The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World in partnership with Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News.
[4] Author George R. R. Martin referred to the ENNIE Awards as "the most prestigious honors in role-playing" in 2010.
[5] The nominees are chosen by a panel of judges, and the winners are voted on by the public and presented at an award show done in collaboration between Gen Con and EN World.
In 2015, Campaign Coins made the medals as a sponsorship; Lone Wolf Development became a sponsor in 2017.
In 2020, Massif Press withdrew its RPG Lancer from the competition over a 2017 controversy, where a game module for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess system, titled "Blood in the Chocolate", received a Gold award in the Adventure category, despite being widely described as 'offensive', 'particularly icky', and 'simply ridiculous' by press, industry members and the publisher itself.