The Witcher 3 named Game of the Year at GDC Awards

This year’s GDC Awards have proclaimed CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher III: Wild Hunt as the best game released in 2015.

The epic fantasy RPG picked up the top honour of Game of the Year at this year’s Game Developer Choice Awards.

It also swiped the prize for Best Technology, recognising its visually impressive game engine and expansive environments.

Hot on its heels was Sam Barlow’s indie smash hit Her Story, which received more awards than any other game on the evening.

The FMV crime fiction title went home with the awards for Innovation, Best Narrative and Best handheld/Mobile Game, having launched on iOS and Android as well as PC.

Barlow’s success at the GDC Awards closely followed its winning run at the preceding IGF Awards, where it won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Excellence in Narrative trophies.

Moon Studios picked up two prizes, Best Debut and Best Visual Art, for its PC and Xbox One platformer Ori and the Blind Forest.

Best Design went to Psyonix’s wildly popular car-football title Rocket League.

DontNod’s teenage time-bending episodic release Life is Strange was heralded as the best game in the Audience Award, which is decided by online voters.

Best Audio went to funky dungeon-crawler Crypt of the NecroDancer from Brace Yourself Games.

Three special prizes were handed out to major figures in the games development industry.

The Pioneer Award went to Minecraft creator and Mojang founder Markuss ‘Notch’ Persson for his efforts in establishing games as a creative tool.

University of Southern California games programme director and Game Innovation Lab leader Tracey Fullerton was the recipient of the Ambassador Award, which recognises those who have helped games “advance to a better place”.

Bethesda Game Studios creative director, designer and executive producer Todd Howard was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement trophy, reflecting his work helming franchises including Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.