An eclectic mix of 107 different games, individuals and teams that span all corners of gaming across PC, console, mobile, VR/AR, indie, esports and content creators/streamers. Nominees will be honored at the award ceremony on Thursday, December 12 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles at 5:30 PM PT.
Reaching over 30 million viewers in 2018 and hailed as “the Oscars for gaming world” by The New York Times, The Game Awards brings together game industry creators, esports champions, digital influencers and Hollywood names for a night of awards, exclusive game world premieres, announcements and musical performances, including the return of The Game Awards Orchestra, conducted by acclaimed composer Lorne Balfe.
This year’s Game of the Year nominees are Control, Death Stranding, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Resident Evil 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and The Outer Worlds. Other notable games with at least 3 nominations include Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Disco Elysium, Final Fantasy XIV, Fortnite, Gris, Outer Wilds, and Sayonara Wild Hearts. In the gender neutral performance category, three actresses face off against three actors, and first-time nominees include the studios behind independent titles such as Baba Is You, Katana Zero, Kind Words, Sea of Solitude and the Untitled Goose Game.
The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley announced The Game Festival, a new digital consumer event concept that ushers in a new era for The Game Awards.
The Game Festival is a digital consumer event that brings the magic of hands-on gameplay demos to fans around the world. The Game Festival will feature more than a dozen first-look game demos, available to play for a limited 48-hour window (Thursday, December 12 at 10:00AM PT until Saturday, December 14 at 10:00AM PT) before they are removed from Steam.
“Six years ago I bet everything I had to create The Game Awards as a way to celebrate our passion for gaming,” said Geoff Keighley, creator, The Game Awards. “Now feels like the right time to take the next step with The Game Festival, a completely digital approach to the consumer event space. Let’s face it: Not everyone can attend a physical trade show or consumer event. The Game Festival is designed from the ground-up as an event without barriers, extending the benefits of a physical event to the global gaming community that watches The Game Awards.”
As part of the pilot Game Festival on Stream, more than a dozen games are scheduled to be playable. Some of the games that will release free, limited-time demos include:
- System Shock (Nightdive Studios)
- Eastward (Pixpil/Chucklefish)
- Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus)
- Moving Out (SMG Studio/Devm Games/Team17)
- Röki (Polygon Treehouse/United Label)
- Chicory (Greg Lobanov)
- Wooden Nickel (Brain&Brain)
- Haven (The Game Bakers)
- Heavenly Bodies (2pt Interactive)
- Acid Knife (Powerhoof)
- The Drifter (Powerhoof)
- CARRION (Phobia/Devolver)
- SkateBIRD (Glass Bottom Games)
Alongside the Festival, Steam will air The Game Awards live in 4K Ultra High Definition, feature The Game Awards Sale, and offer Steam viewers the opportunity to win a Valve Index VR headset and free game drops throughout the live broadcast.
Fans can help choose the winners in all categories via authenticated online voting on the official website and on Google. Search for "TGA vote" on Google to cast your ballot through Wednesday, December 11. In China, fans can vote for their favorites on Bilibili.
The Game Awards - which is celebrating its fifth year anniversary this year - will stream live and free across more than 60 global media platforms. Cinemark Theatres across the United States will also host a special one-night-only cinema event in 53 of its theaters where it’ll pair a live simulcast of The Game Awards with the world premiere screenings of Sony Pictures’ “Jumanji: The Next Level.” For ticketing, more information on the event or to see if your Cinemark will be livestreaming the awards, visit here.