# D.I.C.E. Awards

The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an annual awards show in the video game industry, and commonly referred to as the video game equivalent of the Academy Awards. The awards are arranged by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and held during the AIAS' annual D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. "D.I.C.E." is a backronym for "Design Innovate Communicate Entertain". The D.I.C.E. Awards recognizes games, individuals, and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry.

## Format

The Academy encourages submissions from any individual or company providing that submission eligibility requirements are met. Each application enters the submitted game or title for consideration in at least one Craft category and only one Genre category. For most categories, the title must be publicly released in North America within the past calendar year. The exceptions to this rule are submissions for "Online Game of the Year" and "Fighting Game of the Year".
The finalists in each category are selected by a peer panel, assembled by AIAS, of over 100 video game professionals across several facets of the industry, including developers, programmers, artists, and publishers, which is published on the AIAS website each year. The nominees are then voted on by the full membership of AIAS (over 33,000 members) via a confidential and secured voting system, and winners are subsequently announced during the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, typically in February of that year.
Academy active Creative/Technical, Business, and Affiliate members are qualified to vote in all genre categories along with "Game of the Year", "Mobile Game of the Year", "Online Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game". Creative/Technical members of the Academy may also vote on craft categories related to their expertise:
* Game designers and producers vote for the categories of "Story", "Character", "Audio Design", "Game Direction", and "Game Design".
* Artists, animators, and programmers vote for the categories of "Animation", "Art Direction", "Character", and "Technical".
* Audio designers and musicians vote for the categories of "Audio Design", "Original Music Composition", and "Character".
Due to this approach, the D.I.C.E. Awards are considered the main peer-based recognition within the video games industry compared to other major awards.

## Award ceremonies

| # | Date | Game of the Year | Host(s) | Venue |
| 1st | May 28, 1998 | GoldenEye 007 | — | Georgia World Congress Center |
| 2nd | May 13, 1999 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | — | Variety Arts Theater |
| 3rd | May 11, 2000 | The Sims | Martin Short | Millennium Biltmore Hotel |
| 4th | March 22, 2001 | Diablo II | Martin Lewis | Polly Esther's |
| 5th | February 28, 2002 | Halo: Combat Evolved | Patton Oswalt | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 6th | February 27, 2003 | Battlefield 1942 | Dave Foley | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 7th | March 4, 2004 | Call of Duty | Diane Mizota | Palms Casino Resort |
| 8th | February 1, 2005 | Half-Life 2 | Kurt Scholler, Cory Rouse | Green Valley Ranch |
| 9th | February 9, 2006 | God of War | Jay Mohr | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 10th | February 7, 2007 | Gears of War | Jay Mohr | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 11th | February 8, 2008 | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Jay Mohr | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 12th | February 19, 2009 | LittleBigPlanet | Jay Mohr | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 13th | February 18, 2010 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | Jay Mohr | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 14th | February 11, 2011 | Mass Effect 2 | Jay Mohr | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 15th | February 9, 2012 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Jay Mohr | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 16th | February 7, 2013 | Journey | Chris Hardwick | Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa |
| 17th | February 6, 2014 | The Last of Us | Felicia Day, Freddie Wong | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 18th | February 5, 2015 | Dragon Age: Inquisition | Pete Holmes | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino |
| 19th | February 18, 2016 | Fallout 4 | Pete Holmes | Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
| 20th | February 23, 2017 | Overwatch | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot | Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
| 21st | February 22, 2018 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot | Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
| 22nd | February 13, 2019 | God of War | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot | Aria Resort and Casino |
| 23rd | February 13, 2020 | Untitled Goose Game | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot | Aria Resort and Casino |
| 24th | April 22, 2021 | Hades | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot, Kahlief Adams | none |
| 25th | February 24, 2022 | It Takes Two | Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot | Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
| 26th | February 23, 2023 | Elden Ring | Stella Chung, Greg Miller | Resorts World Las Vegas |
| 27th | February 15, 2024 | Baldur's Gate 3 | Stella Chung, Greg Miller | Aria Resort and Casino |
| 28th | February 13, 2025 | Astro Bot | Stella Chung, Greg Miller | Aria Resort and Casino |

## Award categories
### Game of the Year Awards

* Game of the Year
* Online Game of the Year
* Mobile Game of the Year
* Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
* Immersive Reality Game of the Year
* Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

### Craft Awards

* Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
* Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
* Outstanding Achievement in Animation
* Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
* Outstanding Achievement in Character
* Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
* Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
* Outstanding Achievement in Story
* Outstanding Technical Achievement

### Genre Awards

* Action Game of the Year
* Adventure Game of the Year
* Family Game of the Year
* Fighting Game of the Year
* Racing Game of the Year
* Role-Playing Game of the Year
* Sports Game of the Year
* Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

### Discontinued, renamed, or merged categories
#### Game of the Year

* Console Game of the Year: 1998-2009
* Computer Game of the Year 1998-2009
* Innovation in Console Gaming 2001-2005
* Innovation in Computer Gaming 2001-2005
* Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: 2006-2015
* Handheld Game of the Year: 2007-2009, 2012-2018
* Portable Game of the Year: 2010-2011, 2019-2020
* Downloadable Game of the Year: 2012-2014
* Web Based Game of the Year: 2013

#### Craft Awards

* Outstanding Achievement in Art/Graphics: 1998-1999
* Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music: 1998-1999
* Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering: 1998-1999
* Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: 2000–2014
* Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: 2000–2014
* Outstanding (Achievement in) Character Performance - Female: 2004–2007
* Outstanding (Achievement in) Character Performance - Male: 2004–2007
* Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: 2004–2011
* Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: 2005–2013
* Outstanding Achievement in Original Story: 2009–2010
* Outstanding Achievement in Adapted Story: 2009–2010
* Outstanding Achievement in Portable Game Design: 2010
* Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity: 2012-2013

#### Genre Awards

* Action/Adventure Game of the Year: 2006–2007
* Casual Game of the Year: 2009–2014
* Cellular/Mobile Game of the Year: 2006-2009
* Children's Game of the Year: 2006–2007
* Downloadable Game of the Year: 2004–2008
* First-Person Action Game of the Year: 2006–2007
* Handheld Game of the Year: 2001-2006
* Massively Multiplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year: 2000–2009
* Social Networking Game of the Year: 2010–2012
* Strategy Game of the Year: 1998–2007
* Simulation Game of the Year: 1998–2007
* Wireless Game of the Year: 2005

#### Console

* Console Action Game of the Year: 1998–2000
* Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year: 2001–2005
* Console Adventure Game of the Year: 1998–1999
* Console Adventure/Role-Playing Game of the Year: 2000
* Console Children's/Family Title of the Year: 2000
* Console Children's Title of the Year: 2002, 2004-2005
* Console Family Title/Game of the Year: 2001, 2004-2005
* Console First-Person Action Game of the Year: 2003–2005
* Console Platform Action/Adventure Game of the Year: 2003-2005
* Console Role-Playing Game of the Year: 1998–1999, 2001–2005
* Console Sports Game of the Year: 1998–2003
* Console Action Sports Game of the Year: 2004-2005
* Console Sports Simulation Game of the Year: 2004–2005

#### Computer

* Computer Action Game of the Year: 1998–2000
* Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year: 2001–2005
* Computer Adventure Game of the Year: 1998–1999
* Computer Adventure/Role-Playing Game of the Year: 2000
* Computer Children's (Entertainment) Title of the Year: 1999-2000, 2002, 2005
* Computer Family Game of the Year: 1998–2001, 2004-2005
* Computer First-Person Action Game of the Year: 2003–2005
* Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year: 1998–1999, 2001–2005
* Computer Sports Game of the Year: 1998–2005
* Computer Creativity Title of the Year: 1998–2000
* Computer Edutainment Title of the Year: 1998
* Computer Skills Building Title of the Year: 1998
* Computer Educational Title of the Year (0-8 years): 1999
* Computer Educational Title of the Year (9-16 years): 1999
* Computer Educational Title of the Year: 2000, 2002

#### Online

* Online Action/Strategy Game of the Year: 1999
* Online Family/Board Game of the Year: 1999
* Online Role-Playing Game of the Year: 1999
* Entertainment Site of the Year: 1998–2000
* News/Information Site of the Year: 1998–2000
* Online Gameplay of the Year: 2001-2003

## Special categories
### Hall of Fame

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has annually inducted into its "Hall of Fame" video game developers that have made revolutionary and innovative achievements in the video game industry.
| Year | Person | Company/role | Notable games |
| 1998 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Nintendo | Donkey Kong, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, Star Fox, Pikmin, and Wii series |
| 1999 | Sid Meier | Founder of Firaxis Games and MicroProse | Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, and Alpha Centauri |
| 2000 | Hironobu Sakaguchi | Originally at Square (renamed Square Enix), Founder of Mistwalker | Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve, Lost Odyssey, and The Last Story |
| 2001 | John D. Carmack | Founder of id Software | Commander Keen, Doom, Quake, and Rage |
| 2002 | Will Wright | Founder of Maxis | SimCity, Spore, and The Sims |
| 2003 | Yu Suzuki | Sega (head of Sega AM2 division) | Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, After Burner, Power Drift, Virtua Racing Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, and Shenmue series |
| 2004 | Peter Molyneux | Founder of Lionhead Studios and Bullfrog Productions | Black & White, Populous, Magic Carpet, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, and Fable |
| 2005 | Trip Hawkins | Founder of Electronic Arts and Digital Chocolate | Madden Football |
| 2006 | Richard Garriott | Founder of Origin Systems | Ultima series and Tabula Rasa |
| 2007 | Dani Bunten (posthumous) | Founder of Ozark Softscape | M.U.L.E. |
| 2008 | Michael Morhaime | President & Co-Founder of Blizzard Entertainment | Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo |
| 2009 | Bruce Shelley | Ensemble Studios | Age of Empires |
| 2010 | Mark Cerny | Cerny Games | Marble Madness, Ratchet & Clank, and Jak & Daxter |
| 2011 | Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk | Co-Founders of BioWare | Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age |
| 2012 | Tim Sweeney | Founder and CEO of Epic Games | Unreal and Gears of War series |
| 2013 | Gabe Newell | Co-Founder and CEO of Valve | Portal, Half-Life, and Left 4 Dead |
| 2014 | Sam Houser, Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies | Co-Founders of Rockstar Games | Grand Theft Auto and Bully |
| 2016 | Hideo Kojima | Founder of Kojima Productions | Metal Gear, Snatcher, Policenauts, Zone of the Enders, and Boktai |
| 2017 | Todd Howard | Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios | The Elder Scrolls and the Fallout series |
| 2019 | Bonnie Ross | Corporate Vice-President at Microsoft, Head of 343 Industries | Halo series |
| 2020 | Connie Booth | Vice-President of Product Development at Sony Interactive Entertainment | Advocate for several of Sony's first-party franchises, including Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper |
| 2022 | Ed Boon | Creative director of NetherRealm Studios | Co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series |
| 2023 | Tim Schafer | Co-founder of Double Fine Productions | Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Broken Age, and Psychonauts 2 |
| 2024 | Koji Kondo | Nintendo composer and sound designer | Works include numerous games, including those in the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda franchise |
| 2025 | Ted Price | Founder and CEO of Insomniac Games | Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Marvel's Spider-Man series |

### Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given "for individuals whose accomplishments span a broad range of disciplines over a lengthy career in the industry".
| Year | Person | Company/role |
| 2007 | Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln | Former presidents of Nintendo of America |
| 2008 | Ken Kutaragi | Former Chairman/CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment and considered the "Father of the PlayStation" |
| 2010 | Doug Lowenstein | Launched and served as president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, which became the Entertainment Software Association |
| 2011 | Bing Gordon | Former Chief Creative Officer of Electronic Arts |
| 2016 | Satoru Iwata (posthumous) | Former president of Nintendo |
| 2018 | Genyo Takeda | Former General Manager of Nintendo Integrated Research & Development |
| 2022 | Phil Spencer | CEO of Microsoft Gaming |
| 2025 | Don James | Former Executive Vice-President of Nintendo of America. Heavily contributed to the creation of the ESRB and Interactive Digital Software Association, now known as the Entertainment Software Association, and its signature trade show, E3 |

### Pioneer Awards

The Pioneer Award is given "for individuals whose career spanning work has helped shape and define the interactive entertainment industry".
| Year | Person | Company/role |
| 2010 | David Crane | Founder of Activision |
| 2011 | Bill Budge | Developer of Raster Blaster and Pinball Construction Set |
| 2012 | Ed Logg | Co-developer of many arcade games including Asteroids, Centipede and Gauntlet |
| 2013 | Dave Lebling & Marc Blank | Co-founders of Infocom |
| 2014 | Eugene Jarvis | Developer of arcade games Defender and Robotron: 2084 |
| 2015 | Allan Alcorn | Developer of Pong and co-developed several Atari home consoles |
| 2015 | Ralph H. Baer | Creator of the first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey |

### Technical Impact Award

The Technical Impact Award was added for the 2015 awards ceremony to recognize "unique innovations that contribute to the ongoing progress of interactive media".
| Year | Winner |
| 2015 | Apple App Store |
| 2016 | Visual Basic |

## Notable highest wins and nominations
### By game

| Wins | Game | Year |
| 10 | The Last of Us | 2014 |
| 10 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | 2010 |
| 9 | God of War | 2019 |
| 9 | Half-Life 2 | 2005 |
| 8 | Gears of War | 2007 |
| 8 | Journey | 2013 |
| 8 | LittleBigPlanet | 2009 |
| 8 | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | 2015 |
| 8 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | 2004 |
| 7 | God of War | 2006 |
| 7 | God of War Ragnarök | 2023 |
| 6 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | 2024 |
| 6 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | 1999 |
| Nominations | Game | Year |
| 15 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | 2010 |
| 13 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | 2004 |
| 13 | The Last of Us | 2014 |
| 12 | BioShock | 2008 |
| 12 | God of War | 2006 |
| 12 | God of War | 2019 |
| 12 | God of War Ragnarök | 2023 |
| 12 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception | 2012 |
| 11 | Half-Life 2 | 2005 |
| 11 | Journey | 2013 |
| 11 | Marvel's Spider-Man | 2019 |
| 11 | The Last of Us Part II | 2021 |

### By franchise

| Franchise | Wins | Games |
| God of War | 26 | 6 |
| Mario | 23 | 23 |
| The Legend of Zelda | 17 | 8 |
| Uncharted | 17 | 3 |
| Half-Life | 15 | 5 |
| FIFA/FC | 13 | 13 |
| Final Fantasy | 13 | 7 |
| Call of Duty | 12 | 6 |
| Halo | 12 | 4 |
| The Last of Us | 12 | 2 |
| Marvel | 11 | 5 |
| Middle-earth/The Lord of the Rings | 11 | 3 |
| Franchise | Nominations | Games |
| Call of Duty | 79 | 21 |
| Mario | 71 | 49 |
| The Legend of Zelda | 52 | 16 |
| Uncharted | 50 | 6 |
| God of War | 48 | 8 |
| Assassin's Creed | 45 | 12 |
| Star Wars | 43 | 21 |
| Final Fantasy | 41 | 16 |
| Marvel | 40 | 15 |
| Ratchet & Clank | 36 | 8 |
| Tom Clancy's | 35 | 15 |
| Battlefield | 35 | 10 |

### By developer

| Developer | Wins | Games |
| Nintendo EAD/EPD | 38 | 24 |
| Naughty Dog | 29 | 5 |
| Santa Monica Studio | 24 | 4 |
| EA Canada/Vancouver | 23 | 18 |
| Valve | 20 | 6 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 17 | 11 |
| BioWare | 17 | 7 |
| Ubisoft Montreal | 16 | 8 |
| Harmonix | 14 | 7 |
| Insomniac Games | 14 | 6 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 13 | 7 |
| Bethesda Game Studios | 13 | 5 |
| Bungie | 12 | 3 |
| Developer | Nominations | Games |
| Nintendo EAD/EPD | 126 | 50 |
| Ubisoft Montreal | 103 | 32 |
| Naughty Dog | 85 | 12 |
| EA Canada/Vancouver | 77 | 50 |
| Insomniac Games | 77 | 17 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 66 | 31 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 57 | 22 |
| BioWare | 48 | 17 |
| Valve | 48 | 11 |
| Santa Monica Studio | 48 | 7 |
| DICE | 47 | 16 |
| Infinity Ward | 45 | 8 |

### By publisher

| Publisher | Wins | Games |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 142 | 54 |
| Electronic Arts | 114 | 80 |
| Nintendo | 80 | 61 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios | 64 | 41 |
| Activision | 27 | 17 |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | 23 | 12 |
| Ubisoft | 21 | 13 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 19 | 11 |
| Bethesda Softworks | 16 | 7 |
| Publisher | Nominations | Games |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 523 | 173 |
| Electronic Arts | 411 | 224 |
| Nintendo | 294 | 161 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios | 248 | 117 |
| Ubisoft | 185 | 81 |
| Activision | 173 | 69 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 89 | 42 |
| 2K Games | 73 | 40 |
| Sega | 68 | 41 |
| Rockstar Games | 65 | 13 |