During the 79th annual Worldcon, aka DisCon III, the winners of the Hugo Awards were announced. Hades won the Best Video Game award, over other nominees Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Baseball, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, The Last of Us Part 2, and Spiritfarer. “We hope that the Hugo Awards continue to recognize the amazing work being done in this space,” said Greg Kasavin of Supergiant Games in a televised acceptance speech, before thanking the Greek gods “both above and below”.
The Hugo Awards have been recognizing the best literary works of science fiction and fantasy since 1953, across an evolving set of categories—the category for Best Graphic Story was only added in 2009. This year’s Best Video Game category was included as a one-off.
As DisConIII co-chair Colette Fozard explained, “Since early 2020, many of us have spent more time gaming than we ever expected. This award will offer fans an opportunity to celebrate the games that have been meaningful, joyful, and exceptional over this past year.” A permanent Best Game or Interactive Experience category is being considered.
Hades has won plenty of other awards since its release, including GDC Game of the Year and BAFTAs for Best Game, Artistic Achievement, Game Design, Narrative, and Performer in a Supporting Role (Logan Cunningham). We declared it 2020’s Best Action Game too.