Editing Game Developers Choice Awards (section)

===Lifetime Achievement Award===
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the achievements of a developer who has impacted games and game development.

* 2001: [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]] ([[List of Sim games|''Sim'' games]])
* 2002: [[Yuji Naka]] (''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series)
* 2003: [[Gunpei Yokoi]] (1941–1997) ([[Game Boy]], ''[[Super Mario Land]]'' series, [[Metroid|''Metroid'' series]])
* 2004: [[Mark Cerny]] (''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' and ''[[Spyro the Dragon (video game)|Spyro the Dragon]]'')
* 2005: [[Eugene Jarvis]] (''[[Defender (arcade game)|Defender]]'' and ''[[Robotron: 2084]]'')
* 2006: [[Richard Garriott]] (''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'')
* 2007: [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (creator of ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong (series)|Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[Star Fox]]'', ''[[F-Zero]]'', and ''[[Pikmin (series)|Pikmin]]'')
* 2008: [[Sid Meier]] (''[[Civilization series]]'' and many different simulators)
* 2009: [[Hideo Kojima]] (''[[Metal Gear series]]'')
* 2010: [[John Carmack]] (''[[Doom series]]'')
* 2011: [[Peter Molyneux]] (''[[God games]]'')
* 2012: [[Warren Spector]] (''[[Deus Ex (video game)|Deus Ex]]'', ''[[System Shock]]'', ''[[Thief: The Dark Project]]'')
* 2013: [[Ray Muzyka]] and [[Greg Zeschuk]] (co-founders of [[BioWare]])
* 2014: [[Ken Kutaragi]] ("father" of the [[PlayStation]] console line)
* 2015: [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] (''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series)
* 2016: [[Todd Howard (video game designer)|Todd Howard]] (''[[Elder Scrolls]]'', ''[[Fallout (franchise)|Fallout]]'')
* 2017: [[Tim Sweeney (game developer)|Tim Sweeney]] (founder of [[Epic Games]])<ref>{{cite web | url  = https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/20/epic-games-guru-tim-sweeney-to-receive-lifetime-achievement-award-at-gdc/ | title = Epic Games' Tim Sweeney to receive lifetime achievement award at GDC | first = Dean | last = Takahasi | date = January 20, 2017 | access-date = January 20, 2017 | work = [[Venture Beat]] }}</ref>
* 2018: [[Tim Schafer]] (developer for [[LucasArts adventure games]], founder of [[Double Fine]])<ref name="GDC2018noms"/>
* [[19th Game Developers Choice Awards|2019]]: [[Amy Hennig]] (video game writer/director, notably for the ''[[Uncharted]]'' series)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-11-amy-hennig-to-receive-lifetime-achievement-award | title = Amy Hennig to receive lifetime achievement award | first=  Brendan | last = Sinclair  |date = December 11, 2018 | access-date = December 11, 2018 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] }}</ref>
* [[21st Game Developers Choice Awards|2021]]: [[Laralyn McWilliams]], creative director of ''[[Free Realms]]'' and lead director of ''[[Full Spectrum Warrior]]''<ref name="gdc2021 special"/>
* [[22nd Game Developers Choice Awards|2022]]: [[Yuji Horii]], creator of the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series
* [[23rd Game Developers Choice Awards|2023]]: [[John Romero]], co-founder of [[id Software]] and [[Ion Storm]], and co-creator of the [[Wolfenstein 3D]], [[Doom series|Doom]], and [[Quake series|Quake]] series<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-awards-to-honor-mabel-addis-john-romero | title=GDC Awards to honor Mabel Addis, John Romero | date=February 23, 2023 }}</ref>
* 2024: [[Yoko Shimomura]], composer of ''[[Street Fighter II]]'' and the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-awards-to-honor-yoko-shimomura-fawzi-mesmar| title=GDC Awards to honor Yoko Shimomura, Fawzi Mesmar | date=February 9, 2024 }}</ref>
* 2025: [[Sam Lake]], Creative Director at [[Remedy Entertainment]]<ref name="2025 special" >{{cite web | url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sam-lake-and-lucas-pope-to-be-honored-at-this-years-gdc-awards/ | title=Sam Lake and Lucas Pope to be honored at this year's GDC Awards | date=February 20, 2025 }}</ref>