15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

The 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards was the 15th edition of the Interactive Achievement Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2011. The awards were arranged by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and were held at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 9, 2012 (2012-02-09). It was also held as part of the Academy's 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit, and was hosted by stand-up comedian Jay Mohr.^[1] It would be the final year that it would be called the Interactive Achievement Awards.

15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards
Date	February 9, 2012 (2012-02-09)
Venue	Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa
Country	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Hosted by	Jay Mohr
Highlights
Most awards	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (5)
Most nominations	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (12)
Game of the Year	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Hall of Fame	Tim Sweeney
Pioneer	Ed Logg
← 14th · D.I.C.E. Awards · 16th →

Separate awards for "Handheld Game of the Year" and "Mobile Game of the Year" were offered instead of "Portable Game of the Year". The award for "Downloadable Game of the Year" was reintroduced as a "Game of the Year" award. The award for "Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity" was introduced. The award for "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack" was no longer offered.^[2]

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim won the most awards, including "Game of the Year". Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception received the most nominations. Electronic Arts received the most nominations, published the most nominees, and had the most award-winning games. Bethesda Softworks won the most awards.

Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games and creator of the Unreal Engine, was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. Ed Logg, game designer behind Atari classics such as Asteroids, Super Breakout, and Centipede, received of the "Pioneer Award".^[3]

Winners and Nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).^[4][5][6][7]

Game of the Year Awards

Game of the Year The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Portal 2 — Valve The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment
Downloadable Game of the Year Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ Drawn: Trail of Shadows — Big Fish Studios Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet — Shadow Planet Productions, Microsoft Studios Ms. Splosion Man — Twisted Pixel Games, Microsoft Studios Orcs Must Die! — Robot Entertainment, Microsoft Studios	Handheld Game of the Year Super Mario 3D Land — Nintendo EAD‡ Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective — Capcom Kirby Mass Attack — HAL Laboratory, Nintendo Mario Kart 7 — Nintendo EAD Professor Layton and the Last Specter — Level-5, Nintendo
Mobile Game of the Year Infinity Blade II — Chair Entertainment, Epic Games‡ Contre Jour — Mokus, Chillingo Dead Space — IronMonkey Studios, Electronic Arts Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin — Press Play, Microsoft Studios The Dark Meadow — Phosphor Studios	Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision‡ Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios

Craft Awards

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Assassin's Creed: Revelations — Ubisoft Montreal Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Rayman Origins — Ubisoft Montpellier	Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Portal 2 — Valve Rayman Origins — Ubisoft Montpellier
Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance Wheatley (Portal 2) — Valve‡ Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) — Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Europe Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire) — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Nathan Drake (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment Victor Sullivan (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity Portal 2 — Valve‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision Dragon Age II — BioWare, Electronic Arts Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Portal 2 — Valve Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD	Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Star Wars: The Old Republic — BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision Gears of War 3 — Epic Games, Microsoft Studios LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Portal 2 — Valve‡ Infamous 2 — Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Computer Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts‡ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Need for Speed: The Run — EA Black Box Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment
Outstanding Achievement in Story The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Bastion — Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment	Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Crysis 2 — Crytek, Electronic Arts L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Rage — id Software, Bethesda Softworks

Genre Awards

Action Game of the Year Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Infinity Ward, Activision‡ Battlefield 3 — DICE, Electronic Arts Dead Space 2 — Visceral Games, Electronic Arts Gears of War 3 — Epic Games, Microsoft Studios Saints Row: The Third — Volition, THQ	Adventure Game of the Year Batman: Arkham City — Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ L.A. Noire — Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Portal 2 — Valve The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Nintendo EAD Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception — Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment
Casual Game of the Year Fruit Ninja Kinect — Halfbrick Studios, Microsoft Studios‡ Jetpack Joyride — Halfbrick Studios Monsters Ate My Condo — Adult Swim Games, PikPok Tiny Wings — Andreas Illiger Where's My Water? — Disney Interactive	Social Networking Game of the Year The Sims Social — Playfish, Electronic Arts‡ Army Attack — Digital Chocolate CastleVille — Zynga Dallas Gardens of Time — Playdom, Disney Interactive Triple Town — Spry Fox, Playdom
Family Game of the Year LittleBigPlanet 2 — Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment‡ Dance Central 2 — Harmonix, Microsoft Studios Just Dance 3 — Ubisoft Paris Kinect: Disneyland Adventures — Frontier Developments, Microsoft Studios Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — Toys for Bob, XPEC Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Activision	Fighting Game of the Year Mortal Kombat — NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment‡ Fight Night Champion — EA Canada Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition — Capcom The King of Fighters XIII — SNK Playmore, Atlus Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 — Capcom
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Bethesda Game Studios‡ Dark Souls — FromSoftware, Namco Bandai Games Deus Ex: Human Revolution — Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Europe Star Wars: The Old Republic — BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings — CD Projekt Red	Racing Game of the Year Forza Motorsport 4 — Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios‡ Mario Kart 7 — Nintendo EAD Real Racing 2 HD — Firemint, Electronic Arts
Sports Game of the Year FIFA 12 — EA Canada‡ Madden NFL 12 — EA Tiburon MLB 11: The Show — SCE San Diego NBA 2K12 — Visual Concepts, 2K Games NBA Jam: On Fire Edition — EA Tiburon	Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year Orcs Must Die! — Robot Entertainment, Microsoft Studios‡ Iron Brigade — Double Fine Productions, Microsoft Studios Total War: Shogun 2 — Creative Assembly, Sega Toy Soldiers: Cold War — Signal Studios, Microsoft Studios Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution — Relic Entertainment, THQ

Special Awards

Hall of Fame

• Tim Sweeney

Pioneer

• Ed Logg

Multiple nominations and awards

Multiple Nominations

Games that received multiple nominations

Nominations	Game
12	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
10	Portal 2
9	L.A. Noire
6	Batman: Arkham City
	Battlefield 3
	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
4	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3	Bastion
	LittleBigPlanet 2
	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2	Deus Ex: Human Revolution
	Gears of War 3
	Mario Kart 7
	Orcs Must Die!
	Rayman Origins
	Star Wars: The Old Republic

Nominations by company

Nominations	Games	Company
19	13	Electronic Arts
17	4	Sony Computer Entertainment
13	11	Microsoft Studios
12	1	Naughty Dog
10	3	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
	1	Valve
9		Rockstar Games
		Team Bondi
8	5	Nintendo
7	2	Activision
		Bethesda Softworks
6	1	DICE
		Rocksteady Studios
4	3	Ubisoft
	1	Infinity Ward
3	3	Capcom
	2	BioWare
		Epic Games
	1	Media Molecule
		Supergiant Games
		Toys for Bob
		Vicarious Visions
		XPEC Entertainment
2	2	Disney Interactive
		Halfbrick Studios
		Playdom
		THQ
	1	Eidos-Montréal
		Robot Entertainment
		Square Enix Europe

Multiple awards

Games that received multiple awards

Awards	Game
5	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3	Portal 2
	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Awards by company

Awards	Games	Company
5	1	Bethesda Softworks
4	4	Electronic Arts
	2	Sony Computer Entertainment
3	3	Microsoft Studios
		Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
	1	Naughty Dog
		Valve
2	2	Activision

External links

• Official website

References

1. "IAA 2012 Winners FINAL" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
2. "15th ANNUAL INTERACTIVE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RULES AND PROCEDURES" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
3. "Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Special Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
4. "15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards Finalists" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
5. "Skyrim Rides Into Victory with Five IAAs Including Game of the Year at the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards" (PDF). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
6. "Uncharted 3 Leads Nominees For 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". GameRant. gamerant.com. January 13, 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
7. Bertz, Matt (February 9, 2012). "Skyrim Dominates The 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2022.