Goodies 2020 Nominees

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NOMINEES - DO NOT SUBMIT FORM - AWARDS ALREADY DETERMINED

Best Original Reporting

"New allegations show the cycle of abuse and misconduct runs deep at Ubisoft" by Chris Kerr at Gamasutra https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/368010/New_allegations_show_the_cycle_of_abuse_and_misconduct_runs_deep_at_Ubisoft.php

"How the Polish Indie Scene Exploded in the Wake of the Witcher" by Cian Maher at Uppercut https://uppercutcrit.com/how-the-polish-indie-scene-exploded-in-the-wake-of-the-witcher/

"Is the games industry open to working class people?" by Jason Coles at GI.Biz https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-02-how-to-break-into-the-industry-from-a-working-class-background

"Black History Month: Where Are Our Black Gaming Journalists?" by Jeffrey Rousseau at USG https://www.usgamer.net/articles/black-history-month-where-are-our-black-gaming-journalists

"Cynthia Harrell, The Woman Who Sang 'Snake Eater,' Is Ready To Be Heard Again" by Ash Parrish at Kotaku https://kotaku.com/cynthia-harrell-the-woman-who-sang-snake-eater-is-rea-1845440278

"The Closing Walls Around China’s Independent Game Developers" by Khee Hoon Chan at EGM https://egmnow.com/the-closing-walls-around-chinas-independent-game-development-scene/

"Here’s how Temtem’s community helped Crema Games strive for inclusive language" by Astrid Johnson at Gayming Mag https://gaymingmag.com/2020/08/heres-how-temtems-community-helped-crema-games-strive-for-inclusive-language/

"Former employees accuse Cards Against Humanity of a racist and sexist office culture" by Nicole Carpenter at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/23/21300435/cards-against-humanity-max-temkin-report

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Best Ongoing Coverage - Guides, Service Writing, Etc

Fanbyte's Yakuza Like A Dragon guides https://www.fanbyte.com/tag/yakuza-like-a-dragon/

PC Gamer's Fortnite coverage (2020 only) https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite/

USGamer's Paper Mario guides https://www.usgamer.net/games/paper-mario-the-origami-king

Can I Play That's? Accessibility reviews (2020 only) https://caniplaythat.com/category/accessibility-reviews/

GamesIndustry.biz 'Game Changers' https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-07-introducing-the-gi-100-game-changers

Patricia Hernandez (Polygon)'s Fallout 76 coverage (2020 only) https://www.polygon.com/users/patriciahernandez/search?q=fallout&type=Article

Kenneth Shepard's (Fanbyte) TLOU2 coverage (2020 only) https://www.fanbyte.com/tag/the-last-of-us-part-ii/

Super Parent's Pokemon Sword/Shield coverage https://superparent.com/topic/pokemon-sword

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Best Criticism / Review

"New Horizons Looks Pretty, But I Just Want My Old Animal Crossing Back" by Dia Lacina at Paste https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/animal-crossing-new-horizons-/animal-crossing-original-was-better/

"'Watch Dogs: Legion' Promises Revolution, But Mostly Delivers Distraction" by Austin Walker at Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdy5y/watch-dogs-legion-review

"The video game apocalypses are already here - and they're all around us" by Ewan Wilson at Eurogamer https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-05-06-the-video-game-apocalypses-are-already-here-and-its-all-around-us

"A Shallow Understanding" by Haru Nicol at Bullet Points https://bulletpointsmonthly.com/2020/08/20/shallow-understanding-ghost-of-tsushima

"'Spider-Man: Miles Morales' Dazzles and Disappoints" by Gita Jackson on Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bb37/spider-man-miles-morales-ps5-review

"Star Wars: Squadrons Explores the Changing Face of Fascism" by Yussef Cole at Wired https://www.wired.com/story/star-wars-squadrons-changing-face-fascism/

"Yakuza: Like A Dragon Review – Humanizing Me As An Immigrant" by Monti Velez at Uppercut https://uppercutcrit.com/yakuza-like-a-dragon-review-humanizing-me-as-an-immigrant/

"‘Spiritfarer’: A beautiful adventure about serenity and compassion in the wake of death" by Elise Favis at WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/spiritfarer-beautiful-adventure-about-serenity-compassion-wake-death/

"The mainstream FPS only knows one kind of Latina" by Natalie Flores at RPS https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-mainstream-fps-only-knows-one-kind-of-latina

"Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a flawed, but fascinating, reimagining of a classic" by Carolyn Petit at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2020/4/6/21208806/final-fantasy-7-remake-review-playstation-4

"PS5 — Can I Play That Console Accessibility Review" by Courtney Craven at CIPT? https://caniplaythat.com/2020/11/06/ps5-accessibility-review-can-i-play-that/

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Best List

"WHO WON IN THE FIRST GAME AWARDS?" by Kate Willaert at Video Game History Foundation https://gamehistory.org/first-video-game-awards/

"What Your Favorite Genshin Impact Characters Say About You" by Aiden Strawhun at Fanbyte https://www.fanbyte.com/lists/what-your-favorite-genshin-impact-characters-say-about-you/

"What the Video Game Monster Girl of Your Dreams Says About You" by Ty-Galiz Rowe at Fanbyte https://www.fanbyte.com/lists/what-the-video-game-monster-girl-of-your-dreams-says-about-you/

"Editor’s Pick | The Best Indie Games of 2020" by Morgan Shaver at Prima Games https://primagames.com/feature/editors-pick-best-indie-games-2020

"Every type of Fall Guy, classified" by Jeremy Peel at PC Gamer https://www.pcgamer.com/every-type-of-fall-guy-classified/

"21 Weird Things That Happened in the Original Final Fantasy 7" by Anthony McGlynn at IGN https://www.ign.com/articles/21-weird-things-that-happened-in-the-original-final-fantasy-7

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Best Extended Form Piece

"A NEW WAVE OF INDIES ARE USING GAMES TO EXPLORE CLIMATE CHANGE" by Cian Maher at The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/13/21135321/video-games-climate-change-beyond-blue-bee-simulator-temtem-endling

"Exploring gaming’s new generation of elderly protagonists" by Alexander Chatziioannou at Wireframe https://wireframe.raspberrypi.org/articles/exploring-gamings-new-generation-of-elderly-protagonists

"Jerry Lawson revolutionized video gaming from his Silicon Valley garage. Then the world forgot him" by Annie Vainshtein at SFChronicle

"Ghost of Tsushima, Kurosawa, and the political myth of the samurai" by Kazuma Hashimoto at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/23/21333631/ghost-of-tsushima-kurosawa-films-samurai-japan-abe-politics

"Street Fighter 3 - An Oral History" by Matt Leone at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/8/22151873/street-fighter-3-an-oral-history

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Experimental Form

"New Jersey Transit" review by Waverly at 100WordGaming https://100wordgaming.com/2020/08/18/new-jersey-transit/

https://www.flashgamehistory.com/

"DREAM AND THEN A NIGHTMARE" by Ed Smith https://restlessdreamsbook.com/2020/10/04/dream-and-then-a-nightmare/

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Best Feature or "Other" Written Work

"Essay On Valorant and Transition" by Renata Price on Medium https://medium.com/@brennanrprice/essay-on-valorant-and-transition-c4e337ba6fea

"The mainstream FPS only knows one kind of Latina" by Natalie Flores on RPS https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-mainstream-fps-only-knows-one-kind-of-latina

"I Love How Yakuza: Like A Dragon Humanizes Homelessness" by Lianna Rupert at GameInformer https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/11/17/i-love-how-yakuza-like-a-dragon-humanizes-homelessness

"The Last of Us Part II Is the First Blockbuster Game in Which I Can See Myself" by Natalie Flores on Paste https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii/the-last-of-us-part-ii-romance/

"Get Equipped With Righteous Violence in Treachery in Beatdown City" by Dia Lacina on Paste https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/treachery-in-beatdown-city/get-equipped-with-righteous-violence-in-treachery/

"MGS3's "Snake Eater" Is Good Enough To Be A Bond Theme" by Ash Parrish at Kotaku https://kotaku.com/mgs3s-snake-eater-is-good-enough-to-be-a-bond-theme-1845271335

"‘Battle for Middle-earth’ exposed the stresses of game development. They haven’t gone away." by Matt Paprocki at WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/12/03/battle-middle-earth-crunch/

"Battle royales are changing the way we play video games for the better" by Vikki Blake at NME https://www.nme.com/features/battle-royales-are-changing-the-way-we-play-video-games-for-the-better-2660317

"Shigeru Miyamoto Wants to Create a Kinder World" by Simon Parkin at the New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/shigeru-miyamoto-wants-to-create-a-kinder-world

"It sucks that Cyberpunk 2077’s edgelord marketing worked so well" by Stacey Henley at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/4/22058784/cyberpunk-2077-marketing-cd-projekt-red-transphobia

"Cruelty and Handheld Lo-Fi Filmmaking in Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days" by Cole Henry at Medium https://inthelobby.medium.com/cruelty-and-handheld-lo-fi-filmmaking-in-kane-lynch-2-dog-days-ed70d93240b4

"Chasing the Anti-Colonial Video Game" by Zeb Larson at Uppercut https://uppercutcrit.com/chasing-the-anti-colonial-video-game/

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Best Sports Game Coverage

"FIFA 21 review: high-scoring fun marred by pay-to-win loot boxes - again" by Wesley Yin-Poole at Eurogamer https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-10-06-fifa-21-review-high-scoring-fun-marred-by-pay-to-win-loot-boxes-again

"An absurdist baseball game is tearing up the internet, thanks to fans" by Sam Greszes at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/features/2020/8/6/21357131/blaseball-fans-absurd-baseball-sim-the-game-band

"THPS 1 + 2 Remastered Is About A New, Diverse Era Of Skating, Too" by Michael Higham https://www.gamespot.com/articles/thps-1-2-remastered-is-about-a-new-diverse-era-of-/1100-6481848/

"Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remake reflects the changing culture of skateboarding" by Cole Henry at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/18/21440136/tony-hawks-pro-skater-1-and-2-remake-skateboarding-culture-boys-club

"NHL 21 Review: This Year's Entry Struggles to Light the Lamp" by Kat Bailey at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/nhl-21-review

"How Blaseball Became a Collaborative Sports League of Peanuts and Hellfire" by Eric Van Allen at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/blaseball-interview-feature-making-of-peanuts-and-hellfire

"Nintendo’s Ring Fit Adventure removed the toxicity from my workouts" by Sam Grezses at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/25/21266228/ring-fit-adventure-quarantine-fitness-toxicity-nintendo-switch

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Best Indie Game Coverage

"Get Back To Work" by Kaile Hultner at NoEscape https://noescapevg.com/get-back-to-work/

"‘Soon, Only the Ocean’ is One of the Best Games of 2020, But You Can’t Play It" by Jack Yarwood at Fanbyte https://www.fanbyte.com/features/soon-only-the-ocean/

"In stunning indie visual novel If Found..., you must erase to rebuild" by Nicole Carpenter at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2020/5/19/21263553/if-found-dreamfeel-annapurna-interactive-visual-novel-review

"Where Are All The Fat Queer Video Game Characters?" by Aimee Hart at Gayming Mag https://gaymingmag.com/2020/10/where-are-all-the-fat-queer-video-game-characters/

"The next chapter of Indigenous representation in video games" by Molly C. Beer at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/features/2020/2/25/21150973/indigenous-representation-in-video-games

Service Jobs in Video Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdrsoAYK69g&feature=emb_logo

The System Behind Hades' Astounding Dialogue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdYL0KFA_U&t=26s

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Best Family Gaming Content

"Tom Nook, Take Me Away! 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Is A Perfect Escape" by Kaity Kline at NPR https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/820271472/tom-nook-take-me-away-animal-crossing-new-horizons-is-a-perfect-escape

"The Secret Land of Horses" by Lavinia Liang at Catapult https://catapult.co/stories/the-secret-land-of-horses-horse-isle-class-race-the-internet-lavinia-liang

"PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR, THE MOST UNDERRATED POP GAME OF THE 2010S" by Jed Pressgrove https://gamebias.wordpress.com/2020/10/29/paper-mario-sticker-star-the-most-underrated-pop-game-of-the-2010s/

"Pokemon Sword & Shield Expansion Pass (Isle of Armor/The Crown Tundra) Review" by James Galizio at RPGSite https://www.rpgsite.net/review/10413-pokemon-sword-shield-expansion-pass-isle-of-armor-the-crown-tundra-review

"17 awesome video games to play with your kids" by Mark Serrels at cnet https://www.cnet.com/pictures/17-awesome-video-games-to-play-with-your-kids/

"Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics review: an embarrassment of riches" by Ben Kuchera at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2020/6/1/21274434/clubhouse-games-51-worldwide-classics-review-ninintendo-switch

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Best Gamedev Piece

"Is the games industry open to working class people?" by Jason Coles at Gi.biz https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-02-how-to-break-into-the-industry-from-a-working-class-background

"How Blaseball Became a Collaborative Sports League of Peanuts and Hellfire" by Eric Van Allen at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/blaseball-interview-feature-making-of-peanuts-and-hellfire

"A tour of the perfect world-building behind Disney’s Tower of Terror" by Ryan Benno at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/8/21272212/tower-of-terror-disney-world-building-environmental-storytelling-games

"Railroading is Good, Actually" by Evan Horner at Knucklebone (PAYWALL) https://knucklebonemag.itch.io/knucklebone-issue-1

"Street Fighter 3 - An Oral History" by Matt Leone at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/8/22151873/street-fighter-3-an-oral-history

"Hard Lads is an important failure" by Robert Yang https://www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2020/06/hard-lads-as-important-failure.html

"Eight years at Roblox" by Arseny Kapoulkine https://zeux.io/2020/08/02/eight-years-at-roblox/

"Feature: The Making Of Star Fox Command" by Damien McFerran at Nintendo Life https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/12/feature_the_making_of_star_fox_command

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Accessibility & Inclusion

"The Last of Us Part II Accessibility Consultants — Advancing The Industry" by Ben Bayliss at CIPT? https://caniplaythat.com/2020/06/23/the-last-of-us-2-accessibility-consultants-advancing-the-industry/

"How a visually impaired streamer hunts shiny Pokémon" by Ben Sledge at Eurogamer https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-10-01-how-a-visually-impaired-streamer-is-hunting-shiny-pokemon

"PS5 — Can I Play That Console Accessibility Review" by Courtney Craven at CIPT? https://caniplaythat.com/2020/11/06/ps5-accessibility-review-can-i-play-that/

"Black 'The Sims 4' Players Are Changing One of the World’s Biggest Games" by Gita Jackson at Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/4ay5a9/black-the-sims-4-players-are-changing-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-games

"How accessibility consultants are building a more inclusive video game industry behind the scenes" by Grant Stoner at WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/02/25/how-accessibility-consultants-are-building-more-inclusive-video-game-industry-behind-scenes/

"Cyberpunk 2077 Epileptic PSA" by Liana Rupert at Game Informer https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-epileptic-psa

"How Supergiant Games made the hack’n’slash accessible with Hades" by Ruth Cassidy at RPS https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-epileptic-psa

Video Games Keep Hiding Their Accessibility Settings - Access-Ability https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFL_47--Z48&feature=youtu.be

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eSports

"Nero’s New Routines Are Helping Him Adjust to Life Abroad" by Aron Garst at Overwatch League https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/23426172

"Two Decades Later, There Simply Can't Be Another Marvel Vs. Capcom 2" by Eric Van Allen at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/two-decades-later-there-simply-cant-be-another-marvel-vs-capcom-2

"An Esports Team Signed An 8 Year Old, But Nobody Is Sure If It’s Legal" by Nathan Grayson at Kotaku An Esports Team Signed An 8 Year Old, But Nobody Is Sure If It’s Legal https://kotaku.com/an-esports-team-signed-an-8-year-old-but-nobody-is-sur-1845898629

"They dreamed of esports glory. Then their bodies broke down" by Chris Baraniuk at WIRED https://www.wired.co.uk/article/esports-injuries-mental-health

"Rand: The RunAway roster was wasted on the Vancouver Titans" by Emily Rand at ESPN https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/29143693/emily-rand-runaway-roster-was-wasted-vancouver-titans

How CS:GO's Dirtiest Cheater Inspired the Game's Most Ridiculous Meme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tZo5N5hQrs

"The Esports Empire You’ve Probably Never Heard Of" by Elizabeth Henges at EGM https://egmnow.com/the-esports-empire-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

"Why These Players Are Making it Their Mission to Succeed Outside the All-Powerful Metagame" by Luke Winkie at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/why-these-players-are-making-it-their-mission-to-succeed-outside-the-all-powerful-metagame

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Tabletop

"“We had to quarantine our games”: Friendly local game stores’ struggle to survive during coronavirus" by Matt Thrower at Dicebreaker https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/board-game/feature/flgs-pandemic-survival-struggle

"What can board game Pandemic teach us about the real thing? We played with a disease expert to find out" by Jamie Taylor at Dicebreaker https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/pandemic/feature/pandemic-board-game-real-life-comparison

"One Good Thing: It’s witches vs. the patriarchy in this endlessly fun storytelling game" by Emily VanDerWerff at Vox https://www.vox.com/culture/21499495/great-american-witch-rpg-game-witch-week

"AN ANALYSIS OF GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN TOP-RANKED BOARD GAME RULEBOOKS" by Shelly Jones and Tanya Pobuda at Analog Game Studies https://analoggamestudies.org/2020/12/an-analysis-of-gender-inclusive-language-and-imagery-in-top-ranked-board-game-rulebooks/

"Commander: The definitive history of Magic’s most popular format" by Charlie Hall at Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/28/21266763/magic-the-gathering-commander-origins-elder-dragon-highlander-alaska-menery

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Best Series - Comic, Column, Video Series, Podcast, etc

"Killing Our Gods" by Grace Benfell at Uppercut https://uppercutcrit.com/category/columns/killing-our-gods/

Party of One Podcast https://www.partyofonepodcast.com/

Game Makers Toolkit https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkBrownGMT

Retronauts https://retronauts.com/topic/podcast/

"How Games Are Changing The World" https://howgameschangetheworld.com/

Archipel Caravan https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ITSuuvJQLc7zn-MdFc09Zu1QkFS20G1

Restless Dreams Book by Ed Smith https://restlessdreamsbook.com/

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A/V Content - Individual

Life in the Shadow of Final Fantasy 7's Midgar by Jacob Geller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAQ92dsOw4

Are Lives Outdated Game Design? by Game Maker's Toolkit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2CLO8CcBjg

The Feature That Almost Sank Disco Elysium | Audio Logs at GameSpot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0-W5erEXw&feature=emb_title

A Lesson in Blackness by Spawn on Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SOlT1x8WXs&feature=youtu.be

Fodlan FM The Ingrid Controversy ft Hier https://fodlanfm.podbean.com/e/episode-4-the-ingrid-controversy-ft-hier/

Video Games Keep Hiding Their Accessibility Settings - Access-Ability https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFL_47--Z48&feature=youtu.be

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Special Award: Global Pandemic Writing

"The DeanBeat: What we’ve learned about pandemic gaming" by Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat https://venturebeat.com/2020/08/07/the-deanbeat-what-weve-learned-about-pandemic-gaming/

"The Pandemic Could Be the End of Your Favorite Arcade" by Mathew Olson at USGamer https://www.usgamer.net/articles/arcades-covid-19-coronavirus-shutdowns-fundraisers-livestreams-donations

"The pandemic canceled their wedding. So they held it in Animal Crossing." by Aron Garst at WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/04/02/animal-crossing-wedding-coronavirus/

"A Pandemic, Seen From Rainbow Road" by Stephen K Hirst at EGM https://egmnow.com/a-pandemic-seen-from-rainbow-road/

"Islands Apart" by Renate at Video Dame https://videoda.me/islands-apart-56eb5e4ba09

"How Animal Crossing’s fake industries let players afford real rent amid COVID-19" by Alexis Ong at Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/how-animal-crossing-has-become-an-experimental-playground-for-irl-business/

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IMPACT Award - the game that created the best critical discussions

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The Last of Us Part II

Ghost of Tsushima

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Cyberpunk 2077

Blaseball

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Indie Publication of the Year

Into the Spine

Uppercut

Bullet Points Monthly

Can I Play That?

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Major Publication of the Year

GameSpot

Polygon

Fanbyte

USGamer

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Games Writer of the Year

Kat Bailey

Natalie Flores

Cian Maher

Yussef Cole

Michael Higham

Nicole Carpenter

Stacey Henley

Courtney Craven

Elise Favis

Aron Garst

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