God of War has set a new milestone in NAVGTR awards history at this year’s ceremony. God of War is the first game in the 18-year history of the NAVGTR (National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers) to win 16 awards in a single year. God of War’s closest competitors for the highest number of awards in 2019 were Marvel’s Spider-Man and Detroit: Become Human, who were tied with three.
God of War‘s NAVGTR awards record sees the action game beat The Last of Us, which held the record previously; Naughty Dog’s critically-acclaimed title received 15 NAVGTR awards in 2013. God of War faced stiff competition in the featured categories this year, too. In the showpiece “Game of the Year” category, God of War came out on top against Red Dead Redemption 2, Celeste, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and other lauded titles from 2018.
Most notably, Santa Monica Studio’s game won the awards for Animation, Design, Original Dramatic Score, and Performance in a Drama for Christopher Judge as Kratos. God of War NAVGTR awards achievement follows its significant victory at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E Awards earlier this year. The game was also honored at The Game Awards 2018, winning Game of the Year.
The 2019 NAVGTR awards include 59 categories, so God of War wasn’t the only noteworthy winner. Epic Games’ phenomenon Fortnite received the award for “Game, esports.” Dragon Ball FighterZ beat tough competition in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to win Game, Franchise Fighting. While Nintendo Labo won in the category for Game, Special Class.
NAVGTR is compiled of 1,100 media representatives and has 8,895 subscribers. The organization is a non-profit and hosts the awards each year to honor “video game art, technology, and production.” Since the launch of the awards in 2001, NAVGTR has presented awards to over 3,600 games industry professionals. This year’s winners will be represented at the War of Awards ceremony at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts on March 30.
