With the annual Game Awards set to premiere later in December, there is already talk circulating about which titles will claim the six coveted Game of the Year nomination spots, and of course which one will win. With some seriously impressive releases this year already, and still more to come, the competition will definitely be steep. If you’re wondering what our chosen contenders would be, we’ve put together a list of which titles we think will be most likely to take home the biggest trophy of all.

Dead Space Remake

• Release Date: January 27, 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

So far this has definitely been a year for some serious remakes of resoundingly popular classic games, and as such, we’re starting our list with one of the best. The first Dead Space game released by EA in 2008 went on to become one of the most decorated space horror franchises of all time, though the most love remains with the first installment that started it all.

The remake by Motive Studio did every bit of justice by presenting a gloriously crafted rebuild, top to bottom, of Issac Clarke’s entire journey through the necromorph-infested USG Ishimura. Fans of the original version were universally impressed and lavished every bit of praise, with reviews from various publications being almost perfect across the board.

Hogwarts Legacy

• Initial Release Date: February 10, 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. May 5, 2023 on PS4 and Xbox One. November 14, 2023 on Nintendo Switch.

Hogwarts Legacy, developed by Portkey Games, stands as probably the biggest wildcard on our list. A huge, open-world fantasy game that puts players in the shoes of a fifth-year student at Hogwarts, it features an abundance of fun quests and activities to do inside and outside the school, aside from the sad absence of Quidditch.

Upon its initial release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam, the game sold an impressive 12 million copies, reaching the 15 million mark after two months of sales, and $1 billion in total revenue. On Steam there were nearly half a million concurrent players taking part in the early release, which came with the Deluxe Edition of the game.

On top of its financial success, the game was essentially the most talked about upcoming game at the start of the year, for reasons both positive and negative. There was plenty of anxious chatter about the game’s ambitious open-world concept, the deviation from the token Harry Potter storyline, and the ability to create your own character. The game also received awards for being the Most Anticipated Game of 2023.

However, given the controversy surrounding original author J.K. Rowling, there were also numerous calls to boycott the game, and various publications and Twitch streamers opted to avoid the game altogether after incidents of harassment from protester groups.

This one could literally go either way and be at the forefront of the group, or be entirely absent. Either way, the game’s success is undeniable.

Resident Evil 4 Remake

• Release Date: March 23, 2023 on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

One of the other biggest remakes of the year so far is without a doubt Resident Evil 4, the title which single-handedly transformed the zombie horror franchise when it originally released back in 2005 for the Nintendo Gamecube, and the PS2 soon after.

The Resident Evil 4 Remake, which rebuilt Leon Kennedy’s dangerous excursion into the zombie-infested Spanish countryside from scratch, used the powerful RE Engine following the success of the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3. In doing so, it presented a near-perfect combination of nostalgia and spectacular innovation of the gameplay. Not to mention that Ashley Graham, long considered one of the worst “damsel”-types in gaming history, was given the character redemption of a lifetime. Even Luis Sera evolved to be a seriously reliable ally for most of the story instead of just the first thirty minutes.

Along with the inclusion of a revamped Mercenaries Mode and the still-anticipated release of the “Separate Ways” DLC, it all makes the game shape up as a definite contender for this year.

Dredge

• Release Date: March 30, 2023 on PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S

While Dave the Diver may be catching many headlines right now, hands down one of the best indie titles and fishing adventures to come out this year so far is Dredge. A game that perfectly mixes all the best parts of fishing exploration with fascinating, Lovecraft-esque creatures that lurk in the darkest depths of the ocean.

The game brings players to the coastal settlement of Greater Marrow in an island archipelago, equipped with your own motorboat to take out onto the open sea to fish for prized creatures and treasures. You can fish both day and night, but must tread carefully in the dark, as the longer you venture out during those hours you risk losing your sanity, which will cause some spectacular Lovecraftian hallucations.

A perfect and stylistic balance of casual and more challenging deep sea adventures for players to embark on, Dredge puts itself up there as one of the best fishing games in recent years, and could very well surprise us at the end of the year as a contender.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

• Release Date: April 28, 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

This highly-anticipated sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order continues the dramatically engaging story of exiled Jedi Knight Cal Kestis, reprised once again by the terrific Cameron Monaghan. Taking place five years after the previous game, ‘Survivor’ follows Cal and his friends as they struggle to evade the tyranny of the Galactic Empire. The game takes players on yet another epic adventure across the fringes of the galaxy, while fighting for the resistance helmed by Saw Gerrera.

All of the explorable level areas are even more expansive and full of fascinating lore and NPCs than in Fallen Order, capitalizing on everything that worked in the last game and making it all bigger and better. Those upgrades were all very well-received by players, earning the new installment near-perfect scores across the board. Kestis’ story is definitely worthy of a GOTY nomination, and we could very well see it pop up come December.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

• Initial Release Date: May 12, 2023 on Nintendo Switch

Many thought it would be impossible for Nintendo to outdo Breath of the Wild, the previous installment in the classic Zelda franchise. However, developers proved just about all of us wrong a hundred times over with Tears of the Kingdom, by taking all that made Breath of the Wild so amazing and expanding it even further.

Tears of the Kingdom, which has players return to defend the vast land of Hyrule once more as renowned warrior Link, features the most impressive open world map of any Zelda game to date, with so much interactive content to explore it seems nearly endless. On top of it all, the game introduced an entirely unique crafting mechanic that allows players to build just about anything they can think of, from weapons to flying machines to ridiculously long bridges.

The game pushed just about every technological limit of the Nintendo Switch handheld console, and players everywhere were eager to get their hands on it. More than 10 million copies were sold in the first three days, making it the fastest selling in the Zelda franchise and for Nintendo as a whole within the Americas.

Should Nintendo get a coveted spot on the Game of the Year lineup, it will definitely be thanks to Tears of the Kingdom.

Street Fighter 6

• Release Date: June 2, 2023 on PS4, PS5, PC, & Xbox Series X|S

Street Fighter is a classic and iconic fixture in the fighting game genre, and the latest installment in the Series has once again done the franchise justice above and beyond.

With cross-platform play, three different game modes (Fighting Ground, World Tour, and Battle Hub), real-time commentary, and an 18 character roster to choose from, the game has come the closest to a real tournament-style setting while still embracing all of the sentimental roots that have excited players since the beginning of the series.

Upon its release, the game was given a number of perfect scores by publications, others coming very close, citing its streamlined online mode, a diverse character creator, the Drive System, and even new innovative audio features for the blind and sight-impaired.

With all of its new features to not only evolve the game further, but make it as enjoyable and accessible as possible for everyone, all of the above could definitely qualify the game for a nomination this year.

Diablo 4

• Release Date: June 5, 2023 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

Diablo 4 was the most highly-anticipated game from Blizzard Entertainment for some time, and it made an otherworldly impact upon its release last month. The fourth installment in the classic dungeon crawler franchise features incredible multiplayer RPG gameplay that allows you to choose from five playable classes to embark on a new kind of adventure through the human realm of Sanctuary, and of course the realm of Hell.

Upon its release, the game was revered by various publications as Blizzard’s magnum opus title — its greatest since World of Warcraft — with millions of players flocking as soon as the early release period went live. Diablo 4 soon became the fastest-selling game in Blizzard’s history, generating well over half a billion dollars in revenue within the first five days.

Needless to say, if we don’t see this game on the six-spot list in December, we’ll be very surprised.

Final Fantasy 16

• Initial Release Date: June 22, 2023 on PS5 (timed exclusive). Port expansion to PC is planned but TBD.

Coming from one of the greatest game franchises in history, Final Fantasy 16 presents itself as one of the absolute best titles in the entire series for a multitude of reasons, least of all harnessing all the technological prowess of the PS5 system to bring forth the best version of the series’ modern combat system to date.

Opting this time for a more medieval fantasy vibe, the game features nearly unparalleled graphics and cinematics throughout the entire storyline, immersing the player literally from the get-go among all the characters, the gargantuan Eikons, and the captivating and emotional story of main protagonist Clive Rosfield. On top of all that, Square Enix’s most acclaimed developers, including Naoki Yoshida (aka “Yoshi-P”) and epic composer Masayoshi Soken, collaborated to bring it all to life.

With gorgeous open worlds to explore, an abundance of sidequest content, and new innovative features like Active Time Lore, FF16 is definitely a force to be reckoned with on this year’s roster of releases.

That concludes our list of potential GOTY contenders who may very well sweep this year’s awards show. Let us know what you think of our choices, and if there are any we missed that you think are worthy of mention.