The Game Awards 2021 live report
UPDATE: And that's a wrap!
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It's nearly Christmas, but before then here's a little videogame Christmas - it's Geoff Keighley and The Geoff Awards, where there'll be new game reveals alongside celebration of the very best of the last year. Join us at 1am GMT for the fun!
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hi, hello and how do you do!
I regret to inform you I have been driiiiiiiiiiiiinkiiiiing.
But hey that's fine because the show doesn't start until 1am which is two and a half hours away so I've got plenty of time to sort myself out, right?
Right?
To be honest I'm more concerned with whether or not I've got the energy to head to the off licence to get some drinks in for later.
It's only a two minute walk away. But it's cold. And I'm tired.
Anyway! Lovely to see you all here!
Geoff has indeed confirmed it'll be a three hour show - plus there's a half hour pre-show which if you don't mind I'm going to politely ignore.
So that takes us up to 4am, at which point who knows what state we'll all be in.
Crack's a morning thing isn't it? Seems like a breakfast drug more than anything.
I'm going to log off and try and get some rest over the next couple of hours, and I'll catch up with you all before the show starts!
(Although really I'm just ragging around in VR with the Merc W12 that just landed in iRacing and having such a good time I don't quite know how to stop just yet).
Have you played Unpacking yet? It's probably a bit too close to home for you right now, but it's also probably my own game of the year. A lovely, ingenious, quietly melancholy yet also uplifting thing.
I'm holding out hope we'll get the name of the new Zelda game announced.
I'm an overly optimistic fool, tho.
Hello! Martin is stuck in some virtual reality racing marathon, so I'm going to pick up our live report of The Game Awards. Sorry for the delay!
Although to be honest, I can't see anything at the show topping the pre-show announcement of The Expanse: A Telltale Series. Anyone else big into The Expanse? I bloody love it!
Hellblade 2 looks suitably grim, doesn't it? I wonder when it will come out.
themightyant: Hi Wes
Hello!
Kami: I'll be honest, not watched The Expanse at all.
Get on it. It's great!
That's a fancy trailer for Quantic Dream's Star Wars game (this had leaked), but it's Quantic Dream, you know?
(And no, I'm not in favour of game companies that sue journalists)
/articles/2021-09-21-heavy-rain-developer-quantic-dream-successfully-managed-to-sue-french-newspaper-le-monde
I'm guessing those game codes are real. Good luck!
Well, I was not expecting a Wonder Woman game from Monolith, that's for sure!
Monolith is the studio behind Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, the much-loved Lord of the Rings games.
That trailer tells us nothing, really. What kind of game do we expect?
Best performance had to be Maggie Robertson for Lady Dimitrescu, didn't it?
And this is clearly Alan Wake 2!
Alan Wake 2 was expected - it looks like an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC (coming to consoles as well).
Alan Wake 2 is Remedy's first ever survival horror game, Sam Lake says. That's a crowd-pleaser.
2023 feels like a long way away. Sam Lake says more will be revealed summer 2022. Imagine that. The summer...
When will this guy stop talking?
I do like Jim Carrey. That film when he fell out of a rhino's arse? Nearly shit myself laughing at that one.
This Sonic movie is going to be so much better than the Mario movie, isn't it?
When these shows do a live music bit it gives all the journos reporting on it a mini-break. Thanks Geoff!
Never been into Horizon. Not feeling Horizon 2. But! I can see why people love it.
Thanks for telling us what music you listen to on Spotify, Geoff.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake PC release had leaked, but it's good to see it finally confirmed.
I'm guessing that's a timed Epic Games Store exclusive, given the Epic logo platsered over the trailer. Sorry Steam users!
Microsoft rebranding Xbox Game Pass on PC to PC Game Pass. I guess that makes sense? I mean, Age of Empires 4 doesn't have much to do with Xbox.
Dare I hope for some sort of Street Fighter 6 announcement?
I thought Shang-Chi was pretty good for an hour, but fell off a cliff in the third act. The fight scene on the bus is great!
I know our Chris Tapsell was rooting for Returnal for best action game. He'll be pleased.
I can't help but say Returnal like Snow says Informer. Sorry.
Ah, Destiny, my old friend... like a war I fought a lifetime ago...
Have the Darkness actually shown up yet? I've been waiting for a meaningful story development from Destiny for 100 years now.
Well, Bokeh's new game looks horrific and kind of fun? Silent Hill with some action elements?
Nightingale looks pretty cool! Survival crafting game in a shared world. Portals to different worlds looks like a big part of it.
Aaryn Flynn was boss of BioWare (he quit in July 2017, just months after Mass Effect Andromeda's disastrous launch).
I'm not getting much BioWare from Nightingale though. Perhaps that's a good thing.
Ah, here's a fresh look at that Gollum game.
More here: /articles/2021-06-03-why-you-should-care-about-that-gollum-game
It's after 2am now. How we holding up everyone?
So, PUBG going fully free-to-play in January. That makes sense! I'd forgot it was still a premium game on PC.
Gamer_cool123: No work tomorrow. That's the only reason I'm here!
JEALOUS
Velocikitty: *laughs in america*
Curse you
Music break!
Here's the new Sonic game!
As expected, it's called Sonic Frontiers.
Looks like Sonic is going open world sort of? Will be interesting to see gameplay of this one.
There was a weird baby thing in the trailer for that Del Toro movie that reminded me of the mutant baby from Total Recall. Just me?
Deathloop for best art direction is a good shout. Well deserved!
Although I loved Artful Escape!
Estumas: You mean Quaato? The thing on the guys chest @ Wesley?
Yes!
Did Geoff just confirm no Josef Fares rant this year? What's the bloody point of all this then?
More Vermintide 2 is always a good thing. And I think that was our first Warhammer anything at The Game Awards tonight? GIVE ME MORE!
I've heard very good things about Guardians of the Galaxy from a story point of view. Apparently the dialogue is great.
I didn't expect it to win best narrative though.
This Suicide Squad skit is making me cringe into my gamer chair. Just show the gameplay please before I cease to exist.
Suicide Squad looks a bit Insomniac, doesn't it? There's some Sunset Overdrive in there for sure.
Forspoken looks a little... drab to me? It's more about the environments, I think. It's all a little flat.
Warhammer 40k! Finally!
Wow! I did not expect Space Marine 2!!!
iceytoa1: I'm guessing I'm hoping too much but man I want this to be space marine 2...
Good call!
Forgive me for going on about Space Marine 2 for a bit, but that's Ultramarines versus the Tyranids, with some Imperial Guard thrown in. What I thought was cool about the trailer was the Guard soldier seemed almost terrified of the Space Marines who came to save them. I quite liked that vibe there. The Space Marines aren't the good guys!
Sorry, I'm too busy pondering Space Marine 2. Missed the Saints Row thing. Any good?
It's 2.45am and someone just said "there's plenty of show left". RIP...
It's Doug Bowser!
I still can't believe Nintendo America's boss is called Bowser.
And the guy Nintendo sued is called Bowser. What a world.
Ah, this is Funcom's new Dune game.
Dune 4X RTS sounds right up my street! Looking forward to seeing gameplay of that one.
Highlights for me so far are The Expanse, Space Marine 2 and Dune RTS. Have there been any other announcements?
Oh wow, Among Us VR. Unexpected!
Can someone explain to me what the fudge I'm watching?
Is this supposed to be cute? It looks terrifying to me.
Well, that's a nightmare I'm not gonna shake for a while. Thanks, Geoff!
Okay crew. It's 3am. My eyes are starting to bleed. I'm not sure what's real and what's not. How are we all doing?
The Starfield downgrade is real.
That was a pretty poor fake Spock.
I do like Star Trek! I dunno about whatever that was.
Reggie, free from the shackles of his Nintendo overlords, about to drop some truth bombs. Let us have it, Reggie!
That wasn't as explosive a speech I had hoped for, Reggie.
Final Fantasy 14 is doing so well right now. Well deserved!
I don't know what this is but I know it is very much not for me.
Ugh, Rumbleverse. Please stop!
Geoff said Techland like you'd say a surname. Like, Techlnd. Just thought I'd point that out.
Ah yes, Crossfire. The game Remedy is making for Smilegate. Xbox exclusive I think?
Remedy does Call of Duty, basically. It's a work-for-hire project. Helps keep the lights on!
Fortnite still trucking along, still one of the biggest games on earth.
Remember when CliffyB was working on Fortnite? That was 10 years ago...
Okay, I'm paying attention to this music bit. Love Supergiant songs!
Arcane is seriously good though, isn't it? Who knew a League of Legends animation show would be the best telly of 2021?
Markusdragon: We have Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett here. Why are we not just listening to the Hades vocal tracks?
Truth
Random footballer knee slide on-stage there from the Imagine Dragons fella. Weird.
I have a soft spot for Jacksepticeye. He seems like a good egg. Also Irish!
Iamhurtin: Arcane is shit Wesley
uwot8
Important award. Well done, Playground!
GTFO out now after two years of early access.
GTFO is a co-op alien shooter from Payday lead designer Ulf Andersson.
Kami: Having said that, I'm secretly looking forward to the League of Legends fighting game.
Me too!
Okay Geoff, time to wrap this up. My kids are gonna wake up for the day soon.
Imagine how much money Jeff Goldblum got for promoting Raid Shadow Legends. Imagine!
Right, I want your showstopper predictions. What's the "one last thing" moment this year? Go!
I'll start: Street Fighter 6. I BELIEVE!
Was that meant to be narration from Halsey? Now she has a British accent?
Not sure what to make of that Halo TV series trailer. Master Chief looks good, but the rest looks a little off. Need more data!
Deathloop doing well here at The Game Awards. And so it should!
Love Microsoft-owned Arkane dev thanking Sony.
The Game Awards doesn't spend enough time on the actual awards, does it?
The Oscars doesn't have pot friend.
Does The Game Awards really need a new trailer for Elden Ring, a game people have already played? Perhaps it would have been better to spend this time on giving out an award?
I mean ultimately all this comes down to money. The Game Awards wouldn't happen without money coming in from companies paying to advertise their games. I suspect Geoff is aware of the balance that needs to be struck. Just feels like the balance is pretty off!
People compare The Game Awards to the Oscars but really they're nothing alike.
Ad break. Just gonna grab some wasabi peas brb.
Back.
Ozziw: So, I have to wake up 5:45 for work. The clock is 4:54 here right now. I've made some poor choices.
Oh no...
This game looks cool (sci-fi MOnster Hunter?) but the trailer music is... not what I'd have gone with.
Oh, it's called Arc Raiders.
Hmm. The Matrix Resurrections. I'm just not sure! Why does Neo look like John Wick? I don't UNDERSTAND!
4am. It's 4am. 4am.
It's available right now! Right now! It's available right now! RIGHT NOW!
Please let there be "one last thing" and please let it be Street Fighter 6.
Music break!
It Takes Two is 2021 game of the year! That's a surprise!
Josef Fares, here we go!
That was dissapointing Josef. Was hoping for a Take-Two fuck you.
So, that's a wrap. At 4.10am.
There was some cool-looking stuff in there, right? Space Marine 2. Dune. The Expanse. But, overall? Lacked a mega wow moment for me.
And the awards part of The Game Awards felt rushed.
I'm gonna wrap this up. Thank you so much, dear readers, for staying up so late to watch The Game Awards with us. See you next year!