In brief: The annual Game Awards takes place tomorrow (December 9) at 5 pm PST, where we’ll find out what games are honored as the best the last 12 months had to offer. There will also be several surprise unveilings on the night, some of which host Jeff Keighley has promised will be epic. Here’s how to watch the proceedings, what titles are nominated, and the guests that are set to appear.
After switching to a virtual event last year, the Game Awards is back with an in-person audience at the Microsoft Theater. It’s one of the most widely streamed shows globally, appearing on a multitude of platforms that include YouTube (below), Twitch, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. Most streams start half an hour before the event begins.
We’re used to seeing big reveals at The Game Awards, and this year Keighley has compared them to the Elden Ring reveal at June’s Summer Games Fest. “Oh, God, there are probably four or five things of that level. I can’t wait to show people this stuff,” he said.
Keighley added that at least 40 – 50 games will be included in the show in “some way or another,” which will likely include plenty of titles coming to Game Pass for PC on day one.
There will be some special guest appearances on the night. The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito, who appears as Antón Castillo in Far Cry 6, and Ming-Na Wen will be there alongside Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu and many others.
We’re only days away from #TheGameAwards, which means world premieres are just around the corner!
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 6, 2021
You ready!? pic.twitter.com/XBrK1SvDwq
As for the games up for awards, Deathloop leads the pack with eight nominations, while It Takes Two and Psychonauts 2 have five—all games on our Best PC Games (you should be playing) feature. The PS5-exclusive Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has six.
It’s not easy to pick potential winners, but Deathloop being a critics’ favorite means it’ll likely bring in plenty of awards. Interestingly, Cyberpunk 2077 is up for the best role-playing game. It would be quite the turnaround in fortunes if it won—CD Projekt Red’s title earned a 'Very Positive' recent reviews rating on Steam in November after one of the most disastrous launches in memory last December.
Complete list of nominations:
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST GAME DIRECTION
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
BEST NARRATIVE
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
BEST ART DIRECTION
- The Artful Escape
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
BEST SCORE AND MUSIC
- The Artful Escape
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deathloop
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139
BEST AUDIO DESIGN
- Deathloop
- Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
- Jason Kelley as Colt Vahn (Deathloop)
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake (Deathloop)
GAMES FOR IMPACT
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
BEST ONGOING
- Apex Legends
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
- Call of Duty: Warzone
BEST INDIE
- 12 Minutes
- Death’s Door
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
BEST MOBILE GAME
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokémon Unite
BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy 14
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY
- Far Cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
BEST VR/AR
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You to Die 2
- Lone Echo 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
BEST ACTION GAME
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry 2
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
- Returnal
BEST ACTION / ADVENTURE
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
BEST ROLE PLAYING
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei 5
- Tales of Arise
BEST FIGHTING
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
BEST FAMILY
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokémon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
BEST SIM / STRATEGY
- Age of Empires 4
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
BEST SPORTS / RACING
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
BEST MULTIPLAYER
- Back 4 Blood
- Knockout City
- It Takes Two
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR
- DREAM
- fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- Grefg
BEST DEBUT INDIE
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- Valheim
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Starfield
BEST ESPORTS GAMES
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Valorant
BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE
- Chris "Simp" Lehr
- Heo "ShowMaker" Su
- Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
- Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
- Tyson "TenZ" Ngo
BEST ESPORTS TEAM
- Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (DOTA 2)
BEST ESPORTS COACH
- Airat "Silent" Gaziev
- Andrey "Engh" Sholokhov
- Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi
- James "Crowder" Crowder
- Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun
BEST ESPORTS EVENT
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- The International 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- VALORANT Champions Tour: Stage 2 Master
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