The third annual The Game Awards streamed last night. Produced and hosted by veteran gaming journalist Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards is the evolution of the former Spike Video Game Awards (or VGX). The Game Awards is a more serious industry event, with peer-reviewed awards from multiple categories. It’s also prime time for new game reveals and trailers.
Here are the winners of the 2016 The Game Awards:
- Game of the Year – Overwatch
- Best Studio/Game Direction – Blizzard Entertainment
- Best Narrative – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Best Art Direction – Inside
- Best Music/Sound Design – Doom
- Best Performance – Nolan North (as Nathan Drake in Uncharted 4)
- Games for Impact Award – That Dragon, Cancer
- Best Independent Game – Inside
- Best Mobile/Handheld Game – Pokémon GO
- Best VR Game – Rez Infinite
- Best Action Game – Doom
- Best Action/Adventure Game – Dishonored 2
- Best Role-Playing Game – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine
- Best Fighting Game – Street Fighter V
- Best Family Game – Pokémon GO
- Best Strategy Game – Civilization VI
- Best Sports/Racing Game – Forza Horizon 3
- Best Multiplayer Game – Overwatch
The following awards were voted by fans:
- Best ESports Player – Marcelo “Coldzera” David (SK Gaming)
- Best ESports Team – Cloud9
- Best ESports Game – Overwatch
- Trending Gamer – Boogie2988
- Best Fan Creation – Enderal: The Shards of Order
- Most Anticipated Game – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
There was a bit of controversy surrounding the Best Fan Creation category. Two of the nominees, Pokémon Uranium and Another Metroid 2 Remake were removed due to copyright disputes from Nintendo.
Legendary game designer Hideo Kojima was presented with a special 2016 Industry Icon Award. Geoff Keighley, a personal friend of Kojima’s, took the stage for a very heartfelt presentation of the award. “We had to be back on stage this year to give one man a moment he was robbed of. What happened to Hideo Kojima last year was a tragedy.” Keighley was referring to when Konami actively prevented Kojima from attending last year’s awards after a very public and bitter split. Kojima’s final title with Konami, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, was nominated in five categories and won two.
In addition to the award, Kojima was also there to present a full trailer for his next game, Death Stranding.
Borderlands and Battleborn developer Gearbox announced a new publishing arm, called Gearbox Publishing. Their first title will be a remaster of 2011 shooter Bulletstorm. Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC on April 7, 2017. It will also feature 4k resolution on the PS4 Pro.
Telltale Games have surged to prominence thanks to their string of licensed adventure games. At this year’s The Game Awards they announced their newest project: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series. Like their other series it will be released in a five-episode format. The first episode will premiere in 2017 on consoles, PC, and mobile. No word on if the actors will reprise their roles, or if the game will adhere closer to the comics or the feature films. Most likely the episodes will coincide with upcoming sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, releasing May 5, 2017.
Speaking of Telltale, they also showed a lengthy trailer of the premiere of the third season of their Walking Dead series. We got our first look at grown-up teenage Clementine. Telltale announced that the premiere was too big for a single episode, and split it between the first two episodes. Both will be launching on December 20th.
Yacht Club Games announced their next post-Shovel Knight project – a prequel called Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. You’ll play as the titular villain and establish the villainous group of evil knights that appear in Shovel Knight. The trailer confirms the prequel will retain the same excellent 8-bit aesthetic and gameplay that made the original a hit.
Nintendo unveiled some tantalizing new The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild footage. A cinematic trailer called “Life in the Ruins” teases some big story moments. For a deeper dive, watch the new four minute Let’s Play video from Nintendo Treehouse.
Upcoming RTS sequel Halo Wars 2 showed off a new trailer. The cinematic trailer focuses on the story, and features the villain Atriox. Halo Wars 2 is currently scheduled for release on February 21, 2017.
Bioware’s Aaryn Flynn took the stage to present a full gameplay trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda. The narrated trailer gives an extended look at combat and exploration. Mass Effect: Andromeda is scheduled for a Spring 2017 release.
