D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
{{short description|Annual award presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox award
| name = D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
| country = United States
| presenter = Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
| year = 2009
| holder = Animal Well
| website = {{URL|https://www.interactive.org/}}
}}
The D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction is an award presented annually by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences during the D.I.C.E. Awards. This recognizes "the individual or small group of individuals who are responsible for directing and driving an interactive game and its team through a combination of skills that include vision, management execution, and game design to create a cohesive experience. This award recognizes the role of the creative director and game director - in guiding all elements of a title and shaping the final outcome of a game". Creative/technical Academy members with expertise as a game designer or producer 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 Animal Well, developed by Shared Memory and published by Bigmode.
Game Direction and Game of the Year
{{See also|D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year}}
Since the award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction was first offered at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, most of the finalists for Game Direction were also finalists for Game of the Year. In addition, most award winners for Game Direction would also win Game of the Year. The winners for Game Direction that did not win Game of the Year were:
- Red Dead Redemption
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Inside
- Control
- Deathloop
- Animal Well{{efn|It was not nominated for Game of the Year at its awards ceremony.}}
The only winners for Game of the Year that were not finalists for Game Direction were:
2025 was the only year when none of the games nominated for Game Direction were finalists for Game of the Year.
Winners and nominees
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|+ Table key |
| style="background:#FAEB86; height:20px; width:20px"|
|Indicates the winner |
= 2000s =
= 2010s =
= 2020s =
Multiple nominations and wins
= Developers and publishers =
Sony has published the most nominees and the most winners, and is the only publisher with back-to-back wins. Sony's developer Naughty Dog has developed the most nominees, and is tied with Bethesda Game Studios for developing the most winners. Ubisoft Montreal and Insomniac Games are tied for developing the most nominees without a winner, while Annapurna Interactive has published the most nominees without a winner.
{{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 |
|---|
| Naughty Dog
| 6 | 2 |
| Bethesda Game Studios
| 3 | 2 |
| Nintendo EPD
| 3 | 1 |
| Santa Monica Studio
| 3 | 1 |
| Arkane Studios
| 2 | 1 |
| Media Molecule
| 2 | 1 |
| Playdead
| 2 | 1 |
| Thatgamecompany
| 2 | 1 |
| Insomniac Games
| 3 | 0 |
| Ubisoft Montreal
| 3 | 0 |
| Giant Sparrow
| 2 | 0 |
| Guerrilla Games
| 2 | 0 |
| Lucas Pope
| 2 | 0 |
| Rocksteady Studios
| 2 | 0 |
| Valve
| 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
| 20 | 5 |
| Bethesda Softworks
| 5 | 3 |
| Rockstar Games
| 4 | 1 |
| Nintendo
| 3 | 1 |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
| 3 | 1 |
| 505 Games
| 2 | 1 |
| Bandai Namco Entertainment
| 2 | 1 |
| Annapurna Interactive
| 8 | 0 |
| Electronic Arts
| 4 | 0 |
| Ubisoft
| 3 | 0 |
| Valve
| 3 | 0 |
| 3909
| 2 | 0 |
| Panic Inc.
| 2 | 0 |
| Square Enix Europe
| 2 | 0 |
{{col-float-end}}
= Franchises =
Only ten franchises have been nominated more than once, with none being repeat winners. Uncharted has been the most nominated franchise in this category.
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" background: #f6e39c;
|+ {{nowrap|Franchises}} |
| scope="col" | Franchise
! scope="col" | Nominations ! scope="col" | Wins |
|---|
| Uncharted
| 4 | 1 |
| Fallout
| 2 | 1 |
| God of War
| 2 | 1 |
| The Last of Us
| 2 | 1 |
| The Legend of Zelda
| 2 | 1 |
| Red Dead
| 2 | 1 |
| Assassin's Creed
| 2 | 0 |
| Batman: Arkham
| 2 | 0 |
| Horizon
| 2 | 0 |
| Marvel's Spider-Man
| 2 | 0 |
Notes
{{notelist}}