The Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, LIMBO, leads the charge with seven nominations, followed closely by Red Dead Redemption (six nominations) and Mass Effect 2 (five nominations). All three front-runners are in the running for GDC's Game of the Year award. Pioneer, Ambassador and Lifetime Achievement Special Awards, as well as the host of this year's awards show, have yet to be revealed.

Fans of Minecraft will also be pleased to note that the game has received three nominations of its own in the categories of Innovation, Best Downloadable Game, and Best Debut Game.

The complete list of award categories and nominees are as follows:

Best Game Design
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Innovation
• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Kirby's Epic Yarn (Good-Feel & HAL Laboratory)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Dance Central (Harmonix)

Best Technology
• Starcraft II (Blizzard)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Best Handheld Game
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready At Dawn/SCE Santa Monica)
• Cut the Rope (ZeptoLab)
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Kojima Productions)
• Game Dev Story (Kairosoft)
• Dragon Quest IX (Level 5)

Best Audio
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Halo: Reach (Bungie)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DICE)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)

Best Downloadable Game
• Costume Quest (Double Fine)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)

Best Writing
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Costume Quest (Double Fine)
• Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian)

Best Debut Game
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Darksiders (Vigil Games)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)
• Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)

Best Visual Arts
• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)

Game of the Year
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)