Voting opens for the Game Developers Choice Online Audience Award

With GDC Online's Game Developers Choice Online Awards quickly approaching, event organizers have opened voting for the ceremony's popular Audience Award, and are encouraging developers and gamers alike to vote for their favorite persistent online game from now until September 14. Typically, winners at the Game Developers Choice Online Awards are chosen by the online body of the event's International Choice Award Network (ICAN), but the Audience Award allows the public to choose the best currently operating persistent online game, whether it be a traditional MMO, a free-to-play web game title, a social network game, or anything else. To vote, users can simply enter the name of their selected game and a valid email address at the Game Developers Choice Online Awards website. After making a selection, all users must verify their vote via email. With hundreds of thousands of votes cast in the past, the Audience Award is one of the most hotly contested of the show, with previous winners including KingsIsle's Wizard101 and Riot Games' League Of Legends. The winner of the Audience Award will be revealed alongside the other award winners at the third annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards, which will run alongside GDC Online in Austin, Texas on the evening of Wednesday, October 10. Returning to the Game Developers Choice Online Awards for 2012 is industry veteran and popular host Mike Goslin of Rebel Entertainment, who will once again act as master of ceremonies during the "for developers, by developers" awards ceremony. In addition, event organizers recently revealed the full list of finalists for this year's ceremony, honoring games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Draw Something, Diablo III, and much more. For more information about GDC Online, please visit the event's official website. This year's GDC Online will take place in Austin, Texas at the Austin Convention center from October 9-11, 2012.