The Game Audio Network Guild Awards (shortened to the G.A.N.G. Awards) is an award show for achievement in video game audio, including score, voice acting, and sound effects. The awards, which started in 2004, are arranged by the Game Audio Network Guild and held annually during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The first four shows were held at the Fairmont San Jose, before moving to the Moscone Center from the fifth; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 18th to 20th ceremonies were held virtually.
Format The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) Awards are celebrated annually as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The awards are split between music, sound design, and voice acting. Submissions must be released between January 1 and December 31 of the preceding year. Members of the Game Audio Network Guild may submit five nominations for free, with each additional submission costing ; public submissions cost per game. Early access games are ineligible. After the submission deadline passes, the Awards Committee sends the data to the Advisors and Awards Committees to select the nominees. Once the final nominations are selected, the Game Audio Network Guild votes for the winners.
Ceremonies # Date Audio of the Year Venue 1st March 7, 2003 Medal of Honor: Frontline Fairmont San Jose 2nd March 25, 2004 Call of Duty 3rd March 10, 2005 Halo 2 4th March 23, 2006 God of War 5th March 8, 2007 Gears of War Moscone Center 6th February 21, 2008 BioShock 7th March 26, 2009 Dead Space 8th March 11, 2010 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 9th March 3, 2011 Red Dead Redemption 10th March 8, 2012 Battlefield 3 11th March 28, 2013 Diablo III 12th March 20, 2014 The Last of Us 13th March 5, 2015 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 14th March 17, 2016 Ori and the Blind Forest 15th March 23, 2017 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 16th March 22, 2018 Cuphead 17th March 21, 2019 God of War 18th May 6, 2020 Death Stranding Virtual 19th April 28, 2021 The Last of Us Part II 20th May 25, 2022 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 21st March 23, 2023 God of War Ragnarök Moscone Center 22nd March 21, 2024 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 23rd March 20, 2025 Astro Bot and Need for Speed Mobile (tie) 24th March 11, 2026 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
1st (2003)
The first G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 7, 2003, at the Fairmont San Jose. Almost 500 people attended the ceremony. The awards were presented by members of the Game Audio Network guild, including Tommy Tallarico, Clint Bajakian, and Jack Wall, with musical interludes from LoudLouderLoudest!, Orpheus Hanley, the Slackmates, the Ex Lucas Arts Boys, and George "The Fat Man" Sanger.
Overall Audio of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Best Audio – Other: Fisher-Price Pixter Pro Base and Leap Frog Imagination Desk Reading Games (tie) Best Handheld Audio: Alienators: Evolution Continues Best Website Audio: Blitz Digital Studios Best Edutainment/Children Audio: Learning 2nd/3rd Grade
Music Music of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline Best Live Performance Recording: "Operation Market Garden" — Medal of Honor: Frontline Best Interactive Score: James Bond 007: Nightfire Best Instrumental Song: "Allied Assault Main Theme" by Michael Giacchino — Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Memoro de la Santono" by Nobuo Uematsu — Final Fantasy XI Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Kingdom (Vocal Version)" by Hikaru Utada — Kingdom Hearts Best Use of Licensed Music: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Best Original Soundtrack Album: The Best of LucasArts Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: James Bond 007: Nightfire
Sound Design Sound Design of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: FIFA World Cup 2002 Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: James Bond 007: Nightfire
Voice Acting Best Dialogue: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Best Commentary in a Sports Game: Madden NFL 2003
Industry and Trade Best New Audio Technology: XACT Best Audio Software: Steinberg Cubase SX Best Audio Hardware: Digidesign Digi002 Best Sound Library: Vienna Symphonic Library Orchestral Cube
Recognition Most Innovative Use of Audio: SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "The Use and Effectiveness of Audio in Halo: Game Music Evolved" by Marty O'Donnell, Aaron Marks, and Greg O'Connor-Read G.A.N.G. Recognition Award: Music4Games and Headhunter Lifetime Achievement Award: Mark Miller Rookie of the Year: Shane Kneip Best Audio Programmer: Buzz Burrowes Best Producer/Designer: Dan Irish Distinguished G.A.N.G. Service Awards: Sach Jobbs, Jay Samerad, Todd Fay, and Mike Tallarico G.A.N.G. Contest Winners: Sam Hulick (songwriting), and Rob King (sound design)
2nd (2004)
The second annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 25, 2004, at the Fairmont San Jose in the Regency Ballroom. Tallarico returned to host the ceremony, which took place over two-and-a-half hours. Musical performances included Steve Kirk and the Voodoo Vince Band, LoudLouderLoudest!, the Rockin' hobbit Band, the OneUp Mushrooms, and Dweezil Zappa.
Overall Audio of the Year: Call of Duty Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Best Audio – Other: LeapFrog Leapster: SpongeBob SquarePants Best Handheld Audio: 007: Everything or Nothing Best Website Audio: Shiny Entertainment Best Edutainment/Children Audio: Tonka: Rescue Patrol
Music Music of the Year: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Best Live Performance Recording: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Best Interactive Score: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Best Original Instrumental Song: "Max Payne Theme" — Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Gallery Theme" by Tim Larkin — Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Late Goodbye" by Poets of the Fall — Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Best Use of Licensed Music: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Best Original Soundtrack Album: The Hobbit Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Sound Design Sound Design of the Year: Call of Duty Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: Need for Speed: Underground Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Voice Acting Best Dialogue: The Getaway Best Commentary in a Sports Game: Madden NFL 2004
Industry and Trade Best New Audio Technology: Yamaha Vocaloid Best Audio Software: Spectrasonics Atmosphere & Native Instruments Absynth 2.0 Best Audio Hardware: Pro Tools HD Accel Best Sound Library: Sound Ideas
Recognition Lifetime Achievement Award: Rob Hubbard G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Brian O'Connor and Mark Sazer (RMA, Chris Milner and Carol M. Sato (AFM), Escalet, George Aiello, Bill Mitchell Rookie of the Year: Cris Velasco and Jared Emerson-Johnson Silas Warner Best Audio Programming Award: Thomas Engel (Factor 5) Best Producer/Designer: Simon Pressey (Ubisoft) Most Innovative Use of Audio: Amplitude (Chuck Doud) Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "DirectX 9 Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development" by Todd M. Fay Distinguished Service Awards: Brian DiDomenico, Jamie Lendino, Jerome Rossen G.A.N.G. Contest Winners: Ian Dorsch (composition), Jonathan Wall (sound design) Golden Melodica Award: Tommy Tallarico
3rd (2005)
The third annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 10, 2005, at the Fairmont San Jose as part of the Game Developers Conference. Myst IV: Revelation led the winners with three awards.
Overall Audio of the Year: Halo 2 Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Hitman Contracts and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth (tie) Best Audio – Other: River Reader Rabbit series for LeapPad Best Handheld Audio: Spider-Man 2 Best Website Audio: Speak Getaway Best Edutainment/Children Audio: Barbie: Princess and the Pauper
Music Music of the Year: Myst IV: Revelation Best Live Performance Recording: Myst IV: Revelation Best Interactive Score: Sly 2: Band of Thieves Best Original Instrumental Song: "Main Theme" by Inon Zur — Men of Valor Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Main Theme" by Jack Wall — Myst IV: Revelation Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Snake Eater" by Norihiko Hibino — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Best Use of Licensed Music: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Best Original Soundtrack Album: Halo 2 Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: EverQuest II
Sound Design Sound Design of the Year: Call of Duty: Finest Hour Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: ESPN NFL 2K5 Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Voice Acting Best Dialogue: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Best Commentary in a Sports Game: ESPN NFL 2K5
Industry and Trade Best New Audio Technology: GameCODA 2.0 Best Audio Software: Nuendo 3.0 Best Audio Hardware: Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System Best Sound Library: Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra: Platinum Edition
Recognition Lifetime Achievement Award: Michael Land G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Didier Lord, Bob Rice, and Steve Schnur Rookie of the Year: Tom Salta Silas Warner Best Audio Programming Award: John Twigg, Cliff Kondratuik Best Producer/Designer: Donald Mustard (GlyphX) Most Innovative Use of Audio: Donkey Konga Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "Audio for Games: Planning, Process and Production" by Alexander Brandon Distinguished Service Awards: Chris Rickwood, Jonathan Wall, Matt Bielejeski, and Alistair Cooper
4th (2006)
The fourth annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 23, 2006, at the Fairmont San Jose. God of War swept most of the major categories.
Overall Audio of the Year: God of War Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: God of War Best Audio – Other: Lumines
Music Music of the Year: God of War Best Live Performance Recording: God of War Best Interactive Score: God of War Best Original Instrumental Song: "The Tragic Hero" by Chance Thomas — Peter Jackson's King Kong Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Muse by Tommy Tallarico — Advent Rising Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Katamari on the Swing" by Yuri Misumi, Hiroshi Okubo, Masashi Sugiyama, Katsuro Tajima, Hideki Tobeta, Akitata Toyama, Yoshihito Yano, Tomomitsu Kaneko, and Kanako Kakino — We Love Katamari Best Use of Licensed Music: Guitar Hero Best Original Soundtrack Album: Jade Empire Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
Sound Design Sound Design of the Year: God of War Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: Need for Speed: Most Wanted Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: Call of Duty 2
Voice Acting Best Dialogue: God of War
Industry and Trade Best New Audio Technology: XMA Best Audio Software: Spectrasonics Stylus RMX — Real Time Groove Module Best Audio Hardware: M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 Best Sound Library: East West/Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs
Recognition Lifetime Achievement Award: Bobby Prince G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Nile Rodgers and Jim Charne Rookie of the Year: Gerard Marino Student/Apprentice Competition: Wilbert Roget (music), and Carsten Rojahn (sound design) Most Innovative Use of Audio: Guitar Hero Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "The Treatment of Music in Games" by Jim Charne Distinguished Service Awards: Paul Lipson, Mark Guleno, Shiloh Hobel, Jerry Lyons, and Michelle Sorger
5th (2007)
The fifth annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 8, 2007, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Overall Audio of the Year: Gears of War Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Gears of War Best Audio – Other: Cartoon Network's Re-Animated: Fit to be Pied
Music