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Australian Games Awards

All the Winners from the 2018 Australian Games Awards


A new tradition for the Australian games industry!


With The Game Awards in the rear-view, the who’s who of the Australian games industry turned its attention to the Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park (Melbourne’s is better!) for the first ever Australian Game Awards. Although it didn’t feature as many reveals or trailers as its American counterpart, the event was a fantastic debut effort that we can only hope to see a whole hell of a lot more of.

Without further ado, though: here’s a recap of all the winners and runners-up!


Action/Adventure Title of the Year: Red Dead Redemption 2

Runners-up: Assassins Creed: Odyssey, Detroit: Become Human, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man

Red Dead Redemption 2 continues Rockstar’s tradition of outstanding game design, providing a wonderfully rich storyline, a brilliant cast of characters, and a remarkably designed world, offering hundreds of hours of entertainment. Cav reviewed the game earlier this year and called it “as remarkable an experience as we’ve come to expect from Rockstar”.

Audio Brand of the Year: Plantronics

Runners-up: Audio-Technica, HyperX, Logitech G, Turtle Beach

Already regarded as an innovator in audio solutions for flight and space, Plantronics continues to develop its reputation in the gaming space as well.

Australian-Developed Game of the Year: Hollow Knight

Runners-up: An Aspie Life, Damsel, Death Squared, Florence, Hand of Fate 2, Infliction, Paperbark, Storm Boy, The Gardens Between

Adelaide-based Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight received a second life this year when it released on the Nintendo Switch in June, and on the PS4 and Xbox One in September. The game beat out a strong cast of locally made games to be crowned Australian developed game of the year.

Breakout Creator of the Year: Pestily

Runners-up: Carlaful, Crayator, Duke_of_Flukes, Retro Gamer Girl

The Escape From Tarkov player and streamer – and part-time firefighter – has only been creating content since last October, but has amassed more than 26,000 followers on Twitch and more than 19,000 on YouTube and looks set to continue growing.

Controller and Accessories Brand of the Year: Razer

Runners-up: AKRacing, Official Nintendo, Official PlayStation, Official Xbox

Razer’s penchant for turning a gamer’s desk into their own personal light show has been popular for some time, and its popularity seems set to grow as it continues to expand its offering.

Cosplayer of the Year: Whereisdanielle

Runners-up: Astrokerrie, Beke Cosplay, CosPlay Chris

Sydney cosplayer Whereisdanielle’s work sees her dressing up as mech/soldier-type characters with custom weapons, including Master Chief and other Halo characters, and Brigitte from Overwatch.

Creator of the Year: James Turner (The Sim Supply)

Runners-up: Bajo, Deligracy, iamfallfromgrace, Lachlan, Lazarbeam, Loserfruit, Muselk, TheMasterBucks, Vondle

James Turner, who posts videos on YouTube on a network of channels with a total of more than 1.5 million subscribers, is known for his many Sims video series on his channel The Sim Supply. His network also includes a second gaming channel, Flabaliki, for other simulation-type games like Two Point Hospital and Cities: Skylines, as well as additional channels for vlogs and podcasts.

Esports Personality of the Year: Miles Ross

Runners-up: Ben Green, Jordan “ElfishGuy” Mays, Michelle Mannering, Vandie

Commentator Miles Ross took out the award for best esports personality, thanks to his work on Call of Duty and other shooter games. He is well versed as a presenter and his work brings an aura of legitimacy to Australia’s burgeoning esports scene.

Esports Title of the Year: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege

Runners-up: Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League

Rainbow Six: Siege experienced an incredible year in esports, with tight competition encompassing every event. Capping off the highlights was an appearance by Australian team FNATIC at the Six Masters event, mixing it with the world’s best teams.

Family/Kids Title of Year: Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Runners-up: Overcooked 2, Pokémon: Let’s Go! Pikachu/Eevee, Super Mario Party, Unravel 2

Spyro the Dragon was a fan favourite among many gamers growing up, so to have the series reimagined for a new generation would allow those those gamers to introduce their children and younger relatives to it.

Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption 2

Runners-up: Assassins Creed: Odyssey, Call Of Duty: Black Ops IIII, Detroit: Become Human, Fallout 76, Fortnite, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Monster Hunter: World, Super Mario Party

The game that Cav called “Rockstar’s masterpiece” earns yet another accolade, beating the majority of its Game Awards competitors – including its own Game of the Year God of War – and a few other entrants for the Australian prize.

Gaming Publication of the Year: Press Start Australia

Runners-up: Filthy Casuals Podcast, Game Informer Australia, Game On Australia, Good Game Spawn Point, Goto.Game, IGN Australia, Pixel Sift, Vooks, Well Played

The team at Press Start has worked hard to bring its audience news in a timely manner while also ensuring it is tailored for a local audience. Press Start also has regular bargain guides, helping consumers get the best price for a new release.

Independent Game of the Year: Hollow Knight

Runners-up: Celeste, Damsel, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Storm Boy

Hollow Knight backed up its Australian-made award with best indie game of the year, beating out a strong line of contenders from other local and international entries.

Journalist of the Year: Rae Johnston

Runners-up: Alice Clarke, Hope Corrigan, Shannon Grixti

The Journalist of the Year category saw controversy in the lead-up to Wednesday night’s event, after evidence of plagiarism from goto.game’s Derek “Dez” Maggs surfaced on Twitter and forced his withdrawal from the award. Johnston has previously been nominated for over 20 other journalism awards but had never successfully won before tonight.

Mixer Creator of the Year: Duke of Flukes

Runners-up: KTLODO, LegendTriks, LilDevilTan, MissZee

The variety streamer – and host of Mixer’s coverage of the event – took the award over his co-host, MissZee, and three more of Australia’s best Mixer streamers. Any of these would have been a worthy winner, so the Duke can be extra proud of his win.

Mobile/Handheld Title of the Year: Octopath Traveler

Runners-up: Fortnite, Paperbark, Piffle, Storm Boy

Switch-exclusive Octopath Traveler has been one of the most successful titles on the platform. The game features eight playable characters whose stories all intertwine as part of the overall branching storyline.

Multiplayer/Online Title of the Year: Fortnite

Runners-up: Battlefield V, Call Of Duty: Black Ops IIII, Monster Hunter World, Sea of Thieves

The strength of Fortnite’s popularity is something that is almost unmatched in 2018, as it continues to break new ground in the industry. More than 200 million players have registered, and its success has led to Epic Games founding its own storefront to compete with other platforms like Steam and Origin.

Organisation of the Year: FNATIC

Runners-up: Chiefs Esports Club, Grayhoundgaming, Mindfreak, Tainted Minds

International powerhouse FNATIC is one of the biggest names in the industry, with teams in many top esports titles, including CS:GO, League of Legends and Rocket League. The Australian-based Rainbox Six: Siege team featured at the Six Masters event.

Play of the Year: Acez’s 1v4 clutch (Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege)

Runners-up: CJCJ RLCS walkout, Dexter Ninja Defuse, RizRaz Match Point Clutch (Six Masters 2018: Clubhouse vs Nora-Rengo), Tainted Minds beats Optic Gaming 3-2 in the Pro League

FNATIC’s Acez managed to secure a victory for his team despite being in a 1v4 predicament on the opening day of the 2018 Six Masters in Paris. While the Australian team would fail to progress into the knockout phase, it was an impressive display of nerve from the 21-year-old.

Player of the Year: FUTWIZ Jamie

Runners-up: Acez (FNATIC), Drippay, Magnet (FNATIC), Scott “Custa” Kennedy

Adelaide’s Jamie O’Doherty, currently registered with FIFA esports team FUTWIZ, took out the award for the best esports competitor. He was a semi-finalist in the inaugural FIFA E-League, a competition which was broadcast on Twitch and Fox Sports, and streams the game on his own Twitch channel.

RPG of the Year: Detroit: Become Human

Runners-up: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Detroit: Become Human, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Monster Hunter World, Pokemon: Let’s Go! Pikachu/Eevee

Despite the number of social media users who questioned its inclusion in the category, Quantic Dream’s latest effort beat out a number of more traditional RPGs to win the award.

Shooter of the Year: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Runners-up: Battlefield V, Far Cry 5, Fortnite, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

Treyarch’s entries in the Call of Duty franchise are generally viewed as the best. Black Ops 4 was crowned the best shooter of 2018, despite the media attention that came with it being the first game in the series to not have a single-player component. Treyarch added its own interpretation of the ever-popular battle royale game mode in Blackout, which brings the signature COD style to the eliminator bracket.

Social Media God: TheClickCrew

Runners-up: Bajo, Genelle_aimee, Manfightdragon, Muselk

TheClickCrew is a collective of some of Australia’s most creative content producers, which includes finalist Muselk, as well as Bazzagazza, Crayator, Loserfruit, Marcus and Lazarbeam. The team produces videos featuring real life games from the Click House, including hide and seek, fear pong and Pictionary. On social media, the team recently hit one million subscribers on YouTube and recently incorporated a social hashtag #ClickCrewsday.

Sports, Racing or Fighting Title of the Year: Forza Horizon 4

Runners-up: Dragon Ball FighterZ, Mario Tennis Aces, NBA 2K19, WWE 2K19

Perhaps the strangest mix-up of an award, Forza Horizon 4 took out the award as the only racing game nominated, alongside the lone fighting game nominated in Dragon Ball FighterZ and three other sports games. Nonetheless, Forza Horizon 4 is an incredibly polished game with breathtaking visuals, an incredibly detailed recreation of the UK and countless events to keep players coming back for more.

Strategy Title of the Year: Frostpunk

Runners-up: Into The Breach, The Banner Saga 3, Valkyria Chronicles 4

The first 11 bit studios-developed title to hit the market in four years sees players asked to manage humanity’s last city in an alternate, disaster-stricken 1886, and it sold more than 250,000 copies within three days of its release. Frostpunk beat out all three of its competitors for the Game Award of the same name – including Game Award winner Into the Breach – as well as Battletech for the Australian honour.

Table Top of the Year: Terrible Candidates

Runners-up: Fallout Wasteland Warfare, Good Society: A Jane Austen Roleplaying Game, Reign by Garage Games Australia, The Brigade by RedGenieGames

Terrible Candidates is a card game from Half-Monster Games, based in Brisbane, where players are encouraged to make themselves as awful a politician as they can, using the prompt cards to complete a policy. Players have to convince their opponents to vote for them and be elected president. It’s one of those games where players have to humour one another, based on the outrageous combinations you can make. It seems like a politically-charged adaptation of Cards Against Humanity.

Team of the Year: FNATIC (Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege)

Runners-up: Grayhound (CS:GO), Justice Esports (Rocket League), Tainted Minds (Call of Duty), The Chiefs (Rocket League)

It was a big year in esports for FNATIC, with the team picking up its third award of the night for the best team competing in a single game, to go with its best organisation award and play of the year for Acez’s efforts.

The Gamechanger: Rae Johnston

Runners-up: Alice Clarke, Dr Alayna Cole, Max Laughton, Rae Johnston, Steve Wright

Johnston followed up her Journalist of the Year award by winning the Gamechanger award, which is dedicated to those in the media who are responsible for major change within the industry. She has used her position and voice to represent the Indigenous population and gave a passionate speech in which she championed her Wiradjuri heritage.

Johnston has been instrumental in Australian games journalism over the years and currently serves as the editor of Junkee and co-host of The Startup Show and the Static podcast.

Twitch Creator of the Year: TobyontheTele

Runners-up: AstroKittyLive, Loserfruit, Pestily, Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell

With more than 160,000 followers on Twitch and well over half a million on YouTube, Toby won the award over other popular variety streamers.

YouTube Creator of the Year: The Sim Supply

Runners-up: Bordie, Camelworks, Deligracy, Zuckles

James Turner also won YouTube Creator of the Year from his channel The Sim Supply, which is dedicated to The Sims and its many expansions. With each new pack comes new video ideas, including his ever-popular Rags to Riches series. In addition, he has videos on custom content, unique house builds and discussion on upcoming Sims content.


The Australian Games Awards contained very little by way of game announcements and even trailers, but being that Doublejump is a proud Australian publication, we are excited to look forward to the Australian industry’s future. In the coming days and weeks, look forward to seeing Doublejump celebrate the game’s industry’s achievements over 2018 with its own Game of the Year lists, as well as a major Spotlight release where we feature some of the games set to come from the Australian games industry in 2019!


Jake and Kristian contributed to this article.


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