Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a GOTY frontrunner at the DICE Awards

If you want that proof Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would have been a serious Game of the Year contender at The Game Awards 2024 had it not missed its release date deadline, look no further. MachineGames’ critically acclaimed take on the archaeologist’s Nazi-punching adventures is a top contender in the nominations for the 28th annual DICE Awards – perhaps the next most prestigious awards show in gaming.

Microsoft’s Indiana Jones is connected to Sony’s Astrobot And Hell divers 2 with six nominations each. All three games have been nominated for Game of the Year, along with Balatro And Black Myth: Wukong.

Other highly recognized games are Balatro And Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2with five nominations each, and 1000x resistance, Animal welfareand VR game Batman: Arkham Shadoweach of which received four nominations.

Although the DICE nominations contain no major negatives or surprises, there are a few interesting differences with The Game Awards. 1000x resistance was notably ignored by TGA – something the developer attributes a recent sales increase to. And DICE seems relatively cool on some TGA treasures, Metaphor ReFantazio And Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. They’ve been nominated for six and seven Game Awards respectively, have only two and three DICE nominations, and both lack a GOTY nod. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreewhich was nominated for five Game Awards – including, controversially, Game of the Year – has only one DICE nomination, for Role-Playing Game of the Year.

The DICE Awards will be presented on February 13 during the DICE Summit 2025, an industry conference in Las Vegas. Unlike the Game Awards, which are determined by a jury of media outlets with some input from fan votes, the DICE Awards are selected by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, an industry organization made up of publishers and developers. They work similarly to the Oscars in film, with nominations made by specialist panels and then voted on by members of the Academy.

Nevertheless, the DICE Awards and The Game Awards tend to have a similar flavor. In the past ten years, DICE and TGA have only differed on Game of the Year four times. But DICE is more open to rewarding indie games than Geoff Keighley’s ceremony, having previously handed Game of the Year wins to Hades and even Untitled Game of the Goose. The DICE Awards go back far enough, just like previous GOTY winners Golden Eye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The SimsAnd Diablo 2. Not bad company to be in.

Here is the full list of nominations for the DICE Awards:

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Excellent performance in character

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Outstanding achievement in audio design

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Excellent technical performance

Adventure game of the year

Fighting game of the year

Roleplay of the year

Strategy/simulation game of the year

Immersive reality Technical achievement

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

Excellent performance for an independent game

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

Excellent performance in game direction