayman Origins |
| 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic |
Nominations by company :
| Nominations | Games | Company |
| 19 | 13 | Electronic Arts |
| 17 | 4 | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 13 | 11 | Microsoft Studios |
| 12 | 1 | Naughty Dog |
| 10 | 3 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| 10 | 1 | Valve |
| 9 | 1 | Rockstar Games |
| 9 | 1 | Team Bondi |
| 8 | 5 | Nintendo |
| 7 | 2 | Activision |
| 7 | 2 | Bethesda Softworks |
| 6 | 1 | DICE |
| 6 | 1 | Rocksteady Studios |
| 4 | 3 | Ubisoft |
| 4 | 1 | Infinity Ward |
| 3 | 3 | Capcom |
| 3 | 2 | BioWare |
| 3 | 2 | Epic Games |
| 3 | 1 | Media Molecule |
| 3 | 1 | Supergiant Games |
| 3 | 1 | Toys for Bob |
| 3 | 1 | Vicarious Visions |
| 3 | 1 | XPEC Entertainment |
| 2 | 2 | Disney Interactive |
| 2 | 2 | Halfbrick Studios |
| 2 | 2 | Playdom |
| 2 | 2 | THQ |
| 2 | 1 | Eidos-Montréal |
| 2 | 1 | Robot Entertainment |
| 2 | 1 | Square Enix Europe |

#### Multiple awards

Games that received multiple awards :
| Awards | Game |
| 5 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |
| 3 | Portal 2 |
| 3 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception |
Awards by company :
| Awards | Games | Company |
| 5 | 1 | Bethesda Softworks |
| 4 | 4 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 2 | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 3 | 3 | Microsoft Studios |
| 3 | 3 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| 3 | 1 | Naughty Dog |
| 3 | 1 | Valve |
| 2 | 2 | Activision |