Although they were six nominees for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022, it really came down to two juggernauts: God of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring. Who would win big at the ninth annual award show? The two beloved action games would split the biggest awards, with Elden Ring winning Game of the Year, along with Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Role Playing Game.

Though the God of War sequel missed the biggest award, it still earned the most wins, taking home Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, Best Performance (Christopher Judge), Best Action/Adventure Game, and the Innovation in Accessibility award. It won six of the 10 awards it was nominated for.

If you only watch one part of the show, don’t miss actor Christopher Judge’s (Kratos) acceptance speech, running over eight minutes long (around the 1:03:40 mark)!

Ironically a similar situation happened in The Game Awards 2018, with Red Dead Redemption 2 winning four of its eight nominations, while God of War stole Game of the Year.

Stray was another big winner, winning Best Debut Indie and Best Indie Game. People really love playing as a cat!

Other winners include Marvel Snap for Best Mobile Game, Splatoon 3 for Best Multiplayer, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Best Family Game.

Next year’s Most Anticipated winner is not at all a shock: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Next year is shaping up to be another huge year in gaming, with trailers and announcements for Final Fantasy 16, Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo 4, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Death Stranding 2, Wayfinder, Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon, and more.


This article was written by

Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.