Game Audio Network Guild Awards Nominees Announced

No game would be complete without some form of music or audio design. Thousands of audio professionals in the gaming industry are focused on providing an ultimate gaming experience for players, whether by creating beautiful soundtracks, or fine-tuning the important audio that's integral to Valorant and other tactical shooters. As one of the biggest organizations focused on gaming audio, the Game Audio Network Guild has announced the nominees for its 2021 awards show.

Founded in 2002, the Game Audio Network Guild (or G.A.N.G.) is driven to celebrate those in the game audio industry, and help them continually improve their craft. The G.A.N.G. Awards has become a yearly ceremony awarding excellence in several categories for sound-related achievements. Nominees for each category were selected by G.A.N.G.'s Advisory Board members and committees. At the 2020 G.A.N.G. Awards, Kojima Productions' Death Stranding was able to sweep up several awards across the multiple categories.

The Last of Us Part 2 is leading with 15 nominations this year, including Audio, Sound Design, and Dialogue of the Year. Close behind is Ghost of Tsushima with 14 nominations, Hades with 12, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales with 11. Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Last of Us Part 2 both won sound-related awards at the 2020 Game Awards, so it will be interesting to see whether they win any additional awards here.

Hades has an incredible amount of dialogue, and is one of the games up for Dialogue of the Year, and Best Dialogue for an Indie Game. Hades is also up for Best Original Song, but will have some tough competition with the likes of "MORE," from League of Legends' virtual pop group K/DA. Last year, "Giants" won the same category, a song from another virtual group from League of Legends.

Since The Last of Us Part 2 has dominated awards season so far, fans of the game may be able to see a few more award wins from this event. One of The Last of Us Part 2's sound designers will be working on the next God of War, so fans can certainly expect to be in for an audible treat when that releases. Overall, it is fantastic to see a group celebrating a diverse aspect of game development that can often be overlooked by the general public.

All winners will be announced at the 19th Annual G.A.N.G Awards ceremony on April 28 at 5PM PST. The awards show will be broadcast on Twitch, and will feature musical performances from the Video Game Orchestra, 88bit, and others. A full list of all nominees in the 30 categories is below.

Audio of The Year

Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Music of the Year

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Music by Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi, & Masato Ohashi (Nintendo)
Final Fantasy VII Remake — Music by Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki, & Nobuo Uematsu (Square Enix)
Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games)
Metamorphosis — Music by Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman (Ovid Works, All In! Games)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Music by Gareth Coker (Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios)
Star Wars: Squadrons — Music by Gordy Haab (Motive, Electronic Arts)

Sound Design of the Year

Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios
Paper Mario: The Origami King — Intelligent Systems, Nintendo
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Dialogue of the Year

Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red

Best Audio for an Indie Game

Evergate — Stone Lantern Games
Hades — Supergiant Games
Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games
No Straight Roads — Metronomik
The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Wolcen Studio

Best Music for an Indie Game

Evergate — Music by M.R. Miller (Stone Lantern Games)
Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games)
Metamorphosis — Music by Garry Schyman & Mikolai Stroinski (Ovid Works, All In! Games)
Mythgard — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games)
The Pathless — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Music by Jean-Gabriel Raynaud & Cedric Baravaglio (Wolcen Studio)

Best Sound Design for an Indie Game

Hades — Supergiant Games
Liquidators — 1986 CL3
Carrion — Phobia Game Studio, Devolver Digital
Mortal Shell — Cold Symmetry, Playstack
Risk of Rain 2 — Hopoo Games, PlayEveryWare
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Wolcen Studio

Best Dialogue for an Indie Game

3 out of 10 — Terrible Posture Games
Bugsnax — Young Horses
Hades — Supergiant Games
Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games
Mortal Shell — Cold Symmetry, Playstack
The Red Lantern — Timberline Studio

Creative and Technical Achievement in Music

A Total War Saga: Troy — Creative Assembly
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sackboy: A Big Adventure — Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

Best Main Theme

Animal Crossing: New Horizons: “Main Theme” — Music by Kazumi Totaka (Nintendo)
Biped: “Biped Theme” — Music by Thomas Parisch (NExT Studios, META Publishing, Bilibili)
Ghost of Tsushima: “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima)” — Music by Ilan Eshkeri (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Music by David Housden (Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games)
Star Wars: Squadrons: “Main Theme” — Music by Gordy Haab (Motive, Electronic Arts)
The Pathless: “None Have Returned” — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)

Best Original Song

Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition: “Bury the Light” — Music by Casey Edwards (Capcom)
Ghost of Tsushima: “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima)” — Music by Ilan Eshkeri (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Hades: “In The Blood” — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games)
League of Legends: K/DA – “MORE” — Music by Rebecca Johnson, Sebastien Najand, Riot Music Team, & Bekuh BOOM Performed by (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns, K/DA, Lexie Liu, Madison Beer, Seraphine (Riot Games)
The Good Life: “The Good Life” — Music by The Bad Lives
The Pathless: “A land, which was not my Own” — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)

Best Original Soundtrack Album

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — Music by Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, & Einar Selvik (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
Godfall — Music by Ben MacDougall (Counterplay Games, Gearbox Publishing)
Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games)
Mythgard — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games)
Sackboy — Music by Joe Thwaites, Jay Waters, Nick Foster, Lena Raine, George King, Brian d’Oliveira, Glen Brown, Winifred Phillips, Jim Fowler, Opiuo, 2 Mello and Tokyo Machine (Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Pathless — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)

Best Game Music Cover or Remix

Cuphead: “Closing Credits” Live at MAGfest — Music by ConSoul
Grandia: “Symphonic Tale: An Unforgettable Journey (Music from Grandia)” — Music by Kentaro Sato
Kingdom Hearts III: “Face My Fears” — Music by Rozen and Reven
Ori and the Will of the Wisps: “Main Theme” — Music by Jillian Aversa & Andrew Aversa
Witcher 3: “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher… but it’s Witcher 3” — Music by Colm McGuinness
Banjo-Kazooie: "It Can’t Be True! A Bear and a Bird Working Together?!" — Music by Jeff Penny

Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design

Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

Best UI, Reward or Objective Sound Design

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Hearthstone: Madness at the Darkmoon Faire — Blizzard Entertainment
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Game Foley

Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
Mafia: Definitive Edition — Hangar 13, 2K Games
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Voice Performance

Ghost of Tsushima: Jin (Performed by Kazuya Nakai) — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
League of Legends: Fiddlesticks (Performed by Kellen Goff) — Riot Games
The Last Light: Kayah (Performed by Jan Johns) — Magic Leap Studios
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Miles Morales (Performed by Nadji Jeter) — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II: Abby (Performed by Laura Bailey) and Ellie (Performed by Ashley Johnson) — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II: Ellie (Performed by Ashley Johnson) — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Ensemble Cast Performance

3 out of 10 — Terrible Posture Games
Bugsnax — Young Horses
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Tell Me Why — Dontnod Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope — Supermassive Giants, Bandai Namco
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Non-Humanoid Performance

Bugsnax — Young Horses
Call of Duty: Mobile — TiMi Studios, Tencent Games, Activision
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
League of Legends — Riot Games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo
Call of Duty: Mobile — TiMi Studios, Activision, Tencent Games
Game for Peace: Meteor Strike — Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, Tencent Games
Hearthstone — Blizzard Entertainment
Honor of Kings — TiMi Studios, Tencent Games
Legends of Runeterra — Riot Games

Excellence in Audio Accessibility

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hades — Supergiant Games
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Cinematic Cutscene Audio

Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands — Blizzard Entertainment

Best New Original IP Audio

Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Little Orpheus — The Chinese Room
Mythgard — Rhino Games
No Straight Roads — Metronomik, Sold Out Ltd., Game Source Entertainment, Mastertronic Group
The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

Best Game Audio Article or Publication

Journal of Sound and Music in Games Volume 1 Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games — University of California Press
The Frequencies of Folklore — Riot Games
The Game Audio Strategy Guide: A Practical Course — Serial Lab Studios, Routledge
The Last of Us Part II Sound Interview — A Sound Effect, Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
VR Video Games and Music Composition: an Interview with Skew Sound — Andrew G. Cheek

Best Game Audio Presentation, Podcast or Broadcast

Frequencies — League of Legends Audio Deep Dive — Riot Games, GameSoundCon 2020
From Assassin’s Creed to the Dark Eye: The Importance of Themes — Winifred Phillips, GDC 2020
How to Get Hired a Second Time — Jesse Harlin, GameSoundCon 2020
The Creative Process — Tom Salta Masterclass
How to Write One Minute of Music — The Pathless — Austin Wintory

Best Physical Soundtrack Release

Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix
Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Milan Records
Ori and Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios, iam8bit
The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Masterworks, Mondo
The Music of Destiny, Volume II Collector’s Edition Vinyl Box Set — Bungie Inc.
The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive, iam8bit

Best Game Trailer Audio

Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red
Destiny 2: Beyond Light — Bungie Inc.
Hades — Supergiant Games, Studio Grackle
Half-Life: Alyx — Valve
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin — Edelweiss, Marvelous Interactive Inc., XSEED Games
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Cinematic Trailer — Blizzard Entertainment Inc.