Fallout 4, Bloodborne, MGS 5 and Witcher 3 lead Game Developers Choice Awards nominations

As the awards season kicks in, the gaming community is excited once again for the year's Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) to be announced on 16 March. The nominees and winners of the GDCA, which started in 2001, are decided upon by a group of leading game creators from all sections of the video game industry.

For 2016, Metal Gear Solid 5 and The Witcher 3 are leading the pack of nominations with four each including the coveted game of the year category. The insanely popular Fallout 4, which shipped 12 million units and generated over $750m (£516m) within the first 24 hours of its launch in June 2015, scooped up three nominations. Fallout 4 creators Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks have also been nominated for another of its creations, Fallout Shelter.

The GDCA nominations are open to "any video game that was released and made publicly available to customers during the 2015 calendar year, irrespective of platform or delivery medium".

Here is the complete list of nominations across all categories along with their developers. Honourable mentions are also included for each category for those games which almost made the cut.

Game of the Year

Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami)

Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)

Rocket League (Psyonix)

Honourable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)

Innovation Award

Her Story (Sam Barlow)

Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo)

Undertale (Toby Fox)

Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd)

Honourable Mentions: Rocket League (Psyonix), Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games), Cibele (Star Maid Games), Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami)

Best Debut

Studio Wildcard (ARK: Survival Evolved)

Toby Fox (Undertale)

Moon Studios (Ori And The Blind Forest)

Moppin (Downwell)

Steel Crate Games (Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes)

Honourable Mentions: Asteroid Base (Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime), Question (The Magic Circle), Thomas Happ (Axiom Verge), Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Metro), MidBoss (Read Only Memories)

Best Design

Rocket League (Psyonix)

Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami)

Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)

Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/ Bethesda Softworks)

Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Honourable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Ori And The Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

Lara Croft: GO (Square Enix Montréal / Square Enix)

Fallout Shelter (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Downwell (Moppin / Devolver Digital)

Her Story (Sam Barlow)

AlphaBear (Spry Fox)

Honourable Mentions: Prune (Joel McDonald), The Room Three (Fireproof Games), Subterfuge (Ron Carmel and Noel Llopis), Pac-Man 256 (Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets / BANDAI NAMCO), Sage Solitaire (Zach Gage), SteamWorld Heist (Image and Form), You Must Build A Boat (EightyEight Games)

Best Visual Art

Ori And The Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)

The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)

Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)

Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Honourable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami), Rise Of The Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn / Sony Computer Entertainment), Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Best Narrative

Her Story (Sam Barlow)

The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)

Undertale (Toby Fox)

The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)

Honourable Mentions: Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), Until Dawn (Supermassive Games / Sony Computer Entertainment), Cibele (Star Maid Games), Soma (Frictional Games)

Best Audio

Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)

Ori And The Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment)

Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami)

Crypt Of The NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)

Honourable Mentions: Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), SOMA (Frictional Games), Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Best Technology

Metal Gear Solid 5 (Kojima Productions / Konami)

The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)

Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios / Square Enix)

Honourable Mentions: Rise Of The Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)

To catch the ceremony that will be live streamed on 16 March 2016 at 6.30 pm click here.