Update, July 2: The Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2018 winners have been revealed.
Every year, E3 presents the Games Critics Awards to recognize the best upcoming titles showcased at the event, and following the announcement of 2018’s nominees the panel’s winning selections have been revealed. Selected by a panel of 51 publications worldwide – including your friends at PCGamesN – the awards recognize the best games playable at E3.
This year’s best of show winner is the delectably gruesome Resident Evil 2 remake. The best PC game was named as Anthem. PC naturally did well in the strategy category, with the computer-exclusive Total War: Three Kingdoms named the best title in the genre.
Stay current with these titles and many more by following our list of the biggest upcoming PC games.
There are plenty of multi-platform winners coming to PC as well. Read on for the full list of nominees, with the winners highlighted in bold.
It’s important to distinguish that these games had to be playable by voting publications in order to qualify for nominations. That disqualifies major titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Remedy’s Control, Fallout 76, and quite a few more. These games are still eligible for Special Commendations in graphics, sound, and innovation – and Cyberpunk happened to take several such awards.
Anthem led the nominees with picks in five categories and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice followed with four – both of them qualifying for Best of Show among other honours.
There are 55 PC titles among the nominees, seven more than last year. That puts our preferred platform between the major consoles, with PlayStation 4 titles enjoying 58 nominations and Xbox One games getting 51. Ubisoft leads publisher nominations with 11 titles selected, and EA ties Sony Interactive Entertainment in second place with 10 nominations.
Best of Show
- Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sorta Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)
Best Original Game
- Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Best Console Game
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft for PS4, Xbox One)
- Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PS4, Xbox One)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PS4, Xbox One)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sorta Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)
Best VR/AR Game
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio/SIE for PSVR)
- Déraciné (FromSoftware/SIE Japan Studio/SIE for PSVR)
- Echo Combat (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios for PC)
- Tetris Effect (Resonair/Enhance Inc for PSVR)
- Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games for PlayStation 4/PSVR)
Best PC Game
- Anthem (BioWare/EA)
- Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA)
- Metro: Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver)
- Rage 2 (Avalanche/id/Bethesda)
- Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Best Hardware/Peripheral
- NEO GEO Mini (SNK)
- Poké Ball Plus (Nintendo for Switch)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- Vantage Controller for PS4 (SCUF Gaming)
- Xbox Adaptive Controller (Microsoft)
Best Action Game
- Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Metro: Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Rage 2 (Avalanche/id/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Best Action/Adventure
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entetainment/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Best RPG
- Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios/Bandai Namco for PS4, Xbox One)
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix for PC, PS4, Switch)
- Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix for PS4, Xbox One)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix/Acquire/Nintendo for Switch)
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! (Game Freak/Nintendo for Switch)
Best Fighting Game
- Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Jump Force (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- SOUL CALIBUR VI (Bandi Namco for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sorta Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)
Best Racing Game
- F1 2018 (Codemasters for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games/Turn 10/Microsoft Studios for PC, Xbox One)
- Team Sonic Racing (Sumo Digital/Sega for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Trials Rising (Red Lynx/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
Best Sports Game
- FIFA 19 (EA Vancouver/EA for PS4, Xbox One)
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning/Nintendo for Switch)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions/Konami for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Best Strategy Game
- Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden (The Bearded Ladies/Funcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
- Two Point Hospital (Two Point Studios/Sega for PC)
- Wargroove (Chuckle Fish for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
Best Family/Social Game
- Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)
- LEGO DC Super-Villains (Traveler’s Tales/WBIE for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! (Game Freak/Nintendo for Switch)
- Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games/Team 17 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning/Nintendo for Switch)
Best Online Mulitplayer
- Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Best Independent Game
- Ori and the Will of Wisps (Moon Studios/Microsoft for PC, Xbox One)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive for PC, Xbox One)
- Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games/Team 17 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury for PC)
- Tunic (Andrew Shouldice/Finji for PC, Xbox One)
Best Ongoing Game
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- For Honor (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Fortnite (Epic for iOS, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG Corp for iOS, PC, Xbox One)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)
In addition to the category awards, five special commendations also went out. Cyberpunk 2077 won special commendations for graphics and innovation, The Last of Us Part II got nods for graphics and sound, and fellow Sony-exclusive Ghost of Tsushima was awarded a graphics commendation.