At the 19th DICE Awards, it was Fallout 4 that came away with the top prize, bagging Game of the Year honors along with the Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Awards.
Other titles that came away with three awards each are Ori and the Blind Forest, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Rocket League. Star Wars Battlefront and Rise of the Tomb Raider, meanwhile, each won two awards.
The DICE Awards has been recognizing games, individuals and development teams in the interactive entertainment industry since 1996, with votes for winners cast by the over 22,000 members of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
Special awards were also given out, and for this year the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Satoru Iwata, the former president of Nintendo who passed away in 2015.
A montage of videos featuring Iwata was shown at the ceremony, highlighting some moments in the executive's career along with some quotes. Reggie Fils-Aimé, the president of Nintendo of America, received the award on Iwata's behalf.
"Mr. Iwata, you were the best of us. You will never be second to us. You'll always be number one," Fils-Aimé said.
Hideo Kojima, the famed creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, was also given a special award at the ceremony, being inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame by director Guillermo del Toro.
Snickers were heard when the winner of the Adventure Game of the Year award was announced to be Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and Konami was not there to receive the award.
It can be remembered the Kojima was embroiled in a dispute with his former employer, with Konami even telling Kojima not to accept an award for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain last year. From Kojima's presence at the DICE Awards, it would seem that the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences wants to see Kojima at the ceremony more than Konami.
The complete list of this year's at the DICE Awards are as follows:
- Game of the Year: Fallout 4
- Action Game of the Year: Star Wars Battlefront
- Fighting Game of the Year: Mortal Kombat
- Family Game of the Year: Super Mario Maker
- Mobile Game of the Year: Fallout Shelter
- Outstanding Achievement in Character: Rise of the Tomb Raider - Lara Croft
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Ori and the Blind Forest
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Star Wars Battlefront
- Outstanding Achievement in Story: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Outstanding Technical Achievement: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Ori and the Blind Forest
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Ori and the Blind Forest
- Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year: Fallout 4
- Strategy / Simulation Game of the Year: Heroes of the Storm
- Sports Game of the Year: Rocket League
- Racing Game of the Year: Forza Motorsport 6
- Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: Rocket League
- Handheld Game of the Year: Helldivers
- Technical Impact Award: Microsoft's Visual Basic
- Adventure Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid 5
- DICE Sprite Award: Rocket League
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Design: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Fallout 4
