In the world of gaming, audio and sound design is incredibly important, and can often elevate a game to something greater. Always looking forward, gaming companies like PlayStation are looking to innovate with audio immersion and audio technology already. The 19th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards recently aired to celebrate the best in gaming audio and sound, revealing winners in over 30 categories.

The Game Audio Network Guild, or G.A.N.G., was founded in 2002 to celebrate those in the game audio industry and help professionals improve their craft. Every year, they host an awards show to honor the best of the best in categories such as sound design, dialogue, voice performance, accessibility and more. The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and Hades have been regular stars this awards season, so it was no surprise to see these three games leading in nominations going into the night. Leading in nominations was The Last of Us Part 2 with 15, Ghost of Tsushima with 14, Hades with 12, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales with 11.

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 already broke records for most Game of the Year wins this awards season, so many were expecting the game to once again sweep up several wins. At the end of the night, The Last of Us Part 2 nabbed eight wins, the most of any game during the ceremony. It was the winner of categories such as Audio of the Year, Best Ensemble Cast Performance, and Excellence in Audio Accessibility. The other big winner of the night was Ghost of Tsushima, which picked up five wins in categories such as Best Game Foley and Best Vocal Performance. As both games were in part developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, no doubt Sony was very happy with both games’ wins.

The popular roguelike Hades picked up a few wins in specific indie categories for Best Sound, Best Audio, and Best Dialogue. Other wins went to Nintendo for Animal Crossing, which picked up Best Main Theme for its catchy tune, and Best UI/Objective Sound Design. Strangely enough, even though Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales had 11 nominations going into the night, it wasn’t able to pick up the win in any category.

All in all, the ceremony was a great celebration of all the hard work audio engineers, composers, and sound designers put into their work. Below is the full list of all winners and nominees for the 19th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards:

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 — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)

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 and 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 — Music by Gordy Haab (Motive, Electronic Arts) (WINNER)

Sound Design Of The Year

  • Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER - TIE) 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 The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER - TIE)

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 — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red

Best Audio For An Indie Game

  • Evergate — Stone Lantern Games Hades — Supergiant Games (WINNER) Lost Words: Beyond The Page — Sketchbook Games, Fourth State, Modus Games No Straight Roads — Metronomik 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) Hades — Music by Darren Korb (Supergiant Games) Metamorphosis — Music by Garry Schyman & Mikolai Stroinski (Ovid Works, All In! Games) Mythgard — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games) The Pathless — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive) (WINNER) Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem — Music by Jean-Gabriel Raynaud & Cedric Baravaglio (Wolcen Studio)

Best Sound Design For An Indie Game

  • Hades — Supergiant Games (WINNER) 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 — Supergiant Games (WINNER) 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 — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) 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” — Music by Kazumi Totaka (Nintendo) (WINNER) 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, Electronic Arts) The Pathless: “None Have Returned” — Music by Austin Wintory (Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive)

Best Original Song

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 — Music by John Robert Matz (Rhino Games) (WINNER) Sackboy — Music by Joe Thwaites, Jay Waters, Nick Foster, Lena Raine, George King, Brian d’Oliveira, Glen Brown, Winifred Phillips, Jim Fowler, Opiuo, 2 Mello and 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 — Music by ConSoul Grandia: “Symphonic Tale: An Unforgettable Journey (Music from Grandia)” — Music by Kentaro Sato Kingdom Hearts III: “Face My Fears” — Music by Rozen and Reven Ori and the Will of the Wisps: “Main Theme” — Music by Jillian Aversa & Andrew Aversa Witcher 3: “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher… but it’s Witcher 3” — Music by Colm McGuinness Banjo-Kazooie: “It Can’t Be True! A Bear and a Bird Working Together?!” — Music by Jeff Penny (WINNER)

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 — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios, Xbox Game Studios

Best UI, Reward Or Objective Sound Design

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo (WINNER) 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 — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) 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 (Performed by Kazuya Nakai) — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) League of Legends: Fiddlesticks (Performed by Kellen Goff) — Riot Games The Last Light: Kayah (Performed by Jan Johns) — Magic Leap Studios Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Miles Morales (Performed by Nadji Jeter) — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II: Abby (Performed by Laura Bailey) and Ellie (Performed by Ashley Johnson) — 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 — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)

Best Non-Humanoid Performance

  • Bugsnax — Young Horses (WINNER) 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 Strike — Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, Tencent Games (WINNER) 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 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales — Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)

Best Cinematic Cutscene Audio

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake — Square Enix (WINNER) 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 — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) Little Orpheus — The Chinese Room 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 — A Sound Effect, Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER) 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 — Jesse Harlin, GameSoundCon 2020 (WINNER) The Creative Process — Tom Salta Masterclass How to Write One Minute of Music — The Pathless — Austin Wintory

Best Physical Soundtrack Release

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake — 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 — Bungie Inc. (WINNER) The Pathless — Giant Squid, Annapurna Interactive, iam8bit

Best Game Trailer Audio

  • Cyberpunk 2077 — CD Projekt Red (WINNER) 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.

Source: G.A.N.G. Awards via Twitch