The Game Awards 2021 has come and gone, giving us plenty of generous peeks at upcoming games on the horizon, and celebrating another year of brilliance across the industry.
Hosted by Geoff Keighley and broadcast live from Los Angeles on December 9 – or in the small hours of December 10 if you’re non-US based like us – the 2021 edition of the TGA has awarded studios and creators across a whole range of different categories for what they’ve achieved this past year – and we’ve laid them all out for you below. But, before we get to those, it’s worth noting some of the biggest and best reveals of the night, showcasing what’s coming up from a whole bunch of studios.
Highlights include the Forspoken release date announcement trailer, which reveals Square Enix’s upcoming RPG is coming to PC on May 24, 2022, along with news that the Final Fantasy 7 remake is coming to our home platform via the Epic Games Store just next week.
Then we’ve got confirmation that Alan Wake 2 is real, and is Remedy’s “first survival-horror game”, as well as fantasy MMO Lost Ark’s new release date, the announcement of Star Wars: Eclipse – the Detroit: Become Human devs’ next game – and Hellbalde 2’s re-emergence with some gameplay footage. Elsewhere, there’s been Homeworld 3, Wonder Woman, and Nightingale news, and more.
It was a big night for gaming, and that’s before we even get to the award winners. Which brings us to the big event – without further ado, here are The Game Awards winners of 2021. Winners are in bold.
Game of the year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best game direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best independent game
- 12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
- Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
- Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)
Best debut independent game
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
- Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)
Best Performance
- Erika Mori as Alex Chen – Life is Strange: True Colors
- Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo – Far Cry 6
- Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn – Deathloop
- Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu – Resident Evil Village
- Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake – Deathloop
Best action game
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Best Mobile Game
- Fantasian (Mistwalker)
- Genshin Impact (Mihoyo)
- League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
- Marvel Future Revolution (Netmarble)
- Pokémon Unite (Timi Studios/The Pokémon Company)
Best Narrative
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Best action-adventure game
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Best role-playing game
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
- Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Best SimULATION / Strategy GAME
- Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
- Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Best ongoing game
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (Mihoyo)
Innovation in accessibility
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Best ART DIRECTION
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
Best score and music
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk – composers)
- Deathloop (Tom Salta – composer)
- Nier Replicant Ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe – composer)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques – composer)
- The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron and Josh Abrahams – composers)
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
- Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Chicory (Greg Lobanow, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
- No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)
Best community support
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best VR/AR game
- Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
- I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)
- Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Best family game
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)
- New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
- WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best sports / racing game
- F1 2021 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
- FIFA 22 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone)
- Riders Republic (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft)
Best multiplayer game
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- New World (Amazon Games)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)
Best fighting game
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
- Guilty Gear: Strive (Arc System Works)
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)
Content Creator of the Year
- Dream
- Fuslie
- Gaules
- Ibai
- TheGrefg
Best esports game
- Call of Duty (Activision)
- CS:GO (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best esports team
- Atlanta Faze (Call of Duty)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- Natus Vincere (CS:GO)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (Dota 2)
Best esports athlete
- Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr
- Heo ‘ShowMaker’ Su
- Magomed ‘Collapse’ Khalilov
- Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev
- Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo
Best esports coach
- Airat ‘Silent’ Gaziev
- Andrey ‘ENGH’ Sholokhov
- Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Horodenskyi
- James ‘Crowder’ Crowder
- Kim ‘KkOma’ Jeong-gyun
Best esports event
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
Most anticipated game
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
- Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)