The Game Awards 2022: the Winners, the News, the Games

 The annual Game Awards, which has quickly become the most watched single event celebrating both the year that was in video games and the years to come, wrapped up Thursday evening after a memorable, and surprisingly concise blow-out of news, trailers, and awards.

Here’s a rundown of some of the news from the event, with easy links for wishlisting your favorites right here on the Epic Games Store.

And, of course, remember to take a moment to dig through the Epic Games Store Game Awards flash sale where you can save up to 85 percent on a variety of titles, including some of this year’s nominees for The Game Awards. The sale ends Dec. 10.

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Returnal coming to PC

Blending the death and design of a roguelike with otherworldly visuals and a storyline that unravels with each new attempt at surviving on the monstrous planet of Atropos, Returnal won a slew of awards when it hit last year. And now Housemarque’s third-person shooter is coming to PC, bringing with it an array of PC-specific tweaks and upgrades. Expect it to warp your nightmares in early 2023.

Among Us

Developer Innersloth revealed a new game mode for Among Us. The new mode, which is scheduled to hit Dec. 9, is called Hide N Seek. It’s being delivered via an update that will also include new “surprises to survive,” new cosmetics and pets, “screaming,” and most importantly: the ability to pet your pets – presumably not when you’re screaming.

Replaced

Replaced is a 2.5D sci-fi retro-futuristic action platformer and, boy, does it look good. If you’re looking for an indie that combines a pixel art aesthetic with a cinematic approach, then this Sad Cat Studios debut might scratch that itch. But right now, it’s just “coming soon.”

Hades II

The next title from Supergiant, the folks behind Bastion, Pyre, and Hades, continues the studio’s journey through Greek mythology. Hades II looks to be as glorious as its predecessor. This time around, the immortal Princess of the Underworld is attempting to vanquish the forces of the Titan of Time. It’s also the first sequel developed by the studio. Early access details are expected early next year.

Judas

Bioshock creator Ken Levine is back with his long-anticipated first title from Ghost Story Games: Judas. Game Awards showrunner Geoff Keighley said he’s played hours of the single-player, first-person shooter, and that the studio is also exploring new approaches to narrative. A possible hint at the narrative-LEGO approach Levine first mentioned years ago.

Destiny 2: Lightfall

In our second trailer for the upcoming Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion, we got a better look at Neomuna, a neon metropolis on Neptune, where you’ll meet the Cloud Striders, join the fight against the Shadow Legion, and prevent devastation in the technologically advanced secret city. Lightfall also includes a new subclass, and pre-purchase will instantly unlock a new Exotic Ghost and Legendary emblem.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

A new trailer delivered a double surprise: Batman is going to be in the game, and he will be voiced by Kevin Conroy, the late, iconic actor who gave voice to the caped crusader in Batman: The Animated Series and all of developer Rocksteady’s Arkham games. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League hits on May 26.

The Last of Us Part 1 PC

Finally! Word arrives that The Last of Us Part 1 on PC hits March 3. The full remake of the 2013 original, will include a variety of updated features, such as new display modes, and new game modes.

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

Developed by Respawn Entertainment, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor takes place five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Cal Kestis is on the run from the Empire and its constant pursuit of the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy. The game hits March 17.

Nightingale

We got a new look at Inflexion Games’ upcoming nightmare-inducing first-person open-world survival crafting game Nightingale. The new trailer gave us a better look at some of those dangerous, magical realms players will be journeying through on their way home and the beasties that inhabit them. Coming soon.

Remnant II

The sequel to Gunfire Games Remnant, Remnant II, has players taking on a slew of new deadly creatures and massive bosses across terrifying worlds. Packed with a mix of ranged and melee combat, the action shooter supports solo and co-op with two friends. Learn more here, where you can also wishlist the game as well. Currently, the game is listed as coming soon.

The Lords of the Fallen

We got a gory new look at the upcoming dark fantasy action-RPG, The Lords of the Fallen. Voiced by Milly Alcock, of House of the Dragon fame, this new trailer highlights the verticality of the game’s massive world, and the fast, fluid combat players will have to master to survive it. Coming soon.

Crime Boss: Rockay City

Chuck Norris, Vanilla Ice, Danny Trejo, Mike Madsen, Danny Glover, Michael Rooker, Kim Basinger. The celebrity-studded reveal of Crime Boss: Rockay City gave us our first look at the new organized crime first-person shooter, promising both a robust single-player campaign and gripping four-player coop mode. The game hits March 28 and is on sale for 40 percent off until 11 a.m. ET Dec. 10.

Wild Hearts

A new trailer for Wild Hearts, the monster hunting game in development by Omega Force, showed off a new Kemono. The giant Golden Tempest appears to be a dragon-like tiger. We also got to see the Deathstalker wolf, and Amaterasu hawk in action. In Wild Hearts, which is due out on Feb. 16, players use ancient tech to fight giant, nature-infused beasts.

THE NOMINEES AND WINNERS

While the show’s numerous reveals may have packed more than a few wishlists, the real stars of the evening were those dazzling hits from 2022. The live event from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles included a Diablo 4 musical performance by Halsey, a surprise appearance by Al Pacino – who quickly admitted he doesn’t really play games, but that he still finds them impressive, the TV and video game leads of The Last of Us co-announcing an award winner, the Muppets Animal being, well, Animal, and a new Super Mario Bros. movie clip introduced by voice of Toad Keegan-Michael Key.

There were, of course, more than a few acceptance speeches as well. Speaking of which … and the winners are:

Game of the Year

Winner: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) 

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)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Game Direction 

Winner: 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

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment) 

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Best Art Direction

Winner: 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

Winner: Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök

Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem 

Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring 

Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger 

Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 

Best Audio Design

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Best Performance

Winner: Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök

Ashly Burch, Horizon Forbidden West

Charlotte McBurney, A Plague Tale: Requiem

Manon Gage, Immortality

Sunny Suljic, God of War Ragnarök

Games For Impact

Winner: As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna)

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

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Indie

Winner: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)

Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)

Sifu (Sloclap)

TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Debut Indie 

Winner:

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

Winner: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Mobile 

Winner: MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)

Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)

Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)

Genshin Impact (HoYovese)

Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

Best VR/AR 

Winner: Moss: Book II (Polyarc)

After the Fall (Vertigo Games)

Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)

BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)

Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

Best Action 

Winner: 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 

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Role Playing 

Winner: 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 

Winner: MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

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)

Sifu (Sloclap)

Best Family 

Winner: 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

Winner: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)

Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)

Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)

Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)

Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)

Best Sports/Racing 

Winner: Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)

F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)

FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)

NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)

OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

Best Multiplayer 

Winner: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)

MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Most Anticipated 

Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)

Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)

Content Creator of the Year

Winner: Ludwig

Karl Jacobs

Nibellion

Nobru

QTCinderella

Best Adaptation

Winner: 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

Winner: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

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

Winner: VALORANT (Riot Games)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

DOTA 2 (Valve)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Rocket League (Psyonix)

Best Esports Athlete

Winner: Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

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)

Best Esports Team

Winner: LOUD (Valorant)

DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)

FaZe Clan (CS:GO)

Gen.G (League of Legends)

LA Thieves (Call of Duty)

Best Esports Coach

Winner: Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)

Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi  (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)

Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT) 

Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)

Go "Score" Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

Winner: 2022 League of Legends World Championship 

EVO 2022

PGL Major Antwerp 2022 

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational 

VALORANT Champions 2022 

Make sure to check out The Game Awards website for the full list of nominees and winners.