After a one-year move to a virtual format, the Game Awards are live and in person again. The ceremony, which celebrates the video game industry and serves as a promotional vehicle for upcoming game-related media, is produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, a former journalist who launched the show in 2014. Video game developers, streamers, esports athletes and industry executives attend the Game Awards as guests and nominees; this year’s show will also feature celebrities and movie stars such as Giancarlo Esposito and Simu Liu. A number of reveals — mostly related to film and TV — have already been teased: new trailers for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and the Halo TV series are expected to debut Thursday.
Here’s what to know
- Here’s how Geoff Keighley helped create the Game Awards, the Oscars for gaming.
- There will be six major game reveals and several film trailers debuting at the event.
- On Dec. 3, Keighley told The Washington Post he was thinking about how to “navigate” the show’s involvement with embattled video game publisher Activision Blizzard. He later clarified that aside from its nominations, the company wouldn’t be a part of the Game Awards.
Before the awards ceremony, the Game Awards announced its second list of Future Class members. Future Class comprises 50 individuals from across the games industry — including journalists, developers, influencers and accessibility consultants, among many others — who represent the industry at its most thoughtful and inclusive. The full list of members can be found here.
Our reporters Gene Park and Teddy Amenabar are watching the event broadcast and highlighting the biggest reveals. Shannon Liao and Nathan Grayson are reporting from the event’s venue, the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Here are the winners so far
The Game Awards has 30 categories, from best esports team to best performance and the coveted Game of the year award. So far, here’s who’s won tonight.
Best narrative: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Best mobile game: Genshin Impact
Best multiplayer: It Takes Two
Content creator of the year: Dream
Best score and music: Nier Replicant
Best role playing: Tales of Arise
Best art direction: Deathloop
Best action game: Returnal
Best performance: Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil VIII
Best indie and best debut indie game: Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Best audio design: Forza Horizon 5
Games for impact: Life Is Strange: True Colors
Best esports athlete: Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
Best esports team: Natus Vincere
Best esports coach: Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best esports event: 2021 League of Legends World Championship
Dream wins content creator of the year
Dream, a “Minecraft” YouTuber and streamer with a massive following, won content creator of the year. The content creator has come under scrutiny this year for two things: a speedrun in which he allegedly cheated (he claims he didn’t mean to) and conservative political views from when he was younger (his audience is largely young and progressive).
When his nomination was announced, Twitter users considered it a bit of a head-scratcher, though other nominees weren’t particularly well-received either, despite at least representing international diversity. The general consensus was that one award was not enough to cover the massive YouTube, Twitch and TikTok creator ecosystem. Despite winning, Dream did not attend the ceremony to accept his award. In previous years, other creators have.
Hideo Kojima makes an extremely brief appearance
The man, the myth, the Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima made an extremely brief, recorded appearance to introduce a trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s new movie. It was mildly disappointing, given that Kojima is basically the face of the Game Awards (aside from Keighley). Kojima said he’d be present in person next year.
‘Sonic Frontiers’ looks like a Sonic take on ‘Breath of the Wild’
We finally got an extended look at the upcoming Sonic game announced earlier this year, now called “Sonic Frontiers,” scheduled for a holiday 2022 release window. It was a computer-graphics trailer only, showing many open fields, likely implying that the game will follow an open-world format.
Post-apocalyptic ‘Somerville’ trailer debuts
‘Somerville,’ a post-apocalyptic game by an independent developer based in the United Kingdom, debuted Thursday night with a cinematic trailer.
The trailer showed a man running past broken-down storefronts at some point in the near future as robots armed with neon-colored lasers chased him. The Post’s Nathan Grayson, who is in attendance at the Microsoft Theater, remarked that: “ ‘Somerville’ is this year’s requisite indie that looks kind of cool but is utterly inscrutable from a ‘what’s it going to be about?’ perspective.”
‘Cuphead’ DLC coming in June
“Cuphead” DLC titled “The Delicious Last Course” was announced for a June 30, 2022, release. As an on-ramp to the reveal, three flappers sang a song onstage about the titular character while the orchestra sat behind desks that were brought onto the set.
‘Nightingale,’ from former Dragon Age developers, set for next year
“Nightingale” is a survival crafting game made by former Dragon Age developers. It’s apparently “pretty far along,” according to the developers’ remarks onstage. It’s set to release next year.
The trailer opened with a woman running from a bulbous monster, interspersed with cuts to views of multiple, majestic worlds connected by portals, which represent a way out or a path “deeper into this nightmare.”
Meta announces Lady Gaga is coming to ‘Beat Saber’
Meta-owned Beat Games revealed Lady Gaga is coming to the virtual reality rhythm game “Beat Saber.” A 10-song music pack will be available as DLC for $12.99 following the Game Awards on Thursday. The pack includes her most famous tracks, which can be purchased individually for $1.99, such as “Bad Romance,” “Born This Way” and “Poker Face,” along with music from her latest album, “Chromatica,” and a new level environment inspired by the album’s cyberpunk aesthetics.
From ‘Silent Hill’ creator, ‘Slitterhead,’ a new horror experience
Backed by extreme gore, horror elements and a rocking soundtrack, “Silent Hill” creator Keiichiro Toyama announced “Slitterhead,” a new game featuring the same composer as “Silent Hill,” Akira Yamaoka. The trailer showed very little detail except that it would take place in Japan.
The game is being developed by Toyama’s new studio, Bokeh Game Studio. Earlier this year, Toyama said he wanted the next game to “mess with player’s minds.” Given his past work, there’s a good chance he’ll succeed.
‘Destiny 2’ leans on live action in expansion trailer
A trailer for the upcoming “Destiny 2” expansion, “The Witch Queen,” included a brief live-action portion with a woman relaying her experiences in a big battle. Keighley said all footage shown was from the expansion’s first mission. It’s coming out Feb. 22, 2022.
Like most people, Simu Liu would rather be playing ‘Halo’
Marvel superhero Simu Liu, who recently starred in “Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings,” did an extended comedy bit while presenting the best action game award. He pretended to be watching Twitch streams of “Halo Infinite,” then told the audience, “As you know, there’s a new ‘Halo’ out,” and lamented the fact that he had to be onstage. Our review agrees: It’s a good game!
Geoff Keighley, the Game Awards impresario himself, has expressed disappointment in interviews over needing to run the show instead of relaxing with “Halo Infinite.” The game, which fully launched on Dec. 8 following a weeks-long beta for its multiplayer mode, won the “Player’s Choice” award for game of the year.
Guerrilla Games flaunts music from ‘Horizon’ sequel
In anticipation of the upcoming release of “Horizon Forbidden West,” the Game Awards orchestra played a song from that title, the sequel to the 2019 role-playing game “Horizon Zero Dawn.”
A cinematic trailer of the sequel by Guerrilla Games showed protagonist Aloy traveling through a series of different locations — an arid desert, a tropical beachhead and a snowy mountain top — while fighting some of the franchise’s trademark cyborg beasts, like one massive tortoise that seemed pretty quick on its feet for a turtle.
“Horizon Forbidden West” is scheduled to release on Feb. 18, 2022.
‘Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade’ is coming to PC
“Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade” is finally making its way to PC on Dec. 16 via the Epic Games Store. This version will include the PS5 upgrades, including the “Intermission” story starring Yuffie.
8:47 p.m.
The between-announcements curtain in the venue looks like a pile of guts, even though it’s meant to be snakes. It’s extremely off-putting.
Nathan Grayson
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Twitch, live-streaming, digital culture
8:43 p.m.
Judging from the reaction in the venue to the “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” trailer, the Game Awards audience is full of Knuckles fans.
Shannon Liao
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Video games reporter focused on investigative features
8:21 p.m.
Security and covid-19 safety protocols were extremely strict entering the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Specific colored wristbands opened certain levels of access, and media attendees were directed to enter from the garage. The red carpet event earlier in the evening required a PCR coronavirus test within 48 hours of the event. Other forms of testing were rejected.
Shannon Liao
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Video games reporter focused on investigative features