Each year prior to E3, a number of critics from various outlets around the globe descend upon Los Angeles for something called Judges Week. It is here that many get to see ahead of time a portion of the games that will show up a few weeks later at E3 proper and try them out beforehand. After playing a whole bunch of games all week long, these critics then vote for the games that are distinguished as the best of the show from the esteemed Game Critics Awards panel.
This year’s Game Critics Awards for E3 2019 have now been released and the big winner was that of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake. The remake of the classic RPG took home top honors for this year’s E3 with the game being awarded Best of Show. In addition, Final Fantasy VII Remake also took home awards for Best Console game and Best RPG.
The only other game to win multiple awards this year was Bethesda’s DOOM Eternal, which won Best PC game and Best Action.
Only the games that were actually playable at E3 count towards these awards. And with so few games actually being playable at E3 2019, a lot of highly-anticipated upcoming titles (Cyberpunk, Dying Light 2, etc.) were automatically disqualified.
You can find the full list of winners below for each of their respective categories.
Best of Show
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Best Original Game
The Outer Worlds
Best Console
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Best VR/AR Game
Phantom: Covert Ops
Best PC Game
Doom Eternal
Best Hardware/Peripheral
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Best Action Game
Doom Eternal
Best Action/Adventure
Watch Dogs: Legion
Best RPG
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Best Racing Game
Crash Team Racing
Best Sports Game
EFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020
Best Strategy Game
John Wick Hex
Best Family/Social Game
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Best Online Multiplayer
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Best Independent Game
12 Minutes
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2
Special Commendations for Graphics
Cyberpunk 2077