D.I.C.E. Awards
The D.I.C.E. Awards is an annual awards show in the video game industry, and commonly referred to as the video game equivalent of the Academy Awards. The awards are arranged by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and held during the AIAS' annual D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. "D.I.C.E." is a backronym for "Design Innovate Communicate Entertain". The D.I.C.E. Awards recognizes games, individuals, and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry.
Format
The Academy encourages submissions from any individual or company providing that submission eligibility requirements are met. Each application enters the submitted game or title for consideration in at least one Craft category and only one Genre category. For most categories, the title must be publicly released in North America within the past calendar year. The exceptions to this rule are submissions for "Online Game of the Year" and "Fighting Game of the Year".The finalists in each category are selected by a peer panel, assembled by AIAS, of over 100 video game professionals across several facets of the industry, including developers, programmers, artists, and publishers, which is published on the AIAS website each year. The nominees are then voted on by the full membership of AIAS via a confidential and secured voting system, and winners are subsequently announced during the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, typically in February of that year.
Academy active Creative/Technical, Business, and Affiliate members are qualified to vote in all genre categories along with "Game of the Year", "Mobile Game of the Year", "Online Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game". Creative/Technical members of the Academy may also vote on craft categories related to their expertise:
- Game designers and producers vote for the categories of "Story", "Character", "Audio Design", "Game Direction", and "Game Design".
- Artists, animators, and programmers vote for the categories of "Animation", "Art Direction", "Character", and "Technical".
- Audio designers and musicians vote for the categories of "Audio Design", "Original Music Composition", and "Character".
Award categories
''Game of the Year'' Awards
- Game of the Year
- Online Game of the Year
- Mobile Game of the Year
- Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
- Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Discontinued, renamed, or merged categories
Game of the Year
Craft Awards
Genre Awards
Console
Computer
Online
- Online Action/Strategy Game of the Year: 1999
- Online Family/Board Game of the Year: 1999
- Online Role-Playing Game of the Year: 1999
- Entertainment Site of the Year: 1998–2000
- News/Information Site of the Year: 1998–2000
- Online Gameplay of the Year: 2001-2003
Special categories
Hall of Fame
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has annually inducted into its "Hall of Fame" video game developers that have made revolutionary and innovative achievements in the video game industry.Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given "for individuals whose accomplishments span a broad range of disciplines over a lengthy career in the industry".| Year | Person | Company/role |
| 2007 | Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln | Former presidents of Nintendo of America |
| 2008 | Ken Kutaragi | Former Chairman/CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment and considered the "Father of the PlayStation" |
| 2010 | Doug Lowenstein | Launched and served as president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, which became the Entertainment Software Association |
| 2011 | Bing Gordon | Former Chief Creative Officer of Electronic Arts |
| 2016 | Satoru Iwata | Former president of Nintendo |
| 2018 | Genyo Takeda | Former General Manager of Nintendo Integrated Research & Development |
| 2022 | Phil Spencer | CEO of Microsoft Gaming |
| 2025 | Don James | Former Executive Vice-President of Nintendo of America. Heavily contributed to the creation of the ESRB and Interactive Digital Software Association, now known as the Entertainment Software Association, and its signature trade show, E3 |
Pioneer Awards
The Pioneer Award is given "for individuals whose career spanning work has helped shape and define the interactive entertainment industry".| Year | Person | Company/role |
| 2010 | David Crane | Founder of Activision |
| 2011 | Bill Budge | Developer of Raster Blaster and Pinball Construction Set |
| 2012 | Ed Logg | Co-developer of many arcade games including Asteroids, Centipede and Gauntlet |
| 2013 | Dave Lebling & Marc Blank | Co-founders of Infocom |
| 2014 | Eugene Jarvis | Developer of arcade games Defender and Robotron: 2084 |
| 2015 | Allan Alcorn | Developer of Pong and co-developed several Atari home consoles |
| 2015 | Ralph H. Baer | Creator of the first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey |
Technical Impact Award
The Technical Impact Award was added for the 2015 awards ceremony to recognize "unique innovations that contribute to the ongoing progress of interactive media".| Year | Winner |
| 2015 | Apple App Store |
| 2016 | Visual Basic |
Notable highest wins and nominations
By game
Most award-winning games:Most nominated games:
By franchise
Most award-winning franchises:| Franchise | Wins | Games |
| God of War | 26 | 6 |
| Mario | 23 | 23 |
| The Legend of Zelda | 17 | 8 |
| Uncharted | 17 | 3 |
| Half-Life | 15 | 5 |
| FIFA/FC | 13 | 13 |
| Final Fantasy | 13 | 7 |
| Call of Duty | 12 | 6 |
| Halo | 12 | 4 |
| The Last of Us | 12 | 2 |
| Marvel | 11 | 5 |
| Middle-earth/The Lord of the Rings | 11 | 3 |
Most nominated franchises:
| Franchise | Nominations | Games |
| Call of Duty | 79 | 21 |
| Mario | 74 | 50 |
| The Legend of Zelda | 52 | 16 |
| Uncharted | 50 | 6 |
| God of War | 48 | 8 |
| Assassin's Creed | 46 | 13 |
| Star Wars | 44 | 22 |
| Marvel | 42 | 15 |
| Final Fantasy | 41 | 16 |
| Battlefield | 36 | 11 |
| Ratchet & Clank | 36 | 8 |
| Tom Clancy's | 35 | 15 |
By developer
Most award-winning developers:| Developer | Wins | Games |
| Nintendo EAD/EPD | 38 | 24 |
| Naughty Dog | 29 | 5 |
| Santa Monica Studio | 24 | 4 |
| EA Canada/Vancouver | 23 | 18 |
| Valve | 20 | 6 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 17 | 11 |
| BioWare | 17 | 7 |
| Ubisoft Montreal | 16 | 8 |
| Harmonix | 14 | 7 |
| Insomniac Games | 14 | 6 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 13 | 7 |
| Bethesda Game Studios | 13 | 5 |
| Bungie | 12 | 3 |
Most nominated developers:
| Developer | Nominations | Games |
| Nintendo EAD/EPD | 131 | 52 |
| Ubisoft Montreal | 103 | 32 |
| Naughty Dog | 85 | 12 |
| EA Canada/Vancouver | 78 | 51 |
| Insomniac Games | 77 | 17 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 66 | 31 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 57 | 22 |
| BioWare | 48 | 17 |
| DICE | 48 | 17 |
| Valve | 48 | 11 |
| Santa Monica Studio | 48 | 7 |
| Infinity Ward | 45 | 8 |
By publisher
The most award-winning publishers:| Publisher | Wins | Games |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 142 | 54 |
| Electronic Arts | 114 | 80 |
| Nintendo | 80 | 61 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios | 64 | 41 |
| Activision | 27 | 17 |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | 23 | 12 |
| Ubisoft | 21 | 13 |
| Blizzard Entertainment | 19 | 11 |
| Bethesda Softworks | 16 | 7 |
The most nominated publishers:
| Publisher | Nominations | Games |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 536 | 176 |
| Electronic Arts | 416 | 228 |
| Nintendo | 300 | 164 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios | 252 | 120 |
| Ubisoft | 186 | 82 |
| Activision | 173 | 69 |
| SquareSoft/Square Enix | 89 | 42 |
| 2K Games | 76 | 43 |
| Sega | 69 | 42 |
| Rockstar Games | 65 | 13 |