Shortly on the heels of The Game Awards revealing the finalists for its 2023 ceremony, Apple has revealed the nominees for its own 2023 App Store Awards. Apple honors both apps and games with these awards, including games across the company’s various platforms.
Even for those who don’t play mobile games, some nominees might be familiar. Cult favorite Vampire Survivors debuted on iOS, as did Hoyoverse’s Honkai Star Rail. 2022 titles ELEX II and Return to Monkey Island also launched on Mac this year. Bugsnax makes the list of Apple TV apps, while 2021’s best cozy game, Unpacking, is on the list of games with cultural impact.
While there isn’t much crossover between the games in The Game Awards’ list and the App Store finalists, there are a few stand-out exceptions. Notably, Lies of P is nominated for Mac Game of the Year with Apple, as well as Best RPG and Art Direction at The Game Awards. Hello Kitty Island Adventure was also nominated for TGA’s Best Mobile Game and Apple Arcade Game of the Year at the App Store Awards.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Event
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iPhone App of the Year
- AllTrails
- Duolingo
- Flighty
iPhone Game of the Year
- Afterplace
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Vampire Survivors
iPad App of the Year
- Concepts
- DaVinci Resolve
- Prêt-à-Makeup
iPad Game of the Year
- Eggy Party
- Lost in Play
- Pocket City 2
Mac App of the Year
- Linearity Curve
- Photomator
- Portal
Mac Game of the Year
- ELEX II
- Lies of P
- Return to Monkey Island
Apple Watch App of the Year
- Planny
- SmartGym
- Tide Guide
Apple TV App of the Year
Apple Arcade Game of the Year
- Cityscapes
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- stitch.
Cultural Impact Finalists
- balance
- Copilot
- Endling
- Finding Hannah
- How to Say Goodbye
- Pok Pok
- Proloquo
- Rebel Girls
- Too Good to Go
- Unpacking
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