The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an
award show
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award ...
in the
video game industry
The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide.
The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...
started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
". The awards are arranged by the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and held during the AIAS' annual D.I.C.E. Summit in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. "D.I.C.E." is a
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
for "Design Innovate Communicate Entertain". The D.I.C.E. Awards recognize games, individuals, and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry.
Format
The nominees 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 (approximately 22,000 members) via a confidential and secured voting system, and winners are subsequently announced during the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, typically the February of that year. Due to this approach, the D.I.C.E. awards are considered the main peer-based recognition within the video games compared to other major awards.
Award categories
The tables below are based on the awards cycle for the calendar year preceding the award ceremony date; for example, all awards given for "1997" were presented to winners in a 1998 ceremony.
Game of the Year
Overall
Action Game of the Year
Adventure Game of the Year
Cellular/Mobile Game of the Year
Downloadable Game of the Year
Family Game of the Year
Handheld/Portable Game of the Year
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
The Immersive Reality Game of the Year was added for consideration of 2016 games to award those in the growing area of
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
and
augmented reality games.
Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Referred to in the past as "Persistent World", "Online", or "Online Role-Playing" Game of the Year.
Racing Game of the Year
Role-Playing Game of the Year
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Sports Game of the Year
Fighting Game of the Year
Casual Game of the Year
Social Networking Game/Web Based Game of the Year
"Outstanding" Awards
Outstanding Independent Game
Outstanding Animation
Outstanding Game Direction
Outstanding Art Direction
Outstanding Character Performance
Outstanding Achievement in Character
Outstanding Game Design
Outstanding Gameplay Engineering
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
This award was added to honor games from 2016 onward in technical achievements for virtual reality and augmented reality.
Outstanding Licensed Soundtrack
Outstanding Online Gameplay
Outstanding Original Music Composition
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Outstanding Character or Story Development
Outstanding Story
Outstanding Visual Engineering
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Innovation in Gaming
Console Awards
Console Game of the Year
Console Innovation
Console Children's
Console First Person Action
Console Sports Simulation
Console Action Sports
Computer Awards
Computer Game of the Year
Computer Innovation
Computer Educational/Skills
Computer Family/Children's
Computer First Person Action
D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
The D.I.C.E. Sprite Award was introduced in the 2015 awards ceremony. It is intended to honor "a game having disproportionate resources for development and exposure (as compared to AAA titles), represent a higher degree of risk tolerance and advances our industry with innovative gameplay and experiences".
Award show hosts
Since 2000, the annual award show has been hosted by many notable figures from the entertainment world.
:
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
—
Martin Short
:
2001 —
Martin Lewis
:
2002 —
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...
:
2003 —
Dave Foley
David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and ...
:
2004 —
Diane Mizota
:
2005 — Cory Rouse and Kurt Scholler
:
2006 —
Jay Mohr
Jon Ferguson "Jay" Mohr (born August 23, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and radio host. He is known for his roles as film producer Peter Dragon in the TV comedy series '' Action'', Professor Rick Payne in the TV series ''Ghost Whisperer'' ...
:
2007 — Jay Mohr
:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
— Jay Mohr
:
2009 — Jay Mohr
:
2010 — Jay Mohr
:
2011 — Jay Mohr
:
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
— Jay Mohr
:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
—
Charles Hardwick
:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
—
Freddie Wong
Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...
and
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
:
2015 —
Pete Holmes
Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works.
Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, ...
:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
— Pete Holmes
:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
—
Greg Miller and
Jessica Chobot
Jessica Chobot (born Jessica Lynn Horn; July 7, 1977) is an American on-camera host and writer. She has hosted the IGN shows ''IGN Strategize'' and ''Weekly Wood'', which also runs on Xbox Live; she previously worked as presenter of the ''IGN ...
:
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
— Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot
:
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
— Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot
:
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
— Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot
:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
— Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot and Kahlief Adams
:
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
— Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot
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.
AIAS Hall of Fame
/ref>
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".
Pioneer Awards
The Pioneer Award is given "for individuals whose career spanning work has helped shape and define the interactive entertainment industry".
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".
Milestones
Games with multiple wins
The following games received six or more D.I.C.E. Awards:
Games with multiple nominations
The following games received eleven or more D.I.C.E. Award nominations:
References
{{DICE GOTY
D.I.C.E. Awards
Awards established in 1998