Baldur's Gate 3 has been nominated in five categories at this year's Gayming Awards
Gayming Magazine's annual awards for celebrating queerness in videogames are back for their fourth year. The nominees have been announced and Baldur's Gate 3 is in the lead, being up for five potential awards: Game of the Year, the Gayming Magazine Readers Award, the Authentic Representation Award, Best LGBTQ Character (two nominations, one for Dame Aylin and one for Shadowheart), and Larian is also in the running for the Industry Diversity Award.
Thirsty Suitors, which we called 2023's second-best RPG about people who are too horny for their own good, has also done well. It's been nominated for Game of the Year, Best LGBTQ Indie Game, the Authentic Representation Award, and Best LGBTQ Character for its protagonist, Jala. Tchia, our pick for best open world game of 2023, has another four nominations, while Final Fantasy 16 is up for three awards.
The Gayming Awards show will be held in Los Angeles this year, and will be broadcast on Gayming Magazine's Twitch and TikTok channels at 2pm ET on April 7. "Our move to a virtual show set in LA not only ensures that the Awards can be made with higher production standards," said Gayming Awards creator Robin Gray, "but we can also increase its accessibility and reach by broadcasting at a more globally convenient time along with offering captioned streams and our new Spanish language co-stream. These changes are hugely exciting, and I’m thrilled to be celebrating LGBTQ excellence in gaming with a bigger and more diverse audience." The full list of nominees is below.
Game of the Year
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
Final Fantasy 16 – Square Enix
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo
Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
Spider-Man 2 – Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – Summerfall Studios / Humble Games
Gayming Magazine Readers Award – sponsored by Devolver Digital
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
Final Fantasy 16 – Square Enix
Goodbye Volcano High – KO_OP
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo
Tchia – Awaceb / Kepler Interactive
This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
Best LGBTQ Indie Game – powered by TikTok
Coral Island – Stairway Games / Humble Games
In Stars and Time – insertdisc5
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – Summerfall Studios / Humble Games
Tchia – Awaceb / Kelper Interactive
Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
LGBTQ Streamer of the Year
Apothicdecay
Eevoh
Elix
EspeSymone
Halfmoonjoe
MysticKittenn
Sheilur
SpringSims
Authentic Representation Award
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Larian Studios
Coral Island – Stairway Games / Humble Games
The Sims 4 – Maxis / EA Games
The Expanse: A Telltale Series – Telltale Games / Deck Nine
Thirsty Suitors – Outerloop Games / Annapurna Interactive
This Bed We Made – Lowbirth Games
Best LGBTQ Character
Aloy – Horizon Forbidden West
Dame Aylin – Baldur’s Gate 3
Dion Lesage – Final Fantasy XVI
Jala – Thirsty Suitors
Shadowheart – Baldur’s Gate 3
Tchia – Tchia
Industry Diversity Award
Humble Games
Larian Studios
Latinx In Gaming
Qweerty Gamers
Roll7
Women In Games International
Best LGBTQ Contribution to Esports Award
Bailey McCann
Bethany “Indyburgh” Pyles
Cora Kennedy
Emma “Emzii” Rose
Slaypex & Kylie Gabor
Team Overture
LGBTQ Geek Entertainment Moment of the Year Award
Doctor Who: The Star Beast – Bad Wolf & BBC Studios
Harley Quinn – DC Studios & Warner Brothers Animation
Nimona – Netflix & Annapurna Pictures
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – Netflix
The Last of Us: Long, Long Time: HBO
The Legend of Vox Machina: Season 2 – Amazon Studios & Critical Role