Gamescom’s Best Nintendo Game Award Scrapped Because Of “Too Few” Games

Gamescom is known for giving out awards at the end of each event. One of these categories is the ‘Best Nintendo Game’, which has been a staple since 2012. However, this year, the award will not be presented as the organisers have decided to cancel it for 2024.

TheGamer reached out to Gamescom’s organisers for an explanation on why the award was scrapped. The response cited “too few submissions” for the Best Nintendo Switch category as the reason behind the cancellation. Here’s the full statement:

“There were too few submissions for the Best Nintendo Switch category this year. The award committee, therefore, decided to cancel the category.”

For a game to be eligible for an award at Gamescom, it needs to be present at the event and submitted for consideration. Due to Nintendo’s absence at the show this year, it was expected that the Best Nintendo Game award would be called off.

Despite the absence of Nintendo, there are still Switch games showcased at Gamescom 2024. Games like Little Nightmares III and Civilization VII have been confirmed to make appearances, promising an exciting show for attendees. The absence of Nintendo, developers focusing on other awards, and a potential lack of major Switch titles in 2024 likely contributed to the decision to cancel the award this year. However, there is always next year to look forward to…

In 2023, Nintendo swept the Gamescom awards with a game that had already been released: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The game won five awards, including Best Gameplay, Best Nintendo Game, and Most Epic.

Rumors from the show also hinted at demos of potential successors to the Switch, with reports of a Breath of the Wild demo running at 4K and 60fps on the new console.

Are you surprised by the cancellation of the Best Nintendo Game award? Share your thoughts in the comments.