# Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year

The Game Developers Choice Award for the Game of the Year, also known as GDCA Game of the Year, is the main video game award presented at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers. The conference, usually held in or around March in San Francisco, presents the award as part of the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), a series of awards honoring outstanding achievements in video game design for games released during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded since 2001.
Only four studios have won the award more than once:
* Valve, for Half-Life 2 (2004) and Portal (2007)
* Bethesda Game Studios, for Fallout 3 (2008) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
* Naughty Dog, for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) and The Last of Us (2013)
* Rockstar Games, for Grand Theft Auto III (2001) and Red Dead Redemption (2010)
The most successful video game publisher to date is Sony Interactive Entertainment with 13 nominations and 4 wins, followed by Nintendo (11 nominations, 1 win), Electronic Arts (8 nominations and 1 win) and Rockstar Games (7 nominations and 2 wins). Indie games have won the award 4 times: Journey (published by Sony Interactive Entertainment) in 2012, Untitled Goose Game in 2019, Hades in 2020, and Inscryption in 2021.

## List of winners
### 2000s

Note: From 2005 to 2007 the award was titled Best Game. Years listed represent calendar years for which the awards were given. Ceremonies are usually held in March the following year.
| Year | Game | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
| 2000 (1st) | The Sims | Maxis | Electronic Arts |
| 2000 (1st) | Deus Ex | Ion Storm | Eidos Interactive |
| 2000 (1st) | Jet Set Radio | Smilebit | Sega |
| 2000 (1st) | No One Lives Forever | Monolith Productions | Fox Interactive |
| 2000 (1st) | Shenmue | Sega AM2 | Sega |
| 2001 (2nd) | Grand Theft Auto III | DMA Design | Rockstar Games |
| 2001 (2nd) | Black & White | Lionhead Studios | Electronic Arts |
| 2001 (2nd) | Halo: Combat Evolved | Bungie | Microsoft Game Studios |
| 2001 (2nd) | Ico | Team Ico | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2001 (2nd) | Max Payne | Remedy Entertainment | Gathering of Developers / Rockstar Games |
| 2002 (3rd) | Metroid Prime | Retro Studios | Nintendo |
| 2002 (3rd) | Battlefield 1942 | Digital Illusions | Electronic Arts |
| 2002 (3rd) | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2002 (3rd) | Neverwinter Nights | BioWare | Atari |
| 2002 (3rd) | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft |
| 2003 (4th) | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | BioWare | LucasArts |
| 2003 (4th) | Beyond Good & Evil | Ubisoft Montpellier / Ubisoft Milan | Ubisoft |
| 2003 (4th) | Call of Duty | Infinity Ward | Activision |
| 2003 (4th) | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft |
| 2003 (4th) | The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo |
| 2004 (5th) | Half-Life 2 | Valve | Valve |
| 2004 (5th) | Burnout 3: Takedown | Criterion Games | Electronic Arts |
| 2004 (5th) | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2004 (5th) | Katamari Damacy | Namco | Namco |
| 2004 (5th) | World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment |
| 2005 (6th) | Shadow of the Colossus | Team Ico | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2005 (6th) | Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo |
| 2005 (6th) | God of War | Santa Monica Studio | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2005 (6th) | Guitar Hero | Harmonix | RedOctane |
| 2005 (6th) | The Movies | Lionhead Studios | Activision |
| 2006 (7th) | Gears of War | Epic Games | Microsoft Game Studios |
| 2006 (7th) | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2006 (7th) | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo |
| 2006 (7th) | Ōkami | Clover Studio | Capcom |
| 2006 (7th) | Wii Sports | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo |
| 2007 (8th) | Portal | Valve | Valve |
| 2007 (8th) | BioShock | 2K Boston / 2K Australia | 2K Games |
| 2007 (8th) | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Infinity Ward | Activision |
| 2007 (8th) | Rock Band | Harmonix | MTV Games / Electronic Arts |
| 2007 (8th) | Super Mario Galaxy | Nintendo EAD Tokyo | Nintendo |
| 2008 (9th) | Fallout 3 | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2008 (9th) | Fable II | Lionhead Studios | Microsoft Game Studios |
| 2008 (9th) | Grand Theft Auto IV | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2008 (9th) | LittleBigPlanet | Media Molecule | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2008 (9th) | Left 4 Dead | Turtle Rock Studios | Valve |
| 2009 (10th) | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | Naughty Dog | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2009 (10th) | Assassin's Creed II | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft |
| 2009 (10th) | Batman: Arkham Asylum | Rocksteady Studios | Eidos Interactive / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| 2009 (10th) | Demon's Souls | FromSoftware | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2009 (10th) | Dragon Age: Origins | BioWare | Electronic Arts |

### 2010s

| Year | Game | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
| 2010 (11th) | Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar San Diego | Rockstar Games |
| 2010 (11th) | Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft |
| 2010 (11th) | Call of Duty: Black Ops | Treyarch | Activision |
| 2010 (11th) | Limbo | Playdead | Playdead |
| 2010 (11th) | Mass Effect 2 | BioWare | Electronic Arts |
| 2011 (12th) | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2011 (12th) | Batman: Arkham City | Rocksteady Studios | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| 2011 (12th) | Dark Souls | FromSoftware | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2011 (12th) | Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Eidos Montréal | Square Enix |
| 2011 (12th) | Portal 2 | Valve | Valve |
| 2012 (13th) | Journey | Thatgamecompany | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2012 (13th) | Dishonored | Arkane Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2012 (13th) | Mass Effect 3 | BioWare | Electronic Arts |
| 2012 (13th) | The Walking Dead | Telltale Games | Telltale Games |
| 2012 (13th) | XCOM: Enemy Unknown | Firaxis Games | 2K Games |
| 2013 (14th) | The Last of Us | Naughty Dog | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2013 (14th) | Gone Home | The Fullbright Company | The Fullbright Company |
| 2013 (14th) | Grand Theft Auto V | Rockstar North | Rockstar Games |
| 2013 (14th) | Super Mario 3D World | Nintendo EAD Tokyo | Nintendo |
| 2013 (14th) | Tomb Raider | Crystal Dynamics | Square Enix |
| 2014 (15th) | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Monolith Productions | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| 2014 (15th) | Alien: Isolation | Creative Assembly | Sega |
| 2014 (15th) | Bayonetta 2 | PlatinumGames | Nintendo |
| 2014 (15th) | Destiny | Bungie | Activision |
| 2014 (15th) | Hearthstone | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment |
| 2015 (16th) | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt Red | CD Projekt |
| 2015 (16th) | Bloodborne | FromSoftware | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2015 (16th) | Fallout 4 | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2015 (16th) | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Kojima Productions | Konami |
| 2015 (16th) | Rocket League | Psyonix | Psyonix |
| 2016 (17th) | Overwatch | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment |
| 2016 (17th) | Dishonored 2 | Arkane Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2016 (17th) | Firewatch | Campo Santo | Panic |
| 2016 (17th) | Inside | Playdead | Playdead |
| 2016 (17th) | Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | Naughty Dog | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2017 (18th) | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo |
| 2017 (18th) | Horizon Zero Dawn | Guerrilla Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2017 (18th) | Nier: Automata | PlatinumGames | Square Enix |
| 2017 (18th) | PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds | PUBG Corporation | PUBG Corporation |
| 2017 (18th) | Super Mario Odyssey | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo |
| 2018 (19th) | God of War | Santa Monica Studio | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2018 (19th) | Celeste | Matt Makes Games | Matt Makes Games |
| 2018 (19th) | Marvel's Spider-Man | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2018 (19th) | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Rockstar Games | Rockstar Games |
| 2018 (19th) | Return of the Obra Dinn | Lucas Pope | 3909 LLC |
| 2019 (20th) | Untitled Goose Game | House House | Panic |
| 2019 (20th) | Death Stranding | Kojima Productions | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2019 (20th) | Control | Remedy Entertainment | 505 Games |
| 2019 (20th) | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | FromSoftware | Activision |
| 2019 (20th) | Outer Wilds | Mobius Digital | Annapurna Interactive |

### 2020s

| Year | Game | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
| 2020 (21st) | Hades | Supergiant Games | Supergiant Games |
| 2020 (21st) | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo |
| 2020 (21st) | Ghost of Tsushima | Sucker Punch Productions | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2020 (21st) | Half-Life: Alyx | Valve | Valve |
| 2020 (21st) | The Last of Us Part II | Naughty Dog | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2021 (22nd) | Inscryption | Daniel Mullins Games | Devolver Digital |
| 2021 (22nd) | Deathloop | Arkane Studios | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2021 (22nd) | Forza Horizon 5 | Playground Games | Xbox Game Studios |
| 2021 (22nd) | It Takes Two | Hazelight Studios | Electronic Arts |
| 2021 (22nd) | Resident Evil Village | Capcom | Capcom |
| 2022 (23rd) | Elden Ring | FromSoftware | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2022 (23rd) | God of War Ragnarök | Santa Monica Studio | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2022 (23rd) | Immortality | Sam Barlow | Half Mermaid Productions |
| 2022 (23rd) | Pentiment | Obsidian Entertainment | Xbox Game Studios |
| 2022 (23rd) | Stray | BlueTwelve Studio | Annapurna Interactive |
| 2022 (23rd) | Tunic | Finji | Finji |
| 2023 (24th) | Baldur's Gate 3 | Larian Studios | Larian Studios |
| 2023 (24th) | Cocoon | Geometric Interactive | Annapurna Interactive |
| 2023 (24th) | Dave the Diver | Mintrocket | Mintrocket |
| 2023 (24th) | Dredge | Black Salt Games | Team17 |
| 2023 (24th) | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | Insomniac Games | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2023 (24th) | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo |
| 2024 (25th) | Astro Bot | Team Asobi | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2024 (25th) | Balatro | LocalThunk | PlayStack |
| 2024 (25th) | Black Myth: Wukong | Game Science | Game Science |
| 2024 (25th) | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | Square Enix | Square Enix |
| 2024 (25th) | Helldivers 2 | Arrowhead Game Studios | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2024 (25th) | Metaphor: ReFantazio | Studio Zero | Atlus, Sega |