D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
{{short description|Annual award presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox award
| name = D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
| country = United States
| presenter = Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
| year = 1998
| holder = Helldivers 2
| website = {{URL|https://www.interactive.org/}}
}}
The D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design is an award presented annually by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences during the D.I.C.E. Awards. This award is "presented to the individual or team whose work represents the highest level of achievement in creating a unified audio experience. The quality of the individual sound effects, voice over, music, technology, and other audio elements will be considered in addition to the overall audio mix of the title". Creative/technical Academy members with expertise as a game designer, producer, audio designer, or musician are qualified to vote for this award.{{cite web |title=D.I.C.E. Awards Voting Rules & Procedures |url=https://www.interactive.org/awards/voting_rules.asp |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=10 December 2023}}
The award's most recent winner is Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
History
{{See also|D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition}}
The award was initially presented as the Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music for "the integration and use of sound and/or original music in an interactive title".{{cite web |title=The Award - Categories |url=http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardCat.htm |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090135/http://www.interactive.org:80/html/award/awardCat.htm |archive-date=June 15, 1998}}{{cite web |title=Second Annual Interactive Achievement Awards: Procedures & Rules |url=http://www.interactive.org/iaa/pdf/procedures.pdf |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013152818/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/pdf/procedures.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 1999}} The first winner was PaRappa the Rapper, which was developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.{{cite web |title=1998 Awards Category Details |url=https://www.interactive.org/awards/award_category_details.asp?idAward=1998&idGameAwardType=97 |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=25 October 2022}} Sound and Music was separated into their own categories for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.{{cite web |title=Third Annual Interactive Achievement Awards: Procedures & Rules |url=http://www.interactive.org/procrules.pdf |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000610202259/http://www.interactive.org:80/procrules.pdf |archive-date=June 10, 2000}} The award was renamed to its current title at the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
Winners and nominees
= 1990s =
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|Indicates the winner |
= 2000s =
= 2010s =
= 2020s =
Multiple nominations and wins
= Developers and publishers =
Sony has published the most nominees, as well as the most winners in this category. Sony has the longest publisher-winning streak in this category, having won the award for seven consecutive years (2019 to 2025). Sony also has the record for publishing the most nominees in a single year, with four nods at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
Electronic Arts developer DICE and Ubisoft Montreal have developed the most nominees, with DICE and Sony's Santa Monica Studio having developed the most winners in the category. DICE and DreamWorks Interactive are the only developers with back-to-back wins for the award. Ubisoft has published the most nominees without having a single winner, while Ubisoft Montreal has developed the most nominees without a winner as well. Ubisoft Montreal is also one of the few studios that have developed more than one nominee for a single year; the other studios are Interplay Productions, Monolith Productions, and EA Black Box.
{{col-float}}
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" background: #f6e39c;
|+ {{nowrap|Developers}} |
| scope="col" | Developer
! scope="col" | Nominations ! scope="col" | Wins |
|---|
| DICE
| 8 | 3 |
| Santa Monica Studio
| 4 | 3 |
| Naughty Dog
| 6 | 2 |
| DreamWorks Interactive/EA Los Angeles/Danger Close Games
| 5 | 2 |
| Bungie
| 4 | 2 |
| EA Redwood Shores
| 2 | 2 |
| Insomniac Games
| 4 | 1 |
| 2K Boston/Irrational Games
| 2 | 1 |
| Playdead
| 2 | 1 |
| Sucker Punch Productions
| 2 | 1 |
| Thatgamecompany
| 2 | 1 |
| Ubisoft Montreal
| 8 | 0 |
| Infinity Ward
| 6 | 0 |
| EA Black Box
| 4 | 0 |
| Red Storm Entertainment
| 4 | 0 |
| Monolith Productions
| 3 | 0 |
| Ubisoft Pictures/Montpellier
| 3 | 0 |
| Interplay Productions
| 2 | 0 |
| Harmonix
| 2 | 0 |
| Japan Studio
| 2 | 0 |
| LucasArts
| 2 | 0 |
| Media Molecule
| 2 | 0 |
| Moon Studios
| 2 | 0 |
| NetherRealm Studios
| 2 | 0 |
| Remedy Entertainment
| 2 | 0 |
| Rockstar North
| 2 | 0 |
| Sledgehammer Games
| 2 | 0 |
| Ubisoft Paris
| 2 | 0 |
{{col-float-break}}
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" background: #f6e39c;
|+ Publishers |
| scope="col" | Publisher
! scope="col" | Nominations ! scope="col" | Wins |
|---|
| Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment
| 32 | 12 |
| Electronic Arts
| 23 | 9 |
| Activision
| 14 | 2 |
| Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios
| 8 | 1 |
| 2K Games
| 3 | 1 |
| Nintendo
| 3 | 1 |
| Playdead
| 2 | 1 |
| Ubisoft
| 15 | 0 |
| Interplay Productions
| 4 | 0 |
| Eidos Interactive/Square Enix Europe
| 3 | 0 |
| Rockstar Games
| 3 | 0 |
| Sega
| 3 | 0 |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment/Warner Bros. Games
| 3 | 0 |
| Annapurna Interactive
| 2 | 0 |
| LucasArts
| 2 | 0 |
{{col-float-end}}
= Franchises =
The most nominated franchise has been Call of Duty, while God of War and Medal of Honor have been the most award-winning franchises. Battlefield is the only other franchise to have won more than once. The Tom Clancy franchise has the most nominations without winning a single award, and is the only franchise with more than one nominee in one year.
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" background: #f6e39c;
|+ {{nowrap|Franchises}} |
| scope="col" | Franchises
! scope="col" | Nominations ! scope="col" | Wins |
|---|
| Medal of Honor
| 5 | 3 |
| God of War
| 4 | 3 |
| Battlefield
| 5 | 2 |
| Call of Duty
| 8 | 1 |
| Uncharted
| 4 | 1 |
| Destiny
| 3 | 1 |
| Star Wars
| 3 | 1 |
| BioShock
| 2 | 1 |
| Halo
| 2 | 1 |
| Marvel's Spider-Man
| 2 | 1 |
| The Last of Us
| 2 | 1 |
| The Lord of the Rings
| 2 | 1 |
| Tom Clancy's
| 7 | 0 |
| Assassin's Creed
| 4 | 0 |
| Frequency{{efn|Amplitude is the sequel to Frequency.}}
| 2 | 0 |
| Grand Theft Auto
| 2 | 0 |
| LittleBigPlanet{{efn|Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a spin-off of the LittleBigPlanet franchise.}}
| 2 | 0 |
| Need for Speed
| 2 | 0 |
| Ori
| 2 | 0 |
| Ratchet & Clank
| 2 | 0 |
| Skate
| 2 | 0 |
Notes
{{notelist}}