Untitled Goose Game nabs Game of the Year at DICE Awards 2020

James Brightman
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House House's indie sensation took home three awards overall, while Remedy's brilliant action game, Control, won four awards.

The 23rd DICE Summit concluded last night with the annual DICE Awards, and somewhat surprisingly, Australian indie studio House House won Game of the Year for Untitled Goose Game. It's an award that very often goes to big, AAA blockbusters, but this year the Academy's peer panels settled on one of the most charming and endearing games of the last year. The developer confirmed at the end of 2019 that its Goose Game had managed to sell 1 million copies so far. 

House House also won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Character and Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game. Untitled Goose Game could see still more accolades in the near future, as it's one of the finalists for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at IGF this year.

Another huge winner at DICE Awards 2020 was Remedy Entertainment's Control. The Finnish game studio won for Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, and Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. This kind of peer recognition must be even more satisfying for the developers in the aftermath of Quantum Break, which Remedy's Mikael Kasurinen previously told GameDaily felt a bit too mainstream. 

“On a higher level, I think there might be a certain kind of hangover that we got with Quantum Break, which was more mainstream and a bit more in this world,” Kasurinen told us in 2018. “But we loved doing Alan Wake way back. And I guess there was this energy and desire to go strange again. Go between, you know. To do something that we feel is exciting and different and something that stands out from the rest. We wanted to double down on that and create these types of worlds again.”

Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding was the one other game to win multiple awards, earning both Outstanding Technical Achievement and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design. Another special moment during the evening came when the Academy officially welcomed Connie Booth into its Hall of Fame. The vice president of Product Development at Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has been a huge part of why the PlayStation brand has been so successful for the past 25 years. Booth, who became just the third woman in DICE history to enter the Hall of Fame, has helped produce blockbusters like Syphon Filter; SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs; Jak and Daxter; Sly Cooper; Ratchet & Clank; infamous; Resistance Fall of Man; Uncharted; The Last of Us; Days Gone, and Marvel’s Spider-Man. 

The complete list of award winners is below:

Game of the Year
Untitled Goose Game

  • Publisher: Panic
  • Developer: House House

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Control

  • Publisher: 505 Games
  • Developer: Remedy Entertainment

 
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Baba Is You

  • Publisher: Hempuli Oy
  • Developer: Hempuli Oy

Portable Game of the Year
Sayonara Wild Hearts

  • Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
  • Developer: Simogo

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Untitled Goose Game

  • Publisher: Panic
  • Developer: House House

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Pistol Whip

  • Publisher: Cloudhead Games
  • Developer: Cloudhead Games

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Blood & Truth

  • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: SIE London Studio

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Apex Legends

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

  • Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Developer: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. and Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd.

Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 2020

  • Publisher: EA Sports
  • Developer: EA Vancouver

Role-Playing Game of the Year
The Outer Worlds

  • Publisher: Private Division
  • Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Racing Game of the Year
Mario Kart Tour

  • Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Developer: Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Fighting Game of the Year
Mortal Kombat 11

  • Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: NetherRealm Studios

Family Game of the Year
Super Mario Maker 2

  • Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Developer: Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Adventure Game of the Year
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Action Game of the Year
Control

  • Publisher: 505 Games
  • Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Death Stranding

  • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Disco Elysium

  • Publisher: ZA/UM
  • Developer: ZA/UM 

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Death Stranding

  • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Developer: Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Control

  • Publisher: 505 Games
  • Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Untitled Goose Game

  • Publisher: Panic
  • Developer: House House

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Control

  • Publisher: 505 Games
  • Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Luigi’s Mansion 3

  • Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Developer: Next Level Games

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(Former) Editor-in-Chief

James has been covering the games industry since the early 2000s and was previously the editor of GamesIndustry.biz. He loves Zelda, Metroidvania-style games, action adventure and single-player narratives. He's also the proud father of twin boys and is obsessed with good coffee and Yankees baseball. You can reach him @bright_pixels on Twitter.