`The Game Awards for Game of the Year may only be in its ninth year, but it is already one of the most prestigious awards a video game developer can receive. Since its launch in 2014, The Game Award has crowned Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Overwatch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, God of War, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Last of Us Part II, and It Takes Two as the Game of the Year. Six titles make up the nominations to this year’s awards, each hoping to join that list of stellar titles.
Geoff Keighley created The Game Awards in 2014. Keighley, the host, and producer of the Spike Video Game Awards, quickly gained the support of the video game media. This particular Game of the Year award carries a lot of weight in the industry, not least because the voting jury consists of more than 100 members of the video game media. That jury’s thoughts make up 90$% of the vote, with the public vote counting for the other 10%. Public voting is open for the coveted Game of the Year award, with voters able to share their thoughts on six recent titles.
Elden Ring – FromSoftware / Bandai Namco
Elden Ring was the hot favourite with online betting websites like mytopsportsbooks.com and it took home the coveted Game of the Year award. FromSoftware launched Elden Ring on February 25, 2022, and it had sold more than 17.5 million copies by October 2022. The game received universal acclaim for combining the tried and tested element of FromSoftware’s previous Dark Souls series with an action role-playing open world.
Elden Ring is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco. The game is being directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the Soulsborne series, which includes games such as Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and the Dark Souls series. Elden Ring is considered a spiritual successor to the Soulsborne series.
The game is set in a new fantasy world, and features a large interconnected map, similar to the Soulsborne series. Players will take on the role of a custom-created character, and will explore the world, fighting enemies and discovering new areas. The game is expected to include challenging combat, intricate level design, and an emphasis on exploration and discovery.
Destructoid, Game Informer, GameSpot, and IGN were among the review sites that awarded Elden Ring full marks, while the game scored 94/100 on PC and 96/100 on PlayStation and Xbox on Metacritic.
God of War Ragnarok – Sony Santa Monica / SIE
The fact God of War: Ragnarok only launched on November 9, 2022, and is still nominated for the Game of the Year award tells you all you need to know about his incredible game. Gamers rushed to get their hands on a copy of the game, and it sold more than 5.1 million units during its first week!
God of War: Ragnarok is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Sony Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) for the PlayStation 5. The game is the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018) and the latest instalment in the God of War series.
The game is set in Norse mythology and continues the story of Kratos and his son Atreus, who are now known as Loki. The game will focus on the story of Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse, and will feature a new open-world environment for players to explore, as well as new mechanics and gameplay features. Players will control Kratos as he battles against a variety of enemies, including gods and monsters from Norse mythology.
The Game Awards are big fans of the God of War franchise, having bestowed the Game of the Year award on the game’s previous title. In addition, its jury voted God of War: Ragnarok as the most anticipated game of both 2020 and 2021. Do not be surprised if this game is crowned king.
Horizon Forbidden West – Guerrilla Games / SIE
Horizon Forbidden West is the eagerly-anticipated sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. It hit the PlayStation on February 18, 2022, and follows on from the original title, a game that was a major hit with players and critics alike. Horizon Forbidden West has already won the Best Storytelling category of the Golden Joystick Awards and was nominated for the Ultimate Game of the Year but lost out to Elden Ring.
Horizon Forbidden West is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn, which was released in 2017. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by robotic creatures, and players take on the role of Aloy, a skilled hunter and archer, as she sets out to explore the forbidden lands of the west. The game features an open-world environment, an emphasis on combat and exploration, and an improved version of the Decima engine. The game is set to be released in 2021 and will be available exclusively on the PlayStation 5.
Stray – BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna
BlueTwelve Studio could not have anticipated the hype surrounding Stray almost immediately after its July 19, 2022, launch. There is currently no other game like Stray; where else can you play the role of a cat? Stray is a little short in terms of playing time, but that did not stop the Golden Joystick Awards from crowning the cat-based game as the PlayStation Game of the Year. Stray will garner plenty of votes from The Game Awards, but it finds itself in the company of far better titles to walk away with Game of the Year.
Stray is an upcoming video game developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game is set in a neon-lit cyberpunk world and is played from a third-person perspective. It features an open-world environment and an emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving. The game is set to be released on PlayStation 5 and PC.
A Plague Tale: Requiem – Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment
A Plague Tale: Requiem is the follow-up title to A Plague Tale: Innocence, building on the initial title’s success and continuing the impressively written story. Asobo Studio improved on the original by increasing the locations’ size and giving players additional options and puzzles to progress. Like Stray, this is a superb game worthy of a place in any gamer’s collection, but the opposition is too strong to see it walk away with the awards’ top honours.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Monolith Soft / Nintendo
The Xenoblade series has a huge Japanese following, who went out in droves to purchase Xenoblade Chronicles 3 when it launched on July 29, 2022. The game sold 112,728 physical copies in Japan in its first week, making it the best selling retail game in the country. You cannot fault the title’s gameplay, but its writing and style are not to everyone’s liking, making Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a little too niche to bag the biggest award of the year.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a hypothetical game, there is no official confirmation from Monolith Soft or Nintendo that they are developing such a game. The Xenoblade Chronicles series is a popular action RPG franchise developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The series is known for its vast open worlds, complex battle systems, and engaging stories. The previous game, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, was released for the Nintendo Switch in December 2017, and a Definitive Edition was released in May 2020. While it is possible that Monolith Soft and Nintendo are working on a new entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, there is no official confirmation or release date for such a game.