“God of War” dominated at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards, scoring more than half of the awards. The hit game collected a total of 14 prizes, including audio of the year, music of the year, best original song and best original soundtrack album.
On Wednesday night, the Game Audio Network Guild announced the 26 winners of their 21st annual ceremony celebrating the music, dialogue and sound design of this year’s greatest games. The event returned in person after the pandemic, at Moscone Center in San Francisco during the Game Developers Conference.
“We are excited to be back in person at GDC for the first time since 2019; community is one of the founding principles of the organization, and there’s nothing quite like gathering together, in person to celebrate and recognize achievements by fellow members of the game audio community,” expressed Brian Schmidt, G.A.N.G president.
The ceremony also celebrated the seven-time Grammy award winner, Paul Lipson, by awarding the industry icon with the G.A.N.G.’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Lipson, the SVP of Interactive Worldwide at Formosa Group, was presented the award by the previous Lifetime Achievement honoree, Leslie Ann Jones.
“Thank you to G.A.N.G. for this incredible acknowledgment, it’s an honor to receive this award,” said Lipson. “To be recognized by my peers, colleagues, and partners in game audio means a great deal, and I am humbled to join with the past recipients as we continue to drive excellence for our industry”.
See the full list of winners below.
Audio of The Year:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Audio for a Casual or Social Game:
“Honor of Kings “(TiMi L1 Studio, Tencent Games)
Best Audio for an Indie Game:
“Moss: Book II” (Polyarc)
Best Audio Mix:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Cinematic & Cutscene Audio:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Dialogue for an Indie Game:
“Moss: Book II” (Polyarc)
Best Ensemble Cast Performance:
“Horizon Forbidden West” (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Game Audio Article or Publication:
“The Audio Source Magazine” (Women in Game Audio Edition, Fall 2022 , Editor-in-Chief Savina Ciaramella)
Best Game Audio Presentation, Podcast, or Broadcast:
“Interactive Mixing: The Next Frontier in Game Audio” (Loic Couthier, Rob Bridgett)
Best Game Foley:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Game Music Cover or Remix:
“Super Mario 64” (Rob Kovacs, 88bit and Rob Anderson, Save Point) – TIE
“The Final Battle,” “Elden Ring Soundtrack” (ROZEN + REVEN, Percussion by Larry Salzman) – TIE
Best Game Trailer Audio:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Main Theme:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment) – TIE
“Honor of Kings” – “Haiyue Theme” (TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games)- TIE
Best Music for an Indie Game:
“Moss: Book II” (Polyarc)
Best New Original IP Audio:
“The Callisto Protocol” (Striking Distance Studios, KRAFTON)
Best Original Song:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Original Soundtrack Album:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Physical Soundtrack Release:
“Returnal (Original Soundtrack)” (Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe / Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)
Best Sound Design for an Indie Game:
“Stray” (Blue Twelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)
Best UI, Reward, or Objective Sound Design:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Voice Performance:
“Horizon Forbidden West” (Ashley Burch, Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Creative and Technical Achievement in Music:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Dialogue of the Year:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Music of the Year:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Sound Design of the Year:
“God of War Ragnarök” (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
