While they may not have the clout of the Emmys or the Oscars (yet), the Game Awards have become the preeminent show for celebrating the best video games, developers, and esports teams of the year. Produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, the annual awards ceremony is now in its fifth year, and as in previous years, the show will be packed with exclusive world premieres, as well as an eclectic group of presenters and performers.
You can watch the show on virtually any device you own, from your phone to your tablet to your PC to your TV. We’ve embedded the official YouTube stream in this post, but if you want to watch it on a larger screen, you have that option. The stream officially begins at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET on Thursday, December 6th.
One reason many gamers tune in to The Game Awards is to see all the surprise announcements that developers have cooked up specifically for the awards ceremony. Bayonetta 3, Soulcaliber VI, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice were all revealed for the very first time at The Game Awards 2017, and this year is expected to be even busier. We know that there will be at least ten new game announcements, and a few have already been teased.
For example, just yesterday, Ubisoft shared a trailer for the next Far Cry game, which we’ll learn more about during the show tonight. We also know that Obsidian will have something to share. Other games rumored to appear at the show include Borderlands 3, Square Enix’s Avengers game, and a remaster of Crash Team Racing.
The trailers and announcements are a highlight of the event, but it’s also great to see talented developers rewarded for their hard work. Here are all of the nominees (other than the esports award, which are here):
Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Ongoing Game
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Best Game Direction
- A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / EA)
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / SIE)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Narrative
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / SIE)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Art Direction
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of Obra Din (3909 LLC)
Best Score/Music
- Celeste (Lena Raine)
- God of War (Bear McCreary)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (John Paesano)
- Ni No Kuni II (Joe Hisaishi)
- Octopath Traveler (Yasunori Nishiki)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Woody Jackson / Daniel Lanois)
Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch / Activision)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Performance
- Bryan Dechart as Connor, Detroit: Become Human
- Christopher Judge as Kratos, God of War
- Melissanthi Mahut as Kassandra, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2
- Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker, Marvel’s Spider-Man
Games for Impact
- 11-11 Memories Retold (Digixart / Aardman Animations / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories (White Owls / Arc System Works)
Best Independent Game
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
Best Mobile Game
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- PUBG MOBILE (Lightspeed & Quantum / Tencent Games)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Developer Digital)
Best VR/AR Game
- ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / SIE)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / SIE)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- Tetris Effect (Resonair and Monstars Inc. / Enhance, Inc.)
Best Action Game
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch / Activision)
- Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Mega Man 11 (Capcom)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal / Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix)
Best Role Playing Game
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix / Square Enix)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5 / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
- Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Obsidian Entertainment / Versus Evil)
Best Fighting Game
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Arc System Works)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
- Soul Calibur VI (Bandai Namco Studios / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)
- Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (Capcom)
Best Family Game
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games / Team 17)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Party (NDCube / Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
- BATTLETECH (Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive
- Frostpunk (11 bit studios)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- The Banner Saga 3 (Stoic Studio / Versus Evil)
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Sega CS3 / Sega)
Best Sports/Racing
- FIFA 19 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)
- NBA 2K19 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions / Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch / Activision)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios)
Best Student Game
- Combat 2018 (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences – Norway)
- Dash Quasar (UC Santa Cruz)
- JERA (Digipen Bilbao, Spain)
- LIFF (ISART Digital – France)
- RE: Charge (MIT)
Best Debut Indie Game
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
- Florence (Mountains)
- Moss (Polyarc Games)
- The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)
- Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla)
Content Creator of the Year
- Dr. Lupo
- Myth
- Ninja
- Pokimane
- Willyrex
We’ll come back and highlight all of the winners after the show so you won’t have to go hunting for them. This should be the biggest and best Game Awards to date, so be sure to tune in for the stream at 8:30 PM ET.
