The Game Awards 2021 recognizes high-achievers across gaming and esports, including Game of the Year. There’s also plenty of reveals and teasers for upcoming releases on the night. We’ve got a list of all the nominees and winners right here.
The Game Awards is the industry’s night of nights, celebrating the best in gaming and getting excited about what’s to come.
All eyes are on the coveted Game of the Year title, but 30 awards will be handed out on the night. Not only that, but players will get a taste of plenty of upcoming games, with plenty of premieres and reveals expected.
We’ve got everything you need to know about The Game Awards 2021 right here, including all the award winners, and the game reveals during December 9’s show.
Game reveals at The Game Awards 2021
According to Geoff Keighley before the show, 40 to 50 games were set to feature in “someway or another” at The Game Awards 2021. The 3.5-hour award show certainly delivered on that promise with dozens of new trailers.
“Especially this year, there’ll be a lot of content for 2022 and 2023 that will be showing us our kind of biggest lineup yet of world premieres and announcements,” he said in an interview published by Epic Games.
Alan Wake 2 has been revealed at #TheGameAwards, 10 years after the game's original release pic.twitter.com/XV4zQnFAMb
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 10, 2021
“What we really learned last year was at the end of the day, it really is the games and the trailers that drive the show.”
Destiny 2’s Witch Queen expansion made an appearance, as will Dying Light 2 and Lost Ark. New game announcements, including ARC Raiders, Star Wars Eclipse, Alan Wake 2, and more were also shown off.
And finally, to end the show, a new Elden Ring trailer — as well as a new Matrix game — were both shown off.
A new @Quantic_Dream game announced at #TheGameAwards: Star Wars Eclipse pic.twitter.com/dJwKyG1FVP
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 10, 2021
The Game Awards 2021: Nominees and winners
Game of the Year
- Winner: It Takes Two
- Deathloop
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Most Anticipated Game
Congratulations to @leagueoflegends, It Takes Two from @hazelightgames, #GuiltyGearStrive by @arcsystemworksu, @ageofempires IV from @relicgames, Resident Evil 4 VR from @oculusgaming, and @eldenring from @fromsoftware_pr on their wins! #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/JTtpH1PIzQ
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel
- Starfield
Best VR / AR Game
- Winner: Resident Evil 4
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You to Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- Sniper Elite VR
Best Fighting Game
- Winner: Guilty Gear Strive
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Hinokami Chronicles
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Best Family Game
- Winner: It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokemon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
Best Sim / Strategy Game
- Winner: Age of Empires IV
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
Best Esports Game
- Winner: League of Legends
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- Valorant
Best Game Direction
Another win for @deathloop, this time for Best Game Direction! Congratulations to the @Bethesda + @arkanestudios teams! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/MClLFJrlRM
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Psychonauts
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Returnal
Innovation in Accessibility
With their second game award of the night, the award for Innovation in Accessibility presented by @chevrolet goes to @forzahorizon 5! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/Q1VilFIGGx
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
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- Winner: Forza Horizon 5
- Far Cry 6
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
Best Sports / Racing Game
- Winner: Forza Horizon 5
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
Best Ongoing Game
https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1469142763325181952
- Winner: Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
Best Community Support
- Winner: Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2: Beyond Light
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Best Action / Adventure Game
Metroid Dread from @NintendoAmerica + @MercurySteam wins Best Action/Adventure Game! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/yoHQENnCx0
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Metroid Dread
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Best Narrative
Wow! @gotgthegame from @marvelgames + @EidosMontreal takes home the Best Narrative Award! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/lL3hmB39Gk
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life Is Strange: True Colors
- Psychonauts 2
Best Mobile Game
🏆 Congratulations to @genshinimpact for winning Best Mobile Game presented by @verizon 🏆 #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/78UnyjB8Jj
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Genshin Impact
- Fantasian
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokemon Unite
Content Creator of the Year
https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1469130407073366018
- Winner: Dream
- Leslie ‘Fuslie’ Fu
- Alexandre ‘Gaules’ Borba
- Ibai Llanos
- David ‘TheGrefg’ Canovas
Best Multiplayer Game
- Winner: It Takes Two
- Back 4 Blood
- Knockout City
- Monster Hunter Rise
- New World
- Valheim
Best Role Playing Game
- Winner: Tales of Arise
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Scarlet Nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei V
Best Score and Music
- Winner: Nier Replicant ver 1.22474487139 — Keiichi Okabe
- Cyberpunk 2077 — Marcin Przybylowicz and Piotr Adamcyzk
- Deathloop — Tom Salta
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy — Richard Jacques
- The Artful Escape — Johnny Galvatron and Josh Abrahams
Players’ Voice Award
Halo Infinite wins Players’ Voice Award at #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/uGy3hRTuW1
— Halo News & Updates (@DexertoSpartans) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Halo Infinite
- Forza Horizon 5
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Resident Evil Village
Best Art Direction
Congratulations to @Deathloop from @arkanestudios + @bethesdastudios for their Best Art Direction win tonight! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/tCMhp6TFnU
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Artful Escape
Best Action Game
Returnal from @housemarque wins Best Action Game!! 👏 #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/B6gwYWiYTY
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Returnal
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry II
- Deathloop
- Far Cry 6
Best Performance
https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1469117918243803137
- Winner: Maggie Robertson — Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village
- Erika Mori — Alex Chen in Life Is Strange: True Colors
- Giancarlo Esposito — Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6
- Jason Kelley — Colt Vahn in Deathloop
- Ozioama Akagha — Juliana Blake in Deathloop
Best Indie Game
Kena: Bridge of Spirits from @emberlab wins Best Independent Game! Congratulations! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/jD5KCNWQax
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- 12 Minutes
- Death’s Door
- Inscryption
- Loop Hero
Best Debut Game
- Winner: Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sable
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Valheim
Best Audio Design
Vroom Vroom! 🏎 Congrats to @ForzaHorizon 5, from @weareplayground + @Xbox! Winner of Best Audio Design #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/lYTHfJJKcJ
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Forza Horizon 5
- Deathloop
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
Best Esports Player
We've got a whole lotta Esports wins here! Congratulations to @s1mpleO, @CSGO, kk0ma of @DWGKIA, and @lolesports 🎉 #TheGameAwards! pic.twitter.com/23RJGjRrML
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev (CS:GO)
- Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr (Call of Duty)
- Heo ‘ShowMaker’ Su (League of Legends)
- Magomed ‘Collapse’ Khalilov (Dota 2)
- Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo (Valorant)
Best Esports Team
- Winner: Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (Dota 2)
Best Esports Coach
- Winner: Kim ‘kkOma’ Jeong-gyun (League of Legends)
- Airat ‘Silent’ Gaziev (Dota 2)
- Andrey ‘Engh’ Sholokhov (Valorant)
- Andrei ‘B1ad3’ Horodenskyi (CS:GO)
- James ‘Crowder’ Crowder (Call of Duty)
Best Esports Event
- Winner: League of Legends 2021 World Championship
- The International 10
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- Valorant Masters Iceland (VCT Stage 2 2021)
Games for Impact
The first award of the night goes to @LifeIsStrange from @DeckNineGames + @SquareEnix! Congratulations on your Games for Impact win! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/f7m21p8vg7
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
- Winner: Life Is Strange: True Colors
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- No Longer Home
