how do games get nominated for the game awards

Games get nominated for The Game Awards through a voting process run by an international jury of more than 100 media and influencer outlets, not by a public submission system. Each outlet submits a confidential, unranked ballot of its top five choices in each category, and the five games with the most ballot mentions become the nominees; ties can expand a category to six or more nominees.

How it works

• Games are generally automatically eligible if they were publicly available within the eligibility window.

• There is no submission fee and no formal “enter your game” process.

• Developers and publishers are expected not to campaign for nomination, and campaigning can be penalized.

• Specialized juries handle some categories such as esports, accessibility, and Best Adaptation.

After nominations

Winners are decided by a blended vote: the jury counts for 90% and public fan voting for 10%. One exception is Players’ Voice, which is fully fan-voted.

Simple example

If a game is widely praised across many voting outlets, it is more likely to show up on enough ballots to land in the top five nominees for that category.

Topic| What happens
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Eligibility| Games released in the eligible window can qualify automatically 27
Nominee selection| Voting outlets submit top-five ballots 25
Final nominees| Highest vote-getters become nominees; ties can add slots 25
Public input| Fan voting affects winners, not most nominations 25

TL;DR: The Game Awards nominations are decided mainly by a large panel of media and influencer outlets voting privately, with no formal submission process and no fee.