The Game Awards 2021 is finally here. It’s time to find out once and for all what are the best games of 2021. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the show is likely to have its fair share of amazing reveals in addition to numerous awards. Here is everything you need to know about the event, including watching the show, nominations, and the winners.
Fans can vote for their favorite games by going to their The Game Awards official website. You can expect to see many brand new and hugely anticipated PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC games. Over the past few years, the show has had huge announcements, world premieres, and iconic moments.
You can also expect to see celebrity guests like Keanu Reaves, Jim Carrey, Giancarlo Esposito, Imagine Dragons, and more this year. It has been confirmed that “Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ will premiere their first trailer during the show to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
How to watch The Game Awards 2021
The Game Awards 2021 is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. You can watch the show on any platform of your choice by going to the links given below. We recommend Youtube to support 4K streaming and don’t lag a bit like Twitch. You can also watch it from the official website of the show.
Watch The Game Awards 2021 live right here!
The Game Awards 2021: Nominees & Winners
Game of the Year
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
- Metroid Dread (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Winner – It Takes Two
Best Action Game
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Games)
- Chivalry 2 (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
- Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Winner – Returnal
Best Action / Adventure Game
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- Metroid Dread (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Winner – Metroid Dread
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)
Winner – Genshin Impact
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)
Winner – Forza Horizon 5
Best Multiplayer Game
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Games)
- Knockout City (Velan Studios/Electronic Arts)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- New World (Amazon Games)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain Studios)
Winner – It Takes Two
Most Anticipated Game
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarok (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Untitled sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Winner – Elden Ring
Player Voice Award (Out of 30 Nominees)
Winner – Halo: Infinite (Xbox Game Studios/ 343 Industries)
Best Esports Game
- Call of Duty (Activision)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Winner – League of Legends
Best VR/AR Game
- Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
- I Expect You to Die 2 (Schell Games)
- Lone Echo 2 (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio, Capcom/Oculus Studios)
- Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink, Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)
Winner – Resident Evil 4
Best Role Playing Game
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
- Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
- Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
- Shin Megami Tensei 5 (Atlus/Sega)
- Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)
Winner – Tales of Arise
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)
Winner – Guilty Gear Strive
Best Family Game
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
- 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)
Winner – It Takes Two
Best SIM / Strategy Game
- Age of Empires 4 (Relic Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination (Rebellion Developments)
- Humankind (Amplitude Studios/Sega)
- Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
Winner – Age of Empires 4
Best Game Direction
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
- Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Winner – Deathloop
Best Narrative Game
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
Winner – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Art Direction
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Winner – Deathloop
Best Score and Music
- The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
- Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
Winner – NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139
Best Audio Design
- Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
- Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Winner – Forza Horizon 5
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
Winner – Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu
Games for Impact
- Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale (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)
Winner – Life is Strange: True Colors
Best Ongoing Game
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (Mihoyo)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward, Raven Software/Activision)
Winner – Final Fantasy XIV Online
Best Indie 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)
Winner – Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy 14 (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Winner – Final Fantasy 14
Innovation in Accessibilty
- 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/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)
Winner – Forza Horizon 5
Best Debut Indie Game
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
- Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
- Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain Studios)
Winner – Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Best Esports Athlete
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
Winner – Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
Best Esports Team
- Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- Natus Vincere (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (DOTA 2)
Winner – Natus Vincere
Best Esports Coach
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Winner – Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
Best Esports Event
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021 (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- The International 2021 (DOTA 2)
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
