In a great year for video games, the SXSW Gaming Awards ceremony honored everything from the year’s most-talked-about creations to Gamer’s Voice Awards winners chosen by expo attendees.
The same game that topped many of the best of the year lists also walked away with several awards. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was an undeniable leap for a series already notably great. Link’s Nintendo brother Mario also walked away with a few nods.
Local winners include Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars which took home the Gamer’s Voice Award Video Game. Former Austin studio Finji published the Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game, Night in the Woods.
Here’s the entire list of winners:
Excellence in SFX
Super Mario Odyssey
Excellence in Musical Score
NieR: Automata
Excellence in Technical Achievement
NieR: Automata
Excellence in Visual Achievement
Horizon Zero Dawn
Excellence in Animation
Cuphead
Excellence in Art
Cuphead
Excellence in Convergence
Star Wars Battlefront II
Excellence in Multiplayer
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Most Promising New Intellectual Property
Horizon Zero Dawn
Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game
Night in the Woods
Excellence in Gameplay
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Excellence in Design
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Excellence in Narrative
What Remains of Edith Finch
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award
Doki Doki Literature Club
Gamer’s Voice Award Video Game
Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars
Gamer’s Voice Award Mobile Game
Tiny Bubbles
Gamer’s Voice Award Tabletop Game
Sol: Last Days of a Star
Gamer’s Voice Award Virtual Reality Game
SUPERHOT VR
Trending Game of the Year
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Esports Game of the Year
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Tabletop Game of the Year
Gloomhaven
Virtual Reality Game of the Year
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Mobile Game of the Year
Fire Emblem Heroes
Video Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This article appears in March 16 • 2018.
