The Game Awards 2021: How to watch, new trailers, start time, and more

What about Christmas in July? Or how about E3 in January? That’s what The Game Awards have become under Geoff Keighley since the host of Spike TV’s former year-end roundup started his own production in 2014. Insiders and fans alike look forward to Thursday in December with the same anticipation as at major midyear trade shows.

Here is everything a fan needs to know to get ready for next week’s showcase.

The Game Awards 2021: When?

Los Angeles hosts the Game Awards 2021 at Microsoft Theater. On Thursday, December 9, at 8 pm EST the live broadcast will continue through 11:59 p.m. The official website of the broadcast is available to fans, as well as the standard streaming channels YouTube and Twitch and other social media platforms such Facebook and TikTok. Twitter.

Which will it be?

Although it’s ostensibly an end-of-year awards show, more fans tune in to The Game Awards for E3-style game announcements and trailers than for red-carpet interviews and onstage acceptance speeches. Keighley said in a podcast earlier this week that he expects that “more than half” of the show will consist of new game announcements.

Those ~90 minutes of game hype will include at least two current-console-generation games that will get a lot of attention, according to Keighley. The first two trailers on deck are “surprises that will make people excited,” he said, and others will involve games that are three to four years from launching.

To give a sense of the scale of announcements that The Game Awards get, last year’s show featured Back 4 Blood’s debut trailer and teased the next Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, although the lineup was thinned somewhat by the dent that the COVID-19 pandemic put in development plans all year long. Last year, a lot of announcements related to content updates for current games. Keighley suggested that this year’s announcements should be more consistent with the rest of his podcast.

Which person will present?

The Game Awards are also known for roping in celebrities and other pop culture figures to hand out hardware and plug whatever they’re working on at the moment. Last year’s show featured A-listers like Brie Larson, Ralph Macchio, Gal Gadot, Keanu Reeves, and The Swedish Chef, for example.

Reeves is back this year alongside The Matrix comrade Carrie-Anne Moss. Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-AimeShe is now back on the podium, as well as Shang-Chistar Simu Liu. Sting, among others, are musical guests. Imagine Dragons. Also, the return to an in-person event (last year’s show was a virtual broadcast because of the pandemic) means The Game Awards Orchestra, conducted by Lorne Balfe, will provide musical accompaniments and interludes throughout.

Image: Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks

Which nominees are there for The Game Awards 2021?

It’s a awards show! It’s an awards show! Here is the complete list of nominated candidates. There are multiple Game of the Year nominations. These six games are Deathloop, There were nine nominees, including two in the Best Performance category. Ratchet & ClankRift ApartSix; It only takes two Psychonauts 2Each with five; Resident Evil VillageWith four, and MetroidThe fearTwo.

Game of the year

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• It only takes two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Metroid Dread (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Psychonauts 2.(Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios.
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart(Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment).
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

The Best Game Direction

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• It takes two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Retoural (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios).
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment).

Keep It Going

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
• Duty call: Warzone(Infinity Ward Raven Software/Activision).
• Final Fantasy 14Online (Square Enix).
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Genshin Impact (Mihoyo)

The Best Narrative

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• It only takes two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Truly Amazing Colors: Life Is Strange (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
• Psychonauts 2.(Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios).

Best Indie

• Twelve Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
• Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
• Bridge of Spirits: Kena (Ember Lab)
• Cryptography (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)

Best Mobile Game

• Fantasian (Mistwalker)
• Genshin Impact (Mihoyo)
• League of LegendsWild Rift (Riot Games)
• Marvel Future Revolution (Netmarble)
• Pokémon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokémon Company)

The Best VR/AR

• Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
• I Expect You to Die 2 (Schell Games)
• Lone Echo 2(Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studio)
• Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio, Capcom/Oculus Studios)
• Sniper EliteVR(Coatsink, Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments

The Best Action

• Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Games)
• Chivalry 2,(Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive
• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
• Retoural (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

The Best Adventure/Action

• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
• Metroid Dread (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
• Psychonauts 2. (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios).
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment).
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best role playing

• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
• Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
• Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
• Shin Megami Tensei 5 (Atlus/Sega)
• TalesThe Rise (Bandai Namco)

Best Fighting

• Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
• Guilty Gear Strive(Arc System Works).
• Type Lumina for Melty Blood (French-Bread/Delightworks)
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity, Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
• Virtua Fighter5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)

Best Debut Indie

• Bridge of Spirits: Kena (Ember Lab)
• Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
• Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
• The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
• Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain Studios).

The Best Family

• It only takes two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)
• Neue PokémonSnap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
• WarioWareYou can get it together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Best Sports/Racing

• F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
• FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
• ForzaHorizon 5 (Xbox Game Studios/Playground Games/Playground Games).
• Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
• Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)

Best Sim/Strategy

• Age of Empires 4(Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
• Evil Genius 2 – World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
• Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
• Cryptography (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
• Microsoft Simulator Flight (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Multiplayer

• Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Games)
• It only takes two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Knockout City (Velan Studios/Electronic Arts)
• Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
• New World (Amazon Games)
• Valheim (Coffee Stain Studios/Iron Gate Studio)

It’s the Most Excited Game

• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarok (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• To be untitled Legend of ZeldaBreath of the Wild (Nintendo)
• Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)

The Best Art Direction

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• Bridge of Spirits: Kena (Ember Lab)
• Psychonauts 2.(Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment).
• Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)

The Best Music and Score

• Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
• Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
• NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
• Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)

Best Audio Design

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
• Forza Horizon 5(Xbox Game Studios/Playground Games)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart(Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment).
• Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
• Retoural (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

The Best Performance

• Alex Chen as Erika Mori Truly Amazing Colors: Life Is Strange
• Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
• Jason E. Kelley is Colt Vahn Deathloop
• Maggie Robertson portrays Lady Dimitrescu Resident Evil Village
• Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop

Games for Impact

• The World Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
• Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
• Chicory: The Colorful Story(Greg Lobanow. Alexis dean Jones. Lena Raine. Madeline Berger.
• Truly Amazing Colors: Life Is Strange (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
• No Longer Home(Humblegrove, Hana Le, Cel Davison Adrienne Lomardo Eli Rainsberry/Fellowtraveler).

Most supportive community

• Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Final Fantasy 14 (Square Enix)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Innovation for Accessibility

• Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
• Forza Horizon 5(Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios).
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart(Sony Interactive Entertainment/Insomniac Games)
• The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)

Named Content Creator of The Year

• Dream
• Fuslie
• Gaules
• Ibai
• TheGrefg

Top Esports Gaming Game

• Call of Duty (Activision).
• Counter-StrikeGlobal Offensive (Valve)
• Dota 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot Games)
• Valorant (Riot Games)

The Best Esports Player

• Chris “Simp” Lehr
• Heo “ShowMaker” Su
• Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
• Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

Best Esports Team

• Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty).
• DWG KIALeague of Legends)
• Natus Vincere (Global Offensive – Counter-Strike)
• SentinelsValorant)
• Team SpiritDOTA 2)

Most renowned Esports coach

• Airat “Silent” Gaziev
• Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
• James “Crowder” Crowder
• Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

The Best Esports Event

• 2021 League of Legends World Championship
• PGL Major, Stockholm 2021Global Offensive Counter-Strike
• PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
• International 2021DOTA 2)
• ValorantChampions Tour Stage 2: Masters