The Game Awards 2021 Preview

Avatar photoChad Kinsey·
Games & Toys
·
Credit: The Game Awards

The eighth annual ‘The Game Awards’ premieres Thursday, December 9th at 8pm EST. The yearly showcase has grown over the years and promises to deliver new game announcements along the way. Host Geoff Keighley has promised half of this years three hour run time will be devoted to announcing new, upcoming titles.

With the cancellation of the ‘Spike Video Game Awards’, Keighley made it his goal to create an awards show more on the level of those seen in the film industry. During our E3 coverage, Keighley used his Summer Games Fest Kickoff to announce one of the most highly anticipated games, ‘Elden Ring’. Going on record, he’s hinted at announcements on that level during the show.

Rocksteady, the studio behind the critically acclaimed, ‘Arkham’ series, will showcase a new trailer for their upcoming ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’. Set to release in 2022, its likely we will receive a release date during tonights broadcast.

Credit: The Game Awards

The other half of the show will be devoted to awarding the top games in various different categories. Check out the full list of nominees in all thirty categories below:

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
  • icrosoft 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