In a nutshell: Next month sees the 23rd annual DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards take place, and the nominees have just been announced. Leading the pack are Control and Death Stranding, both of which are nominated in eight categories.

Most people who played Control won't be surprised to see it received eight nominations. Remedy Entertainment's mind-bending action-adventure game is superb, and one of the best reasons to own an RTX card. It's many reviewers' game of the year, and we picked it as one of our 'Best PC Games (You Should Be Playing)'.

Death Stranding, on the other hand, might be a more controversial top choice. It has a critic score of 82 on Metacritic, but it appears more divisive among users, who gave it an average of 6.7. You might remember that the site removed over 6,000 negative ratings of Hideo Kojima's title last month, blaming "suspicious activity" and "potential score manipulation," aka review bombing.

Closely following those two games with six nominations each are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and, many people's game of the year, the excellent Disco Elysium.

Elsewhere, Outer Wilds and Untitled Goose Game both have four nominations, while A Short Hike, Mortal Kombat 11, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Resident Evil 2 are all nominated in three categories.

While Control or Death Stranding could potentially walk away with eight awards, that won't match last year's star of the show: God of War. The PlayStation 4 exclusive won nine out of the 23 categories, including Game of the Year.

The DICE awards ceremony takes place on February 13 at the DICE Summit conference.

Full list of nominees:

Game of the Year

  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Untitled Goose Game

Action Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: Modern WarfareControl
  • Devil May Cry 5
  • Gears 5
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Adventure Game of the Year

  • Death Stranding
  • Luigi's Mansion 3
  • Resident Evil 2
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Family Game of the Year

  • A Short Hike
  • Dragon Quest Builders 2
  • Ring Fit Adventure
  • Super Mario Maker 2
  • Yoshi's Crafted World

Fighting Game of the Year

  • Dead or Alive 6
  • Jump Force
  • Mortal Kombat 11
  • Samurai Shodown

Racing Game of the Year

  • Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
  • DiRT Rally 2.0
  • F1 2019
  • Mario Kart Tour
  • Trials Rising

Role-Playing Game of the Year

  • Disco Elysium
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
  • Kingdom Hearts III
  • Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield
  • The Outer Worlds

Sports Game of the Year

  • FIFA 20
  • Madden NFL 20
  • MLB the Show 19
  • NBA 2k20
  • NHL 20

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

  • Anno 1800
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses
  • Oxygen Not Included
  • Slay the Spire
  • Total War: Three Kingdoms

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

  • Asgard's Wrath
  • Blood & Truth
  • Pistol Whip
  • Stormland
  • Westworld Awakening

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

  • Asgard's Wrath
  • Blood & Truth
  • Pistol Whip
  • The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
  • Trover Saves the Universe

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

  • A Short Hike
  • Disco Elysium
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Untitled Goose Game
  • What the Golf?

Portable Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: Mobile
  • Grindstone
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Sky: Children of the Light
  • What the Golf?

Online Game of the Year

  • Apex Legends
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Destiny 2: Shadowkeep
  • Tetris 99
  • Wargroove
  •  

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

  • Baba Is You
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Slay the Spire

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

  • A Short Hike
  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Untitled Goose Game

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Days Gone
  • Death Stranding
  • Devil May Cry 5
  • Luigi's Mansion 3

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Concrete Genie
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Resident Evil 2

Outstanding Achievement in Character

  • Control (Jesse Faden)
  • Death Stranding (Cliff Unger)
  • Death Stranding (Sam Porter Bridges)
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Greez)
  • Untitled Goose Game (The Goose)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

  • Arise: A Simple Story
  • Control
  • Erica
  • Golem
  • Mortal Kombat 11

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Death Stranding
  • Mortal Kombat 11
  • Resident Evil 2
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts

Outstanding Achievement in Story

  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Telling Lies
  • The Outer Worlds

Outstanding Technical Achievement

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Concrete Genie
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Metro Exodus