Game Audio Network Guild announces 19th Annual G.A.N.G. Award Winners

The Game Audio Network Guild (G..A.N.G.) have announced the winners for their 19th annual G.A.N.G. Awards. For the second year in a row, the event was streamed live on Twitch.tv and featured a range of new categories. The Awards were co-hosted by composers Rachel Robison and Cody Matthew Johnson. The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment) swept the event, taking home eight awards including Audio of the Year. Music of the Year was, for the second year in a row, bestowed on composer Gordy Haab, this year for his score for Star Wars: Squadrons (Motive Studios, Electronic Arts).

Said Game Audio Network Guild President Brian Schmidt, “This year, we’ve made the largest change to our award show categories in over a decade, expanding the awards in sound design, dialogue and independently developed games, and also expanding our recognition of game soundtrack releases. We are also excited to create a new award highlighting the creative use of audio to make games more accessible to players who may rely primarily on sound to enjoy the world of video games.”

Said G.A.N.G. Executive Director Savina Ciaramella, “Each year the Game Audio Network Guild Awards recognizes excellence in game audio production, which continues to evolve with advanced technologies and a new generation of brilliant minds. Our non-profit organization revolves around networking, education, advocacy, and recognition, and our members range from students to veterans. The G.A.N.G. Awards not only fosters camaraderie among its members, it also recognizes and elevates the outstanding achievements across the entire industry. This is a very special night that we all look forward to, whether virtually or in person.”

Full list of winners and nominees:

Audio of The Year

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red

 

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Hades

Supergiant Games

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

 

Music of the Year

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Music by Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi,

Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi, & Masato Ohashi 

Nintendo

 

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Music by Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki, & Nobuo Uematsu

Square Enix

 

Hades

Music by Darren Korb

Supergiant Games

 

Metamorphosis

Music by Mikolai Stroinski & Garry Schyman

Ovid Works, All In! Games

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Music by Gareth Coker

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

 

Star Wars: Squadrons – WINNER

Music by Gordy Haab

Motive Studios, Electronic Arts

 

 

Sound Design of the Year (TIE)

 

Ghost of Tsushima – WINNER

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Half-Life: Alyx

Valve

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

 

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Intelligent Systems, Nintendo

 

 

 

Dialogue of the Year

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Hades

Supergiant Games

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red

Best Audio for an Indie Game

Evergate

Stone Lantern Games, PQube

 

Hades – WINNER

Supergiant Games

 

Lost Words: Beyond The Page

Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games

 

No Straight Roads

Metronomik, Sold Out Ltd.

 

The Pathless

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

 

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Wolcen Studio

 

Best Music for an Indie Game

Evergate

Music by M.R. Miller

Stone Lantern Games, PQube

 

Hades

Music by Darren Korb

Supergiant Games

 

Metamorphosis

Music by Mikolai Stroinski & Garry Schyman

Ovid Works, All In! Games

 

Mythgard

Music by John Robert Matz

Rhino Games

 

The Pathless – WINNER

Music by Austin Wintory

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

 

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Music by Jean-Gabriel Raynaud & Cedric Baravaglio

Wolcen Studio

 

 

Best Sound Design for an Indie Game

 

Hades – WINNER

Supergiant Games

 

Liquidators

1986 CL3

 

Carrion

Phobia Game Studio, Devolver Digital

 

Mortal Shell

Cold Symmetry, Playstack

 

Risk of Rain 2

Hopoo Games, PlayEveryWare

 

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Wolcen Studio

 

Best Dialogue for an Indie Game

 

3 out of 10

Terrible Posture Games

 

Bugsnax

Young Horses

 

Hades – WINNER

Supergiant Games

 

Lost Words: Beyond The Page

Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games

 

Mortal Shell

Cold Symmetry, Playstack

 

The Red Lantern

Timberline Studio

Creative and Technical Achievement in Music

A Total War Saga: Troy

Creative Assembly

 

Ghost of Tsushima – WINNER

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Pathless

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

Best Main Theme

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – “Main Theme” – WINNER

Music by Kazumi Totaka

Nintendo

 

Biped – “Biped Theme”

Music by Thomas Parisch

NExT Studios, META Publishing, Bilibili

 

Ghost of Tsushima – “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima)”

Music by Ilan Eshkeri

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Lost Words: Beyond The Page

Music by David Housden

Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games

 

Star Wars: Squadrons – “Main Theme”

Music by Gordy Haab

Motive Studios, Electronic Arts

 

The Pathless – “None Have Returned”

Music by Austin Wintory

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

 

 

Best Original Song

Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition – “Bury the Light”

Music by Casey Edwards

CAPCOM

 

Ghost of Tsushima – “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima)”

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Hades – “In The Blood”

Music by Darren Korb

Supergiant Games

 

League of Legends – K/DA – “MORE” – WINNER

Music by Rebecca Johnson, Sebastien Najand, Riot Music Team, & Bekuh BOOM

Performed by (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns, K/DA, Lexie Liu, Madison Beer, Seraphine

Riot Games

 

The Good Life – “The Good Life”

Music by The Bad Lives

 

The Pathless – “A land, which was not my Own”

Music by Austin Wintory

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactiv

 

Best Original Soundtrack Album

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Music by Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, & Einar Selvik

Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft

 

GODFALL

Music by Ben MacDougall

Counterplay Games, Gearbox Publishing

 

Hades

Music by Darren Korb

Supergiant Games

 

Mythgard – WINNER

Music by John Robert Matz

Rhino Games

 

Sackboy

Music by Joe Thwaites, Jay Waters, Nick Foster, Lena Raine, George King, Brian d’Oliveira, Glen Brown, Winifred Philips, Jim Fowler, Opiuo, 2 Mello, & Tokyo Machine

Sumo Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Pathless

Music by Austin Wintory

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

Best Game Music Cover or Remix

Cuphead – “Closing Credits” – Live at MAGfest

ConSoul

 

 Grandia – “Symphonic Tale: An Unforgettable Journey (Music from Grandia)”

Kentaro Sato

 

Kingdom Hearts III – “Face My Fears”

ROZEN + REVEN

Ori and the Will of the Wisps – “Main Theme”

Jillian Aversa & Andrew Aversa

 

Witcher 3 – “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher… but it’s Witcher 3”

Colm McGuinness

 

Banjo-Kazooie – “嘘でしょ!コンビは熊と鳥!?(It Can’t Be True! A Bear and a Bird Working Together?!)” – WINNER

Jeff Penny

Creative and Technical Achievement in Sound Design

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Square Enix

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Supermassive Games, Bandai Namco

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

 

Best UI, Reward, or Objective Sound Design

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – WINNER

Nintendo

 

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Hades

Supergiant Games

 

Hearthstone: Madness  at the Darkmoon Faire

Blizzard Entertainment

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Best Game Foley

Ghost of Tsushima – WINNER

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Square Enix

 

Half-Life: Alyx

Valve

 

Mafia: Definitive Edition

Hangar 13, 2K Games

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Voice Performance

Ghost of Tsushima – Jin – WINNER

Performed by Kazuya Nakai

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

League of Legends – Fiddlesticks

Performed by Kellen Goff

Riot Games

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Miles Morales

Performed by Nadji Jeter

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last Light – Kayah

Performed by Jan Johns

Magic Leap Studios

 

The Last of Us Part II – Abby

Performed by Laura Bailey

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II – Ellie

Performed by Ashley Johnson

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Ensemble Cast Performance

3 out of 10

Terrible Posture Games

 

Bugsnax

Young Horses

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Tell Me Why

DONTNOD Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios

 

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Supermassive Giants, Bandai Namco

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Best Non-Humanoid Performance

Bugsnax – WINNER

Young Horses

 

Call of Duty: Mobile

TiMi Studios, Tencent Games, Activision

 

Half-Life: Alyx

Valve

 

League of Legends

Riot Games

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Audio for a Casual or Social Game

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo

 

Call of Duty: Mobile

TiMi Studios, Activision, Tencent Games

 

Game for Peace: Meteor Crisis – WINNER

Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, Tencent Games

 

Hearthstone

Blizzard Entertainment

 

Honor of Kings

TiMi Studios, Tencent Games

 

Legends of Runeterra

Riot Games

Excellence in Audio Accessibility

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo

 

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Hades

Supergiant Games

 

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II – WINNER

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best Cinematic Cutscene Audio

Final Fantasy VII Remake – WINNER

Square Enix

 

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Half-Life: Alyx

Valve

 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Blizzard Entertainment

Best New Original IP Audio

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red

 

Ghost of Tsushima – WINNER

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Little Orpheus

The Chinese Room, Sumo Digital

 

Mythgard

Rhino Games

 

No Straight Roads

Metronomik, Sold Out Ltd., Game Source Entertainment,

Mastertronic Group

 

The Pathless

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive

 Best Game Audio Article or Publication

Journal of Sound and Music in Games Volume 1

Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games, University of California Press

 

The Frequencies of Folklore

Riot Games

 

The Game Audio Strategy Guide: A Practical Course

Serial Lab Studios, Routledge

 

The Last of Us Part II Sound Interview – WINNER

A Sound Effect, Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

VR Video Games and Music Composition: an Interview with Skew Sound

Andrew G. Cheek

Best Game Audio Presentation, Podcast, or Broadcast

Frequencies – League of Legends Audio Deep Dive

Riot Games, GameSoundCon 2020

 

From Assassin’s Creed to the Dark Eye: The Importance of Themes

Winifred Phillips, GDC 2020

 

How to Get Hired a Second Time – WINNER

Jesse Harlin, GameSoundCon 2020

 

The Creative Process

Tom Salta Masterclass

 

How to Write One Minute of Music – The Pathless

Austin Wintory

 

Best Physical Soundtrack Release

Final Fantasy VII [Vinyl]

Square Enix

 

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Milan Records

 

Ori and Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios, iam8bit

 

The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Masterworks, Mondo

 

The Music of Destiny, Volume II Collector’s Edition Vinyl Box Set – WINNER

Bungie Inc.

 

The Pathless

Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive, iam8bit

Best Game Trailer Audio

Cyberpunk 2077 – WINNER

CD Projekt Red

 

Destiny 2: Beyond Light

Bungie Inc.

 

Hades

Supergiant Games, Studio Grackle

 

Half-Life: Alyx

Valve

 

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Edelweiss, Marvelous Interactive Inc., XSEED Games

 

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Cinematic Trailer

Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

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Best Audio Mix was awarded to The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment), Excellence in VR Audio went to three recipients including The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive), Half-Life: Alyx, (Valve), and The Last Light (Magic Leap).

 

The Game Audio Network Guild Recognition Award was given to composer Wilbert Roget, II (Mortal Kombat 11Call of Duty WWII), and the organization’s Distinguished Service Award went to composer Cody Matthew Johnson, whose music can be heard in games such as Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry 5. Game audio veteran Guy Whitmore, currently Studio Head at Formosa Interactive Seattle, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The show featured performances by Úyanga Bold, Rob Kovacs (88bit), and Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett.