Geoff Keighley has risen from the deep slumber he went into after Summer Game Fest and has decided to drop all the nominees for this year’s Game Awards.
As we know, the Game Awards happens each year to tell us objectively what are the best games. I’m just goofing, playing video games is subjective! The Game Awards is simply a night of celebration for the games industry, celebrating games big, bigger, biggest, and small.
Last year, the Game Awards felt like a fever dream. Award categories were flown through like a US fighter jet in literally any war-torn country where there’s oil, making sure to take regular pit stops to promote *checks cue card* The Rock’s New Bone-Melting Energy Drink and *checks sweatier cue card* Movie Trailer. Blink and you’ll miss who actually won!
But alas, we go into this new year with a new Game Awards, a 2022 Game Awards in fact, and we hope things will be different. Will they? Who knows. Who cares? I care. Why do I care? I love video games! Not just that, but I love seeing video games get the recognition they deserve which is why we’re here right now in this article.
Join us as we go through which games got nominated, how you can vote for your favourite games of this year (if they were nominated), and how you can watch it live from Australia and New Zealand (if you live here, of course. I’m not going to explain how you can fly to Australia or New Zealand just so you can watch it on YouTube. That would be silly!).
The 2022 Game Awards nominees
GAME OF THE YEAR
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)
BEST GAME DIRECTION
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Immortality (Half Mermaid)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
BEST NARRATIVE
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Immortality (Half Mermaid)
BEST ART DIRECTION
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
BEST SCORE AND MUSIC
- Olivier Deriviere – A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Tsukasa Saitoh – Elden Ring
- Bear McCreary – God of War Ragnarök
- Two Feathers – Metal: Hellsinger
- Yasunori Mitsuda – Xenoblade Chronicles 3
BEST AUDIO DESIGN
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Ashly Burch – Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West
- Charlotte McBurney – Amicia in A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Christopher Judge – Kratos in God of War Ragnarök
- Manon Gage – Marissa in Immortality
- Sunny Suljic – Atreus in God of War Ragnarök
GAMES FOR IMPACT
- A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna)
- As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
- Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller)
- Endling – Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios/HandyGames)
- Hindsight (Team Hindsight/Annapurna)
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games/Finji)
BEST ONGOING GAME
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
BEST INDIE
- Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
BEST DEBUT INDIE
- Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna Interactive)
- NORCO (Geography of Robots/Raw Fury)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
- Vampire Survivors (poncle)
BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT, PRESENTED BY DISCORD
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
BEST MOBILE
- Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)
- Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)
- Genshin Impact (HoYovese)
- MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)
- Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)
BEST VR/AR
- After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
- Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)
- BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)
- Moss: Book II (Polyarc)
- Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)
BEST ACTION
- Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
BEST ROLE PLAYING
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)
- Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)
BEST FIGHTING
- DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco)
- The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)
- MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
- Sifu (Sloclap)
BEST FAMILY
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller’s Tales/WB Games)
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
- Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
BEST SIM/STRATEGY
- Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
- Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)
- Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)
BEST SPORTS/RACING
- F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)
- NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
- OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)
BEST MULTIPLAYER
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
- Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
- Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)
MOST ANTICIPATED
- FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella
BEST ADAPTATION
- Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix)
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger/CD Projekt, Netflix)
- The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR/King Features Syndicate/Netflix)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group/Paramount Pictures)
- Uncharted (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)
INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY
- As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox/Devolver Digital)
- The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/SIE)
- The Quarry (Supermassive Games/2K)
BEST ESPORTS GAME
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- DOTA 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Rocket League (Psyonix)
- VALORANT (Riot Games)
BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE
- Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan – CS:GO)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
- Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)
BEST ESPORTS TEAM
- DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
- FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
- Gen.G (League of Legends)
- LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
- LOUD (Valorant)
BEST ESPORTS COACH
- Andrii “B1ad3″ Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
- Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
- Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
- Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
- Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)
BEST ESPORTS EVENT
- EVO 2022
- 2022 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
- VALORANT Champions 2022
How to vote in the 2022 Game Awards
So the Game Awards is a voting system for gamers, meaning that you, me, and also Dupree (the gamer) get to vote for our favourite games of the year.
To vote in the 2022 Game Awards, all you have to do is head to the Game Awards website here, use any of the listed social media accounts to sign in, and then the website will take you through the different categories to put your vote in. Keep going through the categories by clicking ‘next’ in the top right, until you’ve cast all your votes!
While voting in the 2022 Game Awards isn’t mandatory like an Australian election, it is a nice feeling to be a part of something, and an even better feeling when the game you vote for wins! Also, if I’m completely honest, I hope Cult of the Lamb wins Best Indie! Just saying!
Where and when to watch in Australia/New Zealand
Just like last year, the 2022 Game Awards will be livestreamed on YouTube and Twitch from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. If you’d like to watch it and you’re from Australia and New Zealand, the event will be happening on Friday, December 9th 2022. Here are the AU/NZ timezones for the 2022 Game Awards livestream:
NSW, VIC, TAS
11:30 a.m. AEDT
QLD
10:30 a.m. AEST
SA
11:00 a.m. ACDT
NT
10:00 a.m. ACST
WA
8:30 a.m. AWST
NZ
1:30 p.m. NZDT
Which games are you hoping will win in the 2022 Game Awards? How many movie trailers do you think they’re going to play during the show? Or even better, which awards do you think they’re going to bundle together and rattle through in 30 seconds before getting a celebrity to promote their own Go Go Juice for even longer? Let us know!
This post will also be updated post-Game Awards to reflect the winners.
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