Blizzard’s action roleplaying game Diablo 4, the long-anticipated mainline title in the studio’s beloved franchise, won the title for Online Game of the Year at the 2024 DICE Awards this week. In the other competitive categories this year, Baldur’s Gate 3 continued its industry-wide sweep, and Spider-Man 2, considered overlooked as a winner by many fans, got plenty of recognition this time around.
It’s no small feat to be considered for a DICE Award. Founded by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, the DICE Awards, with the acronym short for "Design Innovate Communicate Entertain," is considered one of the, if not the, highest awards for interactive media, especially video games, as it’s more strictly limited to games industry workers. The winners are presented annually during the DICE Summit in Vegas, where industry leaders and workers attend talks, networking events, and activities.
Diablo 4’s win for Online Game of the Year may come as a surprise to many fans who criticized and dropped off of the game after a while, but perhaps it was just the strongest contender in a weaker year. The strongest online games in the running with it would probably be The Finals, given its popularity and slew of game-enhancing interactions, and Omega Strikers for its simple and strong premise.
By prompt alone, Diablo 4 probably earns its keep, per the DICE website: “Online Game of the Year celebrates titles of any genre with a significant portion of the gameplay experience transpiring online -- collaboratively or competitively. These titles frequently offer excellent matchmaking systems, innovative gameplay options, persistent content releases that further evolve gameplay, user customization and fluidity of gameplay.” So it goes.
Meanwhile, continuing its award sweep across the industry, Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 won nearly every single award it held nominations for, including Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Story.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Sony and Insomniac’s sequel to the well-received Spider-Man Playstation 4 game, won some number of technical and creative awards, plus Outstanding Achievement in Character for Miles Morales. The latter was the one nominated category BG3 didn’t win, with Astarion and Karlach nominated for the RPG. For the many understandably upset that Spider-Man 2 wasn’t getting its laurels, there ya go.
You can browse the categories, nominees and winners on the DICE Awards site.
