Baldur's Gate 3 Named Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023

On the night of December 7-8, the tenth edition of The Game Awards 2023 took place in Los Angeles, often regarded as the gaming industry's equivalent to the Oscars. The standout of the evening was the game "Baldur's Gate 3," which clinched six awards, including the prestigious "Game of the Year."

Developed by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3 is an isometric role-playing video game and the third installment in the Baldur's Gate series, based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing system. The game features over 170 hours of cinematic cutscenes and a library of more than 600 spells and abilities.

The gaming community worldwide warmly embraced the title, with PC Gamer awarding Baldur's Gate 3 the highest score in 16 years in their review. Simultaneously, the game garnered over 500,000 concurrent players on the Steam gaming platform on its release day, surpassing 800,000 over the first weekend, securing the eighth spot for the highest player count in Steam's history.

The Game Awards 2023 also recognized the long-awaited sequel, "Alan Wake II," with victories in the categories of "Best Direction," "Best Narrative," and "Best Art Direction."

The award for "Best Game Service of the Year" went to "Cyberpunk 2077." Despite its 2020 release, the game continued to receive significant updates over three years, featuring refined mechanics and additional content. This year saw the release of a major update, introducing a new story campaign.

Additionally, Forza Motorsport claimed two awards for "Best Sports/Racing" and "Innovation in Game Accessibility for People with Disabilities."

In total, over 30 nominations were presented at the ceremony, with winners determined by both a professional jury and the gaming community.

It's worth noting that The Gaze previously reported on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) considering the possibility of organizing Olympic Games for esports athletes. IOC President Thomas Bach, during the opening ceremony of the 141st IOC Session, announced that he had tasked a special committee to explore this idea, acknowledging the immense global popularity of esports. According to him, the potential audience for such games is approximately 3 billion people, with around 500 million showing specific interest in esports rather than just video games.