During the fall discounts, users are nominating their candidates, after which Valve begins to gradually announce the resulting shortlists.
Apparently, games that appeared on Steam or left Early Access from December 2019 to November 2020 inclusively could qualify for the award (not counting the Favorite Child category,
where all games were allowed to participate).
Here are some of the games that slipped the list: Red Dead Redemption 2 (released on Steam in December 2019) and Metro: Exodus (was an annual exclusive on the Epic Games Store,
which is why it debuted on Steam only in February 2020), and Cyberpunk 2077 didn't get anywhere at all. Each game was allowed to be included in only one nomination (which, however, did not prevent some of the popular creations from being lit up more than once).
Game of the Year
Red Dead Redemption 2,
Hades,
DOOM Eternal,
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,
Death Stranding.
Most innovative gameplay
Death Stranding,
Control,
Superliminal,
Noita,
Teardown.
Best Game with an Outstanding Story
Red Dead Redemption 2,
Detroit: Become Human,
Mafia: Definitive Edition,
Metro: Exodus,
Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Best Soundtrack
DOOM Eternal,
Halo: The Master Chief Collection,
Helltaker,
Need for Speed: Heat,
Persona 4 Golden.